I bought this game 4 years ago on release day, because Advanced Tactics was one of my all-time favourite games. I spent 2-3 hours trying to understand it, but every time I tried to play, I just had no clue how to do anything... and I just gave up.

A few days ago my Youtube feed presented a DasTactic tutorial video so I watched it and gave the game another try. Now, after 30 hours I reckon I understand about 10% of the game... but here's the thing, that's enough to really enjoy it, and enjoy learning about all the other aspects as I play.

Graphically it's a little dated but I love the map and counters. The planet generation is just amazing and the map graphics do a fantastic job of presenting the huge variety in planets so each looks interesting and unique.

Although the game is complex, it's not needlessly so - as you learn the game you realise all the detail makes the game endlessly replayable and satisfying. Once you understand the basics and start enjoying gameplay, the rest begins to fit into place.
The UI is possibly partly to blame for initial learning curve as it takes some time to remember where everything is. The thought I have had most often while playing is 'where is it I do this again?' followed by clicking on random UI buttons (of which there are many) trying to find the screen where I raise some troops, or gave a pay rise, or ask for a report, etc, etc...

So it took me 4 years, but thanks to DasTactic (and of course a great dev) I am finally really enjoying this amazing game. If anyone would like to try it, I would definitely recommend it and for those that purchased, but then didn't play (like me) I would say have another go. Look up DasTactic's Youtube channel and watch his 2 hour intro video. A couple of hours of focused learning will unlock the game and give enough info to enjoy it and begin the learning curve of uncovering all the delightful details that make this game so expansive and wonderful to play.

It works on a potato of a computer as well. It makes Civ series look basic and yet doesn't even make the fan start on my laptop, so I can play it anywhere while not being vaporised by laptop heat, which has the side benefit that the non-stressed battery lets me go off-grid for several hours to enjoy this apocalyptically good game.

Right, I'm going back to play it. I'll update this review at 100 hours to let you know if I understand it all yet!

Shadow Empire is hands down the best strategy game I've played. With over 444 hours invested, including a steep learning curve in the first 100 hours, I can confidently say it surpasses all others. Having played through most strategy games on the market, including titles from Paradox Interactive, Total War series, and Civilization franchise, Shadow Empire stands out. Its perfect blend of economic management, military strategy, and immersive post-apocalyptic atmosphere sets a new standard. The logistics system is both sensible and deeply satisfying once mastered, complemented by a diverse array of units and a resource exploitation mechanic that outshines competitors. If you cherish classic strategy gaming experiences, Shadow Empire is unparalleled in today's market.

Really tried to like this game, but even after watching other people play, reading a quarter of the manual you feel like this game was good on paper but faces a very poor end result

I just can't get over the horrible UI and lack of explanation for anything( in game pop ups once a full moon actually show usefull information) , hell I couldn't even tell you how to exit the game since the meniu for that is hidden as well, having to resort to force closing the game via task manager

Half of the time you can't even tell what is happening where, oh you're low on food, okay let's build up farms, wow now we have even LESS food.

It probably is pretty in-depth later on but since you have little control over anything it just spirals out of control pretty fast and you never reach that greatness the game advertises to you

Probably the main focus of the game is to expand and combat other empires and neutral factions but considering how ham fisted the combat, research, production and logistics system is I think you'd have more fun picking seeds out of a strawberry with a toothpick

If you have the time to invest into decoding this game into a playable state it's probably for, if not, there are better more fleshed out games out there.