Honestly this game is very very early access. Many of the basic functions you expect to see from a 4x game aren't there yet. Like diplomacy, multiplayer, more than 4 units per faction etc. Unfortunately the 3 playthroughs I made also felt pretty similar. There is a ♥♥♥♥ ton of small "events" that you have to take care of, but they are always the same or at least so similar that I didn't notice a difference. The result of that is that you have to click through these events which slow down the gameplay and is more of an annoyance than a benefit.
This game has great potential and the devs seem to listen to player feedback, if you want that it's worth it. If you want a finished game, hold off for at least another year.
So why do I review it negatively despite knowing it was early access. Mostly because I've played a ton of early access games and my previous experience with those games is a bit more of a finished thing. Also I actively dislike some of the design choices they made. If I could I'd vote neutral.

Honestly this game is very very early access. Many of the basic functions you expect to see from a 4x game aren't there yet. Like diplomacy, multiplayer, more than 4 units per faction etc. Unfortunately the 3 playthroughs I made also felt pretty similar. There is a shit ton of small "events" that you have to take care of, but they are always the same or at least so similar that I didn't notice a difference. The result of that is that you have to click through these events which slow down the gameplay and is more of an annoyance than a benefit. This game has great potential and the devs seem to listen to player feedback, if you want that it's worth it. If you want a finished game, hold off for at least another year. So why do I review it negatively despite knowing it was early access. Mostly because I've played a ton of early access games and my previous experience with those games is a bit more of a finished thing. Also I actively dislike some of the design choices they made. If I could I'd vote neutral.