Elite Dangerous has always been one of my favorite space simulation games. It’s a game where you take a ship and a few credits to make money legally or illegally. You can choose to mine, trade, bounty-hunt, pirate, assassinate your way across the galaxy.
It’s an awe inspiring, beautiful, vast place; with billions of star systems, planets, moons and asteroid fields just waiting to be explored, and exploited. The triumvirate superpowers of the Empire, Federation and Independents factions dominate their core system volumes and constantly skirmish to outmaneuver one another on their frontiers.
Outside of their powerful spheres of influence, in the vast majority of the galaxy, anarchy reigns supreme and spectacular discoveries await the bold. It’s a treacherous universe, so you need to keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.
Whether you choose to trade for profit between systems, take part in multiplayer co-op mission alliances, free-for-all group battles and team raids to bring down planetary economies, even tip the balance of power in the galaxy, or simply explore the wonders of the galaxy (and who knows what you’ll find out there), everything is up to you.
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey marks the birth of a new era for the long running definitive space simulation, allowing players to touch down on newly accessible planets with light atmospheres beautifully rendered by stunning new technology; to explore, to engage in combat and trade, take on missions, work together or alone over their surfaces with complete freedom from a first person, feet-on-the-ground perspective.
Taking life on the frontier of space to new horizones, Elite Dangerous: Odyssey’s emergent gameplay will let players forge their own path through a wide variety of missions, ranging from diplomacy and commerce to lethal stealth and all-out combat. Diverse settings, objectives, and NPCs will offer endless mission variety and a near infinite amount of content to enjoy.
Frontier Developments has concluded the Elite Dangerous’ Azimuth Saga storyline and unveiled Aftermath, the next phase of the narrative that’ll lead into content updates for the rest of the year and beyond.
The Azimuth Saga finale saw the contentious figure Salvation attempt to stop the Thargoid menace in their tracks with the Proteus Wave, a powerful Anti-Xeno weapon. Ultimately, the activation process ended in catastrophic failure, and the repercussions from the event have now begun. Salvation himself, meanwhile, is nowhere to be found.
The beginning of Aftermath coincides with the release of Update 13 for Elite Dangerous: Odyssey, and sets the stage for the future of humanity’s relationship with the Thargoids. When commanders head to the Anti-Xeno Conflict Zones in the system HIP 22460, where Salvation’s Proteus Wave was activated, they’ll witness the fallout for themselves.
The Megaships Bright Sentinel and Heart of Taurus have been destroyed. Wrecks of numerous capital ships and constant Thargoid attacks now await any commanders brave enough to jump into the fray.
After the Azimuth Saga’s conclusion, the way players engage with events in Elite Dangerous will change. Currently, the Elite Dangerous base game and Odyssey exist on different code bases – 3.8 and 4.0 respectively. Going forward, to ensure the storyline can continue to expand in scope and quality, new events and gameplay elements will only be released on the 4.0 code base.
Those who own a copy of Elite Dangerous on PC will be able to enjoy the benefits of the 4.0 code base, which will include updated graphics and all improvements from post-Odyssey updates around performance, UI/UX and other features.
Gamers won’t need to own a copy of Elite Dangerous: Odyssey to access 4.0 – details on how 4.0 will be made available to all Elite Dangerous players on PC will be revealed at a later date. Players who wish to experience the on-foot content of Odyssey, among other features, will have the option to purchase it separately.
It’s a great time for players who own gaming PCs. The next major narrative phase of Elite Dangerous has now begun, and there’s much more to come – the next instalment, Update 14, will represent a huge moment for the game as the Aftermath storyline kicks into high gear.
Discovery has always been at the core of the Elite Dangerous experience. With the highly anticipated arrival of Elite Dangerous: Odyssey in early 2021, this fundamental aspect of the game takes on a completely new dimension by introducing on-foot exploration of atmospheric planets.
Just as with any great sci-fi series, players will be able to leave the protection of their spaceships and venture out and discover the secrets and hazards those new worlds have to offer, experiencing the thrill of leaving their footprints over previously unexplored terrain.