X4 Foundations Review - An Indie Space Empire Builder

X4 can look terrifyingly complex to new players. But don't worry, I've got you covered! Join my community discord and I'll answer any questions you might have and help you find your way into the game! discord.gg/MdszAPKnqc

Thank you for this video, it's much appreciated! 🤩 /greg

I have 1,184 hours of gameplay. In my game I started with the earth, I created a company called Cerberus, this company operates in the area of mining, transport and war, I really love using the company to help raise empires that were destroyed. The splits in my game had been destroyed by the zenons, I sent my fleets to split space, expelled the zenos, and with the help of the mining and transportation sectors of my company I helped the splits to rise from the ashes, I was very happy when I I saw a raptor carrier flying through space again. This game is incredible.

I think one thing that's quite unique to X4 is, how the game really sells you your personal accomplishments by giving you the feeling of insignificance right at the start. You are not the chosen one, the main character. You are but a humble pilot setting out into a large world. It's not only the possibilities that feel intimidating, it's the scale of the world around you which adds to that feeling. In most space games fighters feel like small cars that you hop in. But in X4 you realize: even the smallest ships are the size of an actual bus and that lasers that make this sweet "pew pew pew" sound are big enough to blow your head clean off. And you get this feeling along the journey all the time. In still remember the first time I went up to my first Corvette class ship on the shipyard. I was used to an M class ship from my trader which I felt was pretty impressive, but standing in front of the guns, that I could easily stand upright in, was something else. And with the game showing you how small and insignificant you are throughout each stage, each personal goal feels so rewarding. First it's better equipment, a better ship just to survive, but soon you find that the further you progress, the more your actions mean. You played a role in that fight and killed 3 ships, you brought the materials to enable this faction to complete their destroyer, you built this station, that is now buzzing like a bee hive, you singlehandedly stopped the invasion on that sector with your fleet. And not because the game made the choice for you by laying out a path or making you so special with special background, special abilities and special friends. No, you did all this because you chose to and you walked that path by the results of your actions. This dynamic reaction of the world also makes each play through unique. One time you have X4 n' chill and I. The next game due to some circumstances that you may not have for seen, all hell breaks lose and you lose an entire faction. It's just such a rewarding feeling and I can see the same in your comparison to Mount & Blade Bannerlord which gives you the same feeling of freedom and insignificance evolving to the feeling of power.

Whenever somebody asks me if X4 is good and if it's worth playing, I use this analogy: Imagine you order a meal in a restaurant that is loud, smells weird, has uncomfortable chairs and the service is barely passable. But the meal is fantastic and possibly one of the best things you've ever eaten. X4 is much like that, it's a video game that forces you to navigate through a lot of nonsense and experience some genuine frustration, but underneath all this it hides something that is truly extraordinary and one of a kind. And if you play this game for long enough you will also understand why that is. You are playing the biggest, most ambitious and complex space sim that has ever been made, and it was made by a remarkably small number of people. It's a small wonder the game like this even exists and works as well as it does, it would be a genuine miracle if it didn't have some problems.

Great video. Would add: the music and sound is just terrific in this game. Their composer is truly talented and each DLC adds new tracks.

How have I never heard of this game (or your channel) until now? Thanks for the review, this game looks incredible and can't wait to play.

X might be my favourite game series of all time. The highest praise I can give it is that Egosoft is ambitious in all the right ways. They want to give you the fantasy of being a starfaring pilot in a vibrant universe, but haven't fallen into the traps of scope that might result in half-baked systems. There's no landing on planets, no infinite procedurally-generated stars, no multiplayer, because their focus has always been on making sure the experience in space is great. The hundred or so sectors they have are chock-full of activity, interest and intrigue, and there's an incredible gradient of homely core worlds and hostile unknown frontiers. I dare say that Elite and Star Citizen, whose ambition has often led them into dead ends, have never approached the depth and complexity on offer in X4.

This video is scratching a very old itch I had ever since I played "Freelancer" many years back - and from the looks of it, it feels like this is it, only much more matured and modernized visualization of what could've been years ago, thank you algorithm for pointing me towards this video of yours, and thank you for showcasing it so damn well :)

The good thing is, you can get the base game, play it, and if you enjoy it you buy the DLC activate them and you can keep playing the same save game because each new DLC just opens up more gates and you don't have to start all over. And honestly for a new player the size of the base game universe is already fairly big. You can totally get a good vibe with that already. Also i think, many people just get the game for the Star Wars mod witch is incredible. Just check out some videos here about it. I would say X4 is maybe the best Star Wars game, even thou it isn't even a Star Wars game in the first place.

The amount of people I’ve come across that absolutely LOVE the space genre, but have never heard of the X series or X4 is shocking! I mention it and people go “What’s X4?” Meanwhile their entire steam library is filled with space titles. Maybe they need a good marketing team, because this game is so slept on and it has almost everything people have asked for in a space game. I was searching for years for a game like this and only found X4 by complete chance. Even after looking at space games on steam. It was barely ever recommended

Really nice summary of what X4 is! A lot of what I experienced as frustrating with the game, you hit the nail on it's head. And also why i've sunk my hours into it! :D

I've been playing X Games since when i was a kid playing X2. I remember being a teenager leaving my PC on all night while my factories and traders made credits in the background. I would have alerts that would wake me up so that i could respond to attacks on my ships and stations 😂

its sooo good to see the X series becoming more popular egosoft truly deserves it imo they have created hands down the BEST single player space sim franchise

I remember the first time I played X4, I absolutely did not like it. After a few hours I uninstalled and moved on. It was complicated, it was buggy, and I wasn't the biggest fan of the controls. Then some time later I was sitting at my desk bored, and I saw X4 in my library... it had all the ingredients for a game I wanted to play... so I decided to give it another go, and really give it a solid chance. I have 2,448 hours in the game, and It has won a spot in my heart. The game has come a long way since release, and anyone who wants a space empire should try it.

Its so good seeing this game getting recognized

2500 hours in and you taught me something new about the advanced start feature

A buddy of mine has over 10,000 hours playing X4: Foundations. He's been playing their games on and off since the very first game. Personally, I've played most all of them some but never found any of them to be fully compelling. X4: Foundations reaches that threshold to me. They have made the best game they ever made.

You finally sold me on X4. I've been eyeing this game for months since it doesn't just look like a niche game, but one that is specifically tailored to what I like. Combining the 4X-like empire building mechanics of M&B and Starsector, the automation and management of Factorio and (partly) Rimworld and a space sim like the (ever disappointing) Elite: Dangerous. Not to mention designing stations and modifying and customizing ships. The thing holding me back was always the UI. But I guess we'll just need to try and get over that!

X4 was my second most played game of 2023. And I only played the game in May........ Many games claim to make you forget that it's 3am, but X4 actually delivers on that statement. Now I'm playing again since the new beta has been released, and I'm lost in it once again lol. It's just crazy all the things you can do in this game, and is by far one of the best space games out there