It’s just a shame the game doesn’t ship with more of these factions, as there are only eight sides you can choose from at launch, though given the genre and developer’s track record we can expect a lot more to come in expansions and DLC.

Outside of Civ’s relentless near-perfection, Endless Space 2 is now one of the real standard-bearers in the 4X space. While some of its more direct elements come up short, its implementation of politics is a masterstroke, adding depth and complexity to part of a game that often feels like an arbitrary chore.

We just need its first expansions to make dealing with your opponents as much fun as it is to deal with the people inside your own empire.