Sins of a Solar Empire 2 review – Don’t rock the space boat

It’s probably not an enviable position to set the design goals for the sequel of a long-lived game beloved by many. Change too little and you’ll be accused of being lazy, bringing nothing new of value to the table. Change too much and you’ll be accused of ruining the original concept with the added danger of upsetting your loyal fan base – an especially grave threat for games in a niche. In the face of this dilemma, Ironclad Games committed early on to the path with little changes and did so very openly. Sins of a Solar Empire 2 is an excellent sequel for players of the original who wanted the exact same thing again, but built on better tech. You’re once again asked to choose one of three major factions in the galaxy and embark on a spree of conquest among the stars, colonizing planets, researching technologies, and crushing enemy fleets. Gameplay-wise, Sins of a Solar Empire 2 combines real-time strategy and 4X. Starting from a single planet, you explore your solar system, build up planetary and orbital inf