Elite Dangerous cover art

Elite Dangerous

Galaxy-spanning space sim about flight and trade.

On Steam ↗
Here's the argument for where this game sits - disagree freely.
Match your experience?
EXECUTION6 /10READS2 /10VARIANCE3 /10OPTIMIZATION8 /10

the cheat-test profile

The four axes - the argument

Each axis is rated on its own - how far one cheat would trivialize the game here. They don't trade off; low on all four means the game is an experience, not a contest.

  1. Execution

    cheat: Aimbot - perfect inputs

    6/10

    Flight controls, docking, combat aim

  2. Reads

    cheat: Out-predict an adaptive opponent

    2/10

    Light PvP reads, mostly PvE

  3. Variance

    cheat: See what's hidden / map the RNG

    3/10

    Procedural galaxy, mission variance

  4. Optimization

    cheat: A perfect solver / coach

    8/10

    Ship build, trade routes, engineering grind

How to read this

Each axis is named by the cheat that would break the game along it. Execution is the hands. Reads is out-thinking an adaptive opponent. Variance is hidden information & RNG. Optimization is the solvable systems layer. A game's region is the top one or two axes.

These four aren't one rating split four ways - they're independent 0-10 questions. A 9 on one axis takes nothing from the others, and a game low on all four isn't missing data: it's telling you there's no skill here to cheat.

The basis is how the majority actually plays this game - not a niche mode or a personal run. For a game with very different modes (a story campaign versus ranked multiplayer), that's the version most people mean.

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Game details

Released
2014
Developer
Frontier Developments
Platforms
PS4, PC, Steam VR, Mac, Oculus Rift, XONE
Modes
Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative, Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO)
IGDB critics
82/100
IGDB users
80/100
ShooterRole-playing (RPG)SimulatorStrategyAdventureActionScience fictionSandboxOpen world