X4 Foundations, released in 2018 but continuously patched, is the latest game in the long-running X franchise. I made several false starts with the franchise previously but, given my recent interest in space games, it was an excellent chance to revisit it.
Superficially, the game plays and looks like a single-player space sim akin to Elite Dangerous or Star Citizen. You pilot a spaceship and trade, fight, mine or explore. You progress by increasing reputation with in-game factions, gaining access to better ships, upgrades, commodity pricing and missions, and accumulating credits to buy those better ships and upgrades.
The small but not claustrophobic map segregates space into hexagonal sectors. Most interaction is with space stations, although sectors contain other objects like minable asteroids and gas clouds. Ships travel between sectors using jump gates.
X4 Foundations handles this space sim play well. Ships are customizable with compelling tradeoffs, although not as varied as the other games mentioned above. Ships can perform like real-world aircraft or a more straightforward, uniform handling for those used to a more Star Wars: Squadrons style of play. The variety of mission types is unusually varied.
However, X4 Foundations is not only a space sim. Once you realize you can hire pilots for purchased ships that can automate simple tasks like mining, trading, exploring or fighting, the game’s focus shifts from the pilot and their ship to logistics and strategy. As you start building space stations to process raw materials through a complex web of production facilities into spacecraft, the game’s focus switches again to economy.
X4 Foundations is more a 4X game about rising from nothing to something on the galactic level. What exactly that “something” is depends on the player. There is no defined end, and little actively opposes the player. Instead, the challenge is transitioning from one level of play, like assembling a small fleet or building and running profitable space stations, to enabling the player to attain their own goals, like fighting off the game’s alien nemeses or amassing a fortune.
However, X4 Foundations is also a frustrating game. Progression slows once you reach the 4X playstyle at the middle game. While missions are vital in the early game and the occasional late-game “build base” or “build fleet” mission is lucrative, passive income quickly overtakes them. Often simply waiting for credits to accumulate or production to finish is the most effort-effective strategy.
X4 Foundations lacks the statistics and insights you need to identify opportunities or trends, despite the heavily menu-driven interface. For example, it does not provide easy access to the total credits traded for a commodity, high buy and sell price differences or details about trades between sectors.
X4 Foundations’ modular approach to building space stations brings out creative fun. However, building stations is seemingly meant to follow a progression, starting at cheaper modules then purchasing better ones as you accumulate wealth. Unfortunately, this progression takes tens of hours. Following the optional but well-written mission arc can short-circuit it but, if the progression is not fun and skippable, why have it?
X4 Foundations’ space ship and space station models are intricately detailed. Each faction has a unique style, whether it be the angular shapes of the Argon (humans) or the rounded, organic style of the Paranid.
However, beyond the models and textures, the graphics are dated. The force field over landing pads is simply a moving texture with transparent portions. The representation of humans practically fell into the uncanny valley, almost taking immersion with it. A stylized representation may have been more effective.
X4 Foundations certainly has its moments, though. When roaming space stations on foot, you cannot help but admire their scale, the kineticism of large ships regularly docking and undocking and the ground staff scampering to service them. It is the glee of a child watching trains or bulldozers.
Similarly, standing on the bridge of your capital ship as you order your formationed fleets to engage your enemy makes you feel like an admiral from many science fiction franchises. You can teleport into the pilot seat of a fighter to take out that troublesome turret or engine, then back to your capital ship to admire the target’s demise at a safe distance. Alternatively, you can order your marines to capture the ship. Your fleets can ignore enemy ships and destroy their space stations to cripple their production capability. The strategic options are surprisingly deep.
X4 Foundations is a victim of its breadth, becoming unintentionally comparable with specialist games that do their narrower pieces better. Perhaps these issues are addressed in the expansion packs or mods. It is also a long game, requiring dozens of hours to learn and more to finish. However, the X4 Foundations’ unique gameplay combination is compelling for those willing to endure the grind through the middle game or enact their own “rags to riches” story.
