Pax Nova

I want to recommend this game, but because of so many shortcomings I simply cannot.

On the surface, Pax Nova is a robust 4X Turn-Based Strategy Game, but after a quick look under the hood it's actually rather shallow and unpolished.

I went in wanting to love this game - I saw the mixed reviews, but I love 4X games and this bad boy was on sale, so I dove in head first. Immediately I noticed the lack of polish and attention to detail. The biggest problems seem to be the simplest things. I cannot turn of edge-scrolling on the map, which infuriates me. Every time I want to check things on the top tab I am forced to scroll upwards. There's no confirming or undo for unit moving, instead relying on a "left click select, right click move" system that is really clunky, resulting in me moving units countless times when I didn't intend to. The unit overview doesn't show unit levels, nor does it allow any type of subdividing or organization. Finding information about things from cities to units is quite convoluted. WHY CAN'T I DESELECT THINGS?! It should not be a big deal but there is no way to simply deselect a unit or anything besides a city. So if I click a unit, navigate elsewhere on the map and click something, I might end up moving a unit I never intended to because there was no way to deselect the unit. You MUST click one of your cities then click the return button at the bottom of the screen - this is the ONLY WAY to deselect ANYTHING and clear you UI. Maybe this is me being really nitpicky but it's hella annoying.

The result is something like Endless Space with a hex-grid planet map grafted into it, but it falls short in everything that makes Endless Space great. The writing in Pax Nova is sincerely underwhelming - the flavor text for everything is brief and uninspired, I found numerous typos in both the tutorial and general content.

I am going to continue playing this game, as I honestly haven't even made it into space yet - but it's an uphill battle at this point. If the user experience becomes more intuitive and the gameplay/writing becomes more robust, I will gladly come back and adjust my review.

It a fun game but needs a lot update.

UI is bad when have to build building in late game.

Pax Nova is complex - then there is difficulty. It's more of a chore than a relaxing game.

A quite undiscovered 4X I have had in my library for quite some time. I just installed it and added up the new dlc:s and my first impressions are absolutely positive 👍

Graphics and music are very "pleasling"! As a relaxed "eyecandy gamer" it really matters if a game is beautiful.

Game feels deep and complex but based on gameplay I would say "easy to get into". Very playable. A true next turn game 😁

What is interesting in this game is the two layers of battle where you both have the planet and space maps. It made me wishlist this game long before EA 💪 Another content, in it self not totally unique, is the elements of pollution and the alternatives to go for a more planet friendly route. For instance you can plant forests that both reduce pollution and provide defencive bonus in combat.

A good amount of different resources, with varied accessibility and use 👍 its not DWU but it gives me more chewing challenges than some really vanilla "most sold" 4x on Steam.

Overall one of the most beautiful 4x and complexitywise just up my alley. I have bought at least five 4x games on Steam way more complicated (at least from start) where learning curve and/or difficult level has made me giving up the effort to enjoy the game even some few hours.

But this is well worth a try! If you are looking for a midrange where playability and graphic beauty is some some of the requirements on your wishlist 👍

At last, I finally get a pretty decent game that allows me to explore planets and systems. I like the three added DLCs as it really gives the game a lot more depth. The AI looks to be doing the basic things correct. And the graphics look pretty decent. But I will need to play more to see if the AI knows how to expand off-planet. I must say, this is not a complete game engineering dud after all... I would rate it 6 out of 10. But seriously, I would love more content please!

Civ clone in space.