Elite Dangerous | Games of the Year 2024

gamesindustry.biz:

Humanity is in danger, and I'm ignoring it.

From as long as I can remember I've had a fascination with exploring video game worlds. When I was introduced to The Legend of Zelda on the NES in the early '90s, the quest to save Zelda came secondary to seeing every screen the game had to offer. That curiosity has continued to this day, with games like Death Stranding where story and content wasn't as important to me as going on silly little walks, delivering parcels, and discovering the world that Kojima Productions had built.

So it's not surprising in the slightest that exploration is the area of Elite Dangerous that has captivated me most, and continues to do so with the game turning ten years old this month.

When the news spread that Thargoid forces were invading Sol and a colossal Titan was en-route, I was busy outfitting my shiny new Mandalay exploration ship in preparation for an expedition into unexplored space, a ship so fun to use that it has seen the retirement of my beloved ASP Explorer (affectionately named Dora the Asplorer) after over four years of constant use. After a brief stop off at Earth and Mars to help evacuate some citizens, dodging Thargoid fire as I went, I docked my exploration ship on a fleet carrier bound for Colonia (22,000 light years away) knowing that it may have been the last time I'll see Earth in the game.

Elite Dangerous is one of those games that can be approached however you like. If big explosions and flashy lasers is your thing, I'm told by those who partake that there is no finer simulation of space combat available. If you fancy yourself as a space trucker running trade routes to keep systems supplied with essential resources, that's also an option. Perhaps you like flashy lasers and explosions but not when they're firing in your direction? Outfitting a ship for mining and scouring asteroid belts for minerals could be for you. You can even decide to have one of the top 1% passenger liners out there, taking passengers and tourists