Sins of a Solar Empire 2 brings back the legendary 2008 space strategy game in grand fashion. Blending small-scale RTS tactics with the ability to zoom all the way out and command your empire across the full spectrum of a 4X game, it’s packed with both detail and spectacle. Now, in a free update, developer Ironclad Games has delivered on a heavy chunk of its remaining 2024 roadmap, making the impact of its battles felt in a much more dramatic and long-lasting fashion.
Launched in August, Sins of a Solar Empire 2 has already found itself a comfortable home, racking up a very positive 85% user rating on Steam. While it’s not a huge departure from the original, getting a robust overhaul of one of the best space strategy games with updated graphics and some additional complexity after so many years is proving a worthwhile investment for many. Now, it’s even better than before.
When we think of space, we typically picture vast emptiness. But the reality is that it’s often full of stuff – and that’s even more true when you get into the sheer level of interstellar chaos found in the best space games. That’s a big part of what this new Sins of a Solar Empire 2 update aims to capture. It introduces more dramatic debris that lingers in the wake of major battles. Large structures and ships such as Titans, Capital Ships, and Starbases will also now leave wreckages in their wake, which persist as a reminder of your ongoing actions.
That’s just the start, however. Also introduced in patch 1.3 are new gravity wells. These dangerous zones can have dramatic effects on your fleet when they are traversed, with effects such as reduced maneuverability or antimatter generation meaning you’ll need to approach them with caution. There’s also a range of new star types to contend with, including white dwarfs, blue giants, and most notably black holes.
Ironclad has also reworked the early pacing of games, meaning the first hour should now flow a little faster and more smoothly rather than dragging on when you’re trying to get things underway. For new players, there are also extra tutorials to explain certain gameplay systems, in particular faction-specific features such as Trading, Advent Unity, and Vasari Phase Resonance.
Sins of a Solar Empire 2 update 1.3 is out now. You’ll find the game on Steam. Alongside the above, the patch also includes some additional bug fixes, balance changes, enemy AI improvements and updated ship textures. Still to come on Ironclad’s 2024 roadmap are Steam achievements, more gravity well varieties, and improvements to Advent Unity abilities.
Beyond that, plenty more new features are scheduled to arrive as free additions in 2025. You can look forward to a new Advent minor faction, more artifact types, the introduction of planet population tracking and gameplay implications for it. We’ll also see a rework to gas giants, along with new moon varieties, factional planets, and neutron stars.
Whether you prefer the in-the-moment intricacies of the best RTS games, or the long-term strategy of the best 4X games, we’ve picked out the essentials you need to play in 2024.
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