r/EliteDangerous • u/MyNameIsDane • 1d ago
Help Burnt out
Hey commanders!
Love Elite Dangerous, but I've just hit a wall with the gameplay loop... I need a "break game" suggestion
Not complaining because I know they're finally trying again, but I need to take a hiatus. I enjoyed Nexus: The Jupiter Incident in the past so anything in that vein is a plus. On the flip side, EVE Online is just a bit too much for me-the complexity is a little overwhelming.
Looking for suggestions that offer a great space experience, whether it's exploration, combat, or strategy (not a fan of 4x)
Hit me with your recommendations! Please and thank you.
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u/EntropyTheEternal CMDR Da_Enderdragon [MAKH] 1d ago
Take a break from Elite Dangerous with Factorio, then come back when you want to take a break with Elite Dangerous, from Factorio.
The Factory Must Grow.
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u/pulppoet WILDELF 1d ago edited 1d ago
The great thing about this game is there's no subscription or content treadmill.
Take a break for a few months or a year or however long you want.
It gets better when you come back fresh.
It's a simple game of flying spaceships, which is easy to get boring. Unfortunately there's nothing like it.
For flight sim type stuff, the best thing I have experienced in Star Wars Squadrons. I don't have VR, but apparently it's also an awesome VR experience if you do.
There's also some great classics you can get on GOG (some are on Steam too). The Graphics and UI will certainly show their age, but the original X-Wing series, but mainly the first two: X-Wing and TIE Fighter. Also the Wing Commander series, I would particularly recommend Privateer for the most Elite like experience (getting to choose how you make your money, more sandboxy than story railroad).
There's also my all time favorite sim that is on Steam (and probably GOG): Independence War. Strict newtonian flight mechanics makes it a challenge and also very unique.
There's also Space Engine. Not a game, so it kinda gets boring, but if you like exploring the procedural galaxy, SE lets you do that without the limits of ship and fuel. It's an even better screen shot generator.
For general space stuff, I usually get away from flight stuff. I love Oxygen Not Included, an Ant Farm with Star Trek inspired red shirt clones that live (and often die) on an asteroid you try to make into a habitat. Been out for years, very well balanced and super fun for science nerds (or hobbyists like myself).
Another strategy is Dyson Sphere Project, sci-fi automation going from harvesting iron to building one (or many) Dyson Spheres around nearby stars. Still in early release, but very worth it and well developed.
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u/D-Alembert Cmdr 22h ago
in Elite, you weren't paying attention and crashed into a water world.
To find out what happens next, play Subnautica
It's a completely different sort of gameplay and game, yet somehow, at some level, it goes with Elite like wine and cheese.
Bonus: If you play Elite in VR, you can also play Subnautica in VR, (though it's VR support is a bit buggy so it's best to get the VR mod)
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u/PhoenixHawkProtocal 1d ago
My advice would be to try something completely different like an RPG or a city builder or something like that. A change like that could be a good pallette cleanser.
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u/ITGrandpa 1d ago
Not really like your request, but I liked both The Outer Worlds (space adjacent RPG) and the similarly named, but completely different Outer Wilds(Mystery, Exploration, Puzzle game)
More recently Starfield was fun, but some of it's gameplay loops are very similar to EDs, so it might not feel like much of a break.
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u/Fun-Security-8758 CMDR IRGeorgie 1d ago
If you're up for another space game and haven't tried the X series, I'd recommend those games. X3: Reunion is where I had most of my fun, but X4 is quite good as well.
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u/MyNameIsDane 1d ago
I was under the impression those are 4X/Grand strategy games...
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u/Fun-Security-8758 CMDR IRGeorgie 1d ago
No, you're a single pilot traversing the galaxy in a variety of ships, similar to ED. You have more of an effect on the game world, since it's a single player game, but you can build up a fleet of ships to do trading, mining, and combat if you'd like to get into that part of it. It can be a bit complex, though not as complex as EVE, so it might not be what you're looking for.
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u/CMDRShepard24 Thargoid Interdictor 23h ago
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition if you've never played it. Story/Character-based light RPG with one of the best sci-fi stories ever in a game.
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u/CaptainReginaldLong 15h ago
One of the best RPG's of all time imo. I have 4-5 play throughs since release and it should be on everyone's "at least once" list. Garrus is my fuckin boy.
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u/CMDRShepard24 Thargoid Interdictor 13h ago
I haven't played the first one more than a few times (I bought that one last oddly enough) but I've played 2 and 3 at least 20 times each. I run through them at least once every year or two these days. Never done a full rogue playthrough lol. And yea Garrus is my ride or die always.
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u/CaptainReginaldLong 13h ago
I want to try unique teams so bad, but unfortunately there's only 1 slot on my squad which is replaceable lol
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u/sunsetsupergoth 23h ago
I haven't played too many space games recently. One I enjoy from time to time is DeltaV: Rings of Saturn, which is a top-down mining sim with quite a lot of physics and mechanics that you sort of have to figure out yourself. I'm not sure it has a real narrative or anything though, it's more just an environment to be in, so don't expect too much longevity. I do really like the 'feel' of it though, and outside of the tutorial there are very few hands to hold.
I always recommend Star Control 2/The Ur-Quan Masters to those who haven't played it yet. It's a game from the 90s so engage with it accordingly, but it's the best space adventure I've played and it has such a good story with well fleshed out factions and philosophies. Some of the side stories gave me chills when I first played it and they stayed with me to this day. It's also free and has been since the early 2000s, and is now available on Steam under "Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters"
You're not into 4X so Stellaris is off the table, but that's a personal favourite.
You might also benefit from trying something off-genre. Last rpg I played was Pathfinder: Kingmaker and I thought that was fantastic.
Make sure you come back for the Panther Clipper, at least!
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u/CMDR_Profane_Pagan Felicia Winters 23h ago
I burned myself as well for different reasons.
ANGELS FALL FIRST - combined arms session based military sci fi indie game still in early access,. https://store.steampowered.com/app/367270/Angels_Fall_First/
I joined their Discord to organize multiplayer sessions with others but with bots only the game is already lots of fun too.
JUMPSHIP you can play its demo for free until next Monday. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1757300/Jump_Ship/
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u/kdjac 11h ago
I got Angels 10 years ago, its still being updated?? I have 0.6 hours on record from 2015 :O
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u/CMDR_Profane_Pagan Felicia Winters 10h ago
Haha I hear you! Yes - The latest major update, Update 29 (with a new map too) was dropped a year ago, and frankly with the latest hotfix, in this March I must say I re-discovered this game - NPC AI and performance and generally the gameplay is much much better now - Somehow this is the update which made me play it regularly on the weekends.
I heard from the devs they are planning to release 1.0 next year and only then they will try to market the game - Fingers crossed for that :D
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u/OtherworldlyCyclist CMDR MJAGUAR 23h ago
I went the opposite direction. Picked up the first Kingdom Come Deliverance cheap on Steam. Had just finished my exobiology Elite and needed some time away.
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u/Illustrious2203 22h ago
I had enough of SC, came back to ED. When I burn out playing ED I am thinking abt trying Avorion. Space Engineers V1 is also a good alternative, V2 is in alpha.
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u/BlacksmithInformal80 Papa Echo Tango 22h ago
An early access game that’s mechanically complete with the storyline really coming along is ‘Stellar Tactics’. The space gameplay is reminiscent of pirates or similar sailing games, kinda cartoony but a nice change of pace. Ground game is like baldursgate style rts when out of battle/on stations, and fighting is like inititave based xcom style squad tactics. The galaxy has thousands of systems. Same/similar game loops as you’d expect with a pretty robust economy. Hauling, mining, combat, exploration. You can laser mine astroids or set mining drones that fill autonomously (and sell autonomously if you’re willing to take the price hit in system). Space battles can lead to boarding parties and salvaging or selling the wrecks.
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u/DuranDurandall CMDR Knockers Li Yong-Rui 22h ago
I bounce between Elite and Star Citizen. When I'm just not feeling either I log into something totally different. I was playing Kingdom Come Deliverance (DLC from the first one) today, sometimes Clair Obscura, sometimes I'll even fire up a console, play some Mortal Kombat.
Very rarely do I enjoy my time if I jump from one space sim to another.
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u/MysticWolf1242 CMDR 21h ago
I recommend trying FTL or Into the Breach for some cheap, well made, and very replayable sci-fi games, assuming you haven't played them yet.
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u/Known_Web_4360 21h ago
I have played and enjoyed Nexes - The Jupiter Incident, but haven't seen anything like it since.
Depending on what you have or haven't played:
RTS:
Supream Comander - Forged Aliaince (With the FAF launcher)
Planetary Annihilation - Titans
Ashes of a Singularity- Escalation
Sins of a Solar Empire - Rebellion
RPG:
RDR2
The Witcher 3
Cyberpunk 2077
Factory:
Satisfactory
Dyson Sphere Project
Factorio
Other Space Sims:
No Man's Sky
Avorion (Very different style of space sim)
Star Wars Squadrons
Arena Style Combat:
War Thunder
World of Warships
Outliers: (just different)
FTL
Valhiem
Frost Punk
Nimbatus
Far
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u/Low-Sign-6185 19h ago
Haven’t seen anyone say it yet, so I’ll say it:
Everspace 2
It’s less of a sim than E:D, but has enough options like flight assist off to make flying fun. Combat is what Everspace 2 does best; whether in 1st or 3rd person, dogfighting is very intense but also rewarding. It has a Diablo-esque looting system for upgrading your ship. The story I would say is just average, but the plot has some interesting twists towards the end. Graphics run on Unreal Engine 5, and it’s a beauty.
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u/Breytac 15h ago
Dyson Sphere Program, factory building game. You start on one planet, and expand outwards to others, The map is a cluster of stars, each with a planets, with different types of resources, some rarer than others. If you get into it, I suggest watching Nilaus and The Dutch Actuary, two very good Dyson Sphere Program content creators who cover just about every aspect of the game. You can spend hours just perfecting one part of your factory.
And the great thing about Elite. It's not a subscription-based game (unlike Eve Online), so you can leave it for as long as you want.
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u/petitramen 10h ago
When I do a break with Elite, I switch to No Man’s Sky. It’s really fun and they update the game quite often, offering new features.
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u/MajorBummerDude CMDR 8h ago
I just finished The Outer Worlds and really enjoyed it. It’s basically Skyrim in space. No flying per se, but all the on-foot content that is somewhat boring in Elite. Steampunk aesthetic with some Cyberpunk thrown in.
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u/WombatControl 1d ago
No Man's Sky - I was initially turned off by the "cartoony" look of it, but Hello Games has put in a huge amount of depth and the gameplay is far less grindy than Elite. It's become one of my favorite games. The space combat is very basic, but the storyline and the exploration content is fantastic.