FreeOrion

4X games may not be the most popular out there, but they certainly have a loyal fan base that usually provides the developers with precious feedback. Hence, games like Master of Orion and Galactic Civilizations managed to get substantially better as they kept being updated by the developers at the request of the fans, which is why both series are now regarded as the golden standards in the genre.

FreeOrion has everything you need to know about it in the title, since it is basically an open-source remake of the classic Master of Orion. Hence, it should contain almost everything the original did, only in a much more modern package that extends the fun and makes it possible for you to run it on a modern computer, unlike the old product that no longer works with current hardware.

Hence, if you played around with the original, you should feel right at home with this one, because most of the mechanics are the same and the gameplay is still based on the 4X principles: explore, expand, exploit, exterminate. In the beginning, the galaxy map can be easily customized to fit your requirements, and you can handpick its size, shape, as well as the density of planets, stars, or various other objects.

Another great part of the gameplay is occupied by the research, which is vital to your future empire and it affects everything about your civilization. Hence, you must carefully calculate which upgrades to get, because it takes a lot of time for them to be finished, and you may not be able to change your mind later on. Even so, you can probably make a difference no matter which way choose to go.

If you want to have fun and put your imagination to work at the same time, you can use the designer to create your very own ship designs, as well as various other objects unique to your civilization. It costs money to buy the materials and build these, obviously, but you can turn a nice profit for them if you know how to haggle. You can always use them to start a war as well, in case you don’t feel like using diplomacy and culture.

In the end, FreeOrion may have its fair share of bugs and inconveniences, but it can also occupy a huge amount of your time if you give it a chance. Hence, if you enjoyed the original release and you are a fan of the genre, this is a must-have for you.