Review: Elite: Dangerous

Starting up Elite: Dangerous for the first time, I immediately had flashbacks of Bloodborne. There I was, in space, feeling isolated and confused. Thankfully, dedication and hard work paid off (this time, at least), and I found myself in love.

Before we go any further, wrap your head around this: Elite: Dangerous is designed by Frontier Developments of Kinectimals and Zoo Tycoon fame. Before a focus on animals, Elite was renowned for the realistic (read: hard to learn and master) Elite series, of which the last release before Dangerous was 1995’s Frontier: First Encounters.

Born of a Kickstarter campaign, Elite: Dangerous has been available on Windows PC since 2014, Mac since 12 May 2015 and most recently was one of the first titles included in the new Xbox One Game Preview Program. Despite its full release on Xbox One from today, the game is almost in perpetual preview mode; a new expansion, titled “Horizons” will bring planetary landings into the mix.

Until then, don’t let “preview mode” fool you, as there’s lots to do within Elite: Dangerous.

With gameplay like EVE, you’re almost spoilt for choice. Taking the helm of your one-man ship, you can immediately go off and run cargo from port to port. You might be more inclined to set course for the nearest uncharted star system and unleash your inner Jean-Luc Picard. Those drawing inspiration from Han Solo can instead arm themselves and set off on a quest to destroy fellow ships and claim whatever items are left behind.

With that Solo reference, let’s get one thing straight: you can definitely shoot first. A new mode created for Xbox One and announced at E3, CQC, takes this to heart. Short for Close Quarters Combat, CQC ditches every other aspect of Elite: Dangerous apart from its combat. Small, tight maps and a need for piloting skills will prove great fun for those who don’t want to explore the great expanse ala Starfleet.

That, coincidentally, is exactly what drew me to Elite: Dangerous: exploration. While some of you are waiting with bated breath for No Man’s Sky, I already was plotting courses along the Final Frontier, making a name for myself by going where no one had gone before. Star Trek, Star Trek, Star Trek. I hope “Horizons” adds an extra layer to that whole concept.

The “Dangerous” part of the Elite: Dangerous revolves around progression systems. As a pilot, you start off as the lowest of the low, harmless, penniless, aimless and helpless. Said descriptions are actually your rankings in combat, trade, exploration and the CQC, respectively. Your goal in the game to raise those levels to dangerous, becoming the galaxy’s top captain. To do that, you take on missions and grind.

As a newbie, CQC takes the least amount of time to pick up… but that’s only because the full game has perhaps the steepest learning curve I’ve ever seen and CQC is merely a handful of Elite: Dangerous’ mechanics. I’m not above providing resources, so I direct any hopeful players to Rock, Paper, Shotgun’s most excellent primer, keeping in mind it was written for the original Windows PC release. Nevertheless, it answered about 99% of the questions I had when starting up.

I had the most trouble with dropping in and out of Superspace, alongside plotting courses to different systems and areas using the Galaxy and local maps. I also struggled initially with controls — Elite: Dangerous maps a bunch of keyboard commands to different controller face-button combos; X plus the d-pad activates certain options, while Y plus the d-pad different options. Figuring those things out quickly became most of what I was doing, in-game, and when I got something down, it made me feel like I’d won a marathon. While Elite’s learning curve might dissuade some, I feel like it’s easier to manage than my experiences with Bloodborne; in this game, I feel like it’s more about increasing your skill than relying on luck.

As you learn to control you craft, things like cargo runs and the odd skirmish become easier… and that’s a good thing, as you need to take on jobs to increase your rankings and your cash. Cash is king in the world of Elite: Dangerous, used to buy new ships and better technology in order to take on bigger and better jobs. While there is a lot to do in the game, especially considering you can go down one of a couple career paths, there’s also not a lot to do; like Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, you’ll go out on a job, finish it, get better stuff, and then repeat. A lot. It can be a grind.

The other weird thing about Elite: Dangerous is that it’s equal parts thrilling as boring. For every close call or tricky bit of piloting, there’s a lot of plotting and sitting around. That’s apparently par for the course for the franchise, and something Frontier had in mind for Dangerous, but it still needs to be said. This truly is a realistic space simulator, and you need to take the good with the bad.

If you’ve got the time and energy, Elite: Dangerous can be highly rewarding. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but those interested in space, space travel, or just wanting a cool dogfighter that beckons back to the days of X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, complete with energy management, won’t be disappointed. In addition to the game’s official Xbox One release today, you can also play on Windows PC and Mac. While players on different platforms won’t compete directly in the same play space, everyone’s in the same galaxy, sharing narrative, economic, diplomatic and galactic power systems.

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Elite: Dangerous was reviewed using a promotional code on Xbox One, as provided by the developer.

Review: Elite: Dangerous

The good Rewarding as hell after you best its learning curve. A deep and engaging space simulator.	The bad Learning curve might prove too much for some. Equal parts engaging as it can be boring.

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