12 Labours of Hercules VII: Fleecing the Fleece (Platinum Edition)
12 Labours of Hercules VII: Fleecing the Fleece (Platinum Edition)
Game
Game2017
Imperium Galactica
Developer Digital Reality
Imperium Galactica is a 1997 4X video game, developed by Digital Reality. The same company would later make its sequel, Imperium Galactica II, in 1999. Imperium Galactica was published and distributed by GT Interactive in 1997. The soundtrack is the work of Tamás Kreiner. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
80 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy) · newest Oct 2, 2026 · last updated Oct 9, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
91
LovedLoved
58 positive · 6 negative
95% range 81–96%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 58 | 6 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| Lemmy * | 1 | 0 | 5 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
63 of 70 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
91% recommend · 58 yes, 6 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 64 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (147 of 159 positive).
Players praise the game's blend of 4X strategy with planetary management and RTS combat. [1][2][3] Many note the game's age shows in graphics, UI, and controls, but still find it enjoyable. [4][5][6] Some reviewers warn about bugs and crashes on modern systems, especially the Steam version. [7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [8]
This is one of my favorite strategy games of all time, but it's very buggy through Steam on Windows 10. Crashes every 5 minutes or so, and very laggy.
- [1]
I'm writing this review because of the lack of any objective or relevant review on the steam store(At the time of writing). This was my first time playing, so i have no nostalgia toward the game. I was pleasantly suprised by this two decades old gem of a game. Its your classic 4x with a strong yet very campy narrative. It has space and ground combat (rts-mechanics), both are quite quirky and i would not recommend …
- [13]
This is an all-time favorite of mine. I squealed like a happy pig when i saw it on steam. (so prepare for a biased review) If you love space 4x games, i would say this is the ultimate game. The pathfinding is not very good, and combat is almost more about battling the controls, more then the enemy. But winning a battle, not losing a single ship against a big enemy fleet still feels really good. planning out, and …
- [10]
As good as you remember This game is at least as good as you remember, quite possibly better. If you enjoyed playing it back in the late 90-ies, I'm sure you'll be eager to pour some more hours into it. Note though that the game feels quite hard, even on normal difficulty. Not sure, if it's just me, but perhaps games in those days made a special emphasis on creating a challenge and not as much expanding the custumer …
- [5]
I played this game in 1997 or 1998. 26 years later it's still fun. This time I was prepared for Darglans :P Though, I don't recommend it to players which are not ready for old, ugly and very deprecated UI from the era when nobody knew how to make this UI.
Summarised from 34 of the 80 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Imperium Galactica sits at 91% positive across 64 opinionated reactions from 3 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Next Generation rated the game four stars out of five, and wrote that "Imperium Galactica is an excellent choice for strategy-game fans because it goes beyond a simple strategy game. The progression of the character, the additional responsibilities, and the total immersion of the player combined to form a truly enjoyable title that will keep players entertained for a long time". The game was reviewed for Polish magazine Gambler.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 80 · most liked firstI'm writing this review because of the lack of any objective or relevant review on the steam store(At the time of writing). This was my first time playing, so i have no nostalgia toward the game. I was pleasantly suprised by this two decades old gem of a game. Its your classic 4x with a strong yet very campy narrative. It has space and ground combat (rts-mechanics), both are quite quirky and i would not recommend you buy it for that. Its strenght is the planetary management and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You can add about another 150hrs to that total from the early 2000s when I played a massive game conquering every single planet due to me not realising I was meant to unite all the races in an alliance against the Dargslan lol. Imperium Galactica 1, the first amazing 3 in 1 game (Master of Orion, Sim City and C&C/Dune style gameplays) that started it all. Well okay, not quite for me as admittedly I didn’t play it until after playing its sequel IG2! However that didn’t make me love it any less,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoyed a simpler time in RTS gaming where the art style was great, the controls/mehanics easy to pick up and the gameplay fun. For the price it's a great buy that will give you hours of fun.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A classic RTS game from 90s. So old that is was DOS based. It had many great features that other games lacked. Imperium Galactica has both the combat and resource management elements. Which grow in complexity as the in game campaign story develops. As good as it is. I can't recommend the steam version. As there is a new fan based version that uses all the original game files. With developer approval. Save your money for Imperium Galactica II. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CZvTDW9bNI
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is an all-time favorite of mine. I squealed like a happy pig when i saw it on steam. (so prepare for a biased review) If you love space 4x games, i would say this is the ultimate game. The pathfinding is not very good, and combat is almost more about battling the controls, more then the enemy. But winning a battle, not losing a single ship against a big enemy fleet still feels really good. planning out, and bulding in the correct order, and developing your planets correctly, makes a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Late and I cannot possibly read everything here, but I'll come back to it as well. And just to do some due diligence: * Saw it multiple times already, but Homeworld. * Star Wars Rogue Squadron or many of the other Star Wars flight games before it. * Imperium Galactica 2. Amazing space RTS with space and ground combat. * I think one of the Formula 1 games from the era is considered among the best, but I'm not sure which. If you like F1 and racing that's worth checking out. * Star Trek…
neutral · AI labelView post →if you have any problems like freezing or choppy audio, use the following dosbox settings ems=false memsize=64 output=ddraw core=dynamic cycles=40000 works perfectly for me
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The 4X space strategy in which you can actually build on the planets, in RTS/SimCity style. And even kinda visit your flagship bridge. If only any modern game could do that. Every other 4x space game disappoints me when it comes to planetary development. The story progression in the 4X game is quite an interesting experiment, but this is the element I don't miss in today's games because in this genre it's not really fitting - you want full freedom, without the strict order of objectives.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the better classics of its time brought to you by guys who made Reunion and later went to do Nexus: Jupiter Incident. This game combines 4X well, but might be slow to pick up pace at start. In a way its good because it introduces diffrent mechanics step by step. Its kind of sad that Hegemony Legions of Iron did not have the same charm this one and 2nd game have.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You have to grow up with games like this to enjoy them Imperium Galactica is from an era where a lot of QoL features simply didn't exist yet and thus being used to modern games playing this simply isn't fun and instead just frustrating and tedious. I quit after getting into a spaceship battle where the opponent was extremely more stronger than me, but i had no way to see that from the starmap. Since that battle counted as defending a planet, my back way blocked by the planet and i…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the best game I have ever played.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you played it in the past, dive back in. It's still a fun game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Picked this game up years ago in a grand union grocery store, didn't understand it all because it was quite in depth, years later i found it again on steam, and boy let me tell you, its leagues ahead of some of these 4x games nowadays, what an amazing game, so much to do, manage and alter. Fantastic game for anyone looking to sink hours and hours into campaigns.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As good as you remember This game is at least as good as you remember, quite possibly better. If you enjoyed playing it back in the late 90-ies, I'm sure you'll be eager to pour some more hours into it. Note though that the game feels quite hard, even on normal difficulty. Not sure, if it's just me, but perhaps games in those days made a special emphasis on creating a challenge and not as much expanding the custumer base. Don't get me wrong, the game is not without flaws. For example the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is one of my favorite strategy games of all time, but it's very buggy through Steam on Windows 10. Crashes every 5 minutes or so, and very laggy.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Imperium Galactica 2 - PC Review.
neutral · AI labelView post →I feel your pain. I had a tune from Robo Warrior (NES) stuck in my head for... I couldn't even tell you how long before it just randomly clicked one day. X3 is really, really hard to learn. I have heard 4 is better in that regard. If you try either, you should probably start with 4! Also, it's very different, but Escape Velocity Nova is really worthwhile if you like exploration, trading style games. Old af but it holds up imo. Edit: I spent some time Googling when I saw you said you thought…
neutral · AI labelView post →The Homeworld series is great with fantastic campaigns (minus Homeworld 3 I've heard, not even played that). I'll also throw in a classic Imperium Galactica 2 because I still think for a 90s 4X RTS it has so many elements that I've just not seen replicated since. Though usually short and quick, it has fully simulated and controllable space and ground battles; espionage; diplomacy; you assign your unlocked tech to hard points on your ships... It's Stellaris but better in most ways, imo.
positive · AI labelView post →its a fun and complex game i wish more games like this would be made
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Classic 4x. Careful not to dally however, the galaxy progresses without you!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is my love from past. It is old game with old graphic, but one of the best.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great old school game. You get to build up planets in much detail. Where you prioritise factories on some planets and pop on others if you wanna go into such detail. Combat is decent, although old school. There is a story running through the game. Its not gonna win greatest story or anything, but its decent and it really plays well with the gameplay as it changes during the game. You start out with controlling a small sector that you need to patrol and have defend against pirate attacks etc.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This was the best space strategy of it's time... very under rated. OPEN-IG was able to expand it even further. Although they came a long way to contemporize it, still needs some some improvements. But for nostalgia purposes I'll definitely play it from time to time. too bad GT and THQ didn't continue this series. Because IG2 was great as well...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm not entirely sure what scene I would've said had me similar when I could still more surely remember those first years. Possibly a game I've forgotten since. Maybe one of the Bionicle Mata Nui Games or some other big online game. Or Imperium Galactica 2. But a moment that will always stick with me is from the first Homeworld game: [when you return from your first hyperspace voyage](https://youtu.be/-7sAYbCTmPo). That entire game was epic, including the intro sequence, but it's that sequence…
neutral · AI labelView post →I played this game in 1997 or 1998. 26 years later it's still fun. This time I was prepared for Darglans :P Though, I don't recommend it to players which are not ready for old, ugly and very deprecated UI from the era when nobody knew how to make this UI.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →* [X series](egosoft.com) - most complicated spacesims in existence (nothing realistic though) * Stellaris * [Imperium Galactica 1](https://www.gog.com/en/game/imperium_galactica) - a super-complicated 4x space DOS game - think Stellaris + SimCity + Command & Conquer * An obscure unpopular old game - [Battle Isle: the Andosia War](https://www.gog.com/game/battle_isle_the_andosia_war) - or as one reviewer roughly said: "they must have had a board where everyone who came up with an idea got a…
neutral · AI labelView post →Great early game that keeps you on your toes, late game (grand admiral rank) is repetitive and quite dull.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A true classic and a real one-off.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good old game. Played it in childhood.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is one of my all time favourites, I definitely recommend it. I think it is a great game in every aspect, more so if you consider how old it is. My only problem is that in the original Hungarian version the dialoges had a more serious feeling which was more fitting to the whole atmosphere of the game, in contrast of some of the English translations' sometimes comical undertones, and sometimes I even flinched at the voice acting (for example your wife's)... Still on the topic, in the texts…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'd recommend it to those who like meticulously micromanaging a fleet and multiple space colonies. I found it felt like 'work' after a while, and the early game has to be set up just right or you will have to start over. If old-style management games that offer a challenge are your thing you should like it. There is a very detailed walkthrough available on-line. All that being said I only spent 1.50 and am fine with having tried out this retro game. The storyline looks like it probably…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Vibes of the great Hungarian-made classic 4X game "Imperium Galactica 2," where the Shinari race (physically weaker but relying on technology and most of all, prolific commerce and pitting others against each other) has a closing cutscene where one advisor worries, "But what if peace breaks out?"
neutral · AI labelView post →www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoBj... Heya folks, here's the intro cutscene featuring the 1999 4X strategy game, Imperium Galactica II: Alliances by Digital Reality and Infogrames. #imperiumgalactica2 #videogames #retrogaming #intro #cutscene
neutral · AI labelView post →Sidenote: Imperium Galactica is notionally a space 4X - but it's from the Weird Age where no game truly neatly inhabited a genre - so it does have a weird Aventure Game style subplot and a moment where you're asked to fill in a psych evaluation.
neutral · AI labelView post →Played this game years ago and loving getting playing it again
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is about as retro sci-fi as it gets. Old straight forward 2D battles, simple colony management, simplistic events. It is very easy to start up and stop in this game like it should be, leave for a couple weeks, and you know pretty much where you left off at when you return. Progression broadens your respondsibility while not being held by the hand hardly at all. The mod for this game is very well done and worth a try.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If I had eleventy billion I'd get a complete remake of Imperium Galactica 2 with modern graphics. I think the gameplay would largely hold up but a little QoL love too And then I would pay for a Warhammer version of the same game
positive · AI labelView post →I love it. Classic Scifi strategy.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Twenty-three years have passed, but this game still the King of the Strategies.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Blast from the Past, A true Classic game, can be glitchy at times, but rewards you in gameplay. Graphics = 3/10 Music = 3/10 Storyline = 2/10 Gameplay = 8/10 Personally this game brings back happy memories, has the gameplay to keep you entertained for hours.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's imperium galactica, same game from 1997 but it works without having to mess around. it uses dos box to emulate the platform this game was originally developed for. this is a really good 4x game even thouht i played it for a long time, coming back to it i had my arse handed to me for the first few hours. its not complicated but its not easy but it is a really good space x game. Once you get past the poor resolution you might enjoy the game. also set the res to default rather than desktop.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This Hungarian made game was originally supposed to be the 3rd game in the Imperium Galactica series. If you never heard of Imperium Galactica, it was a strategy game with some amazing FMVs. The Hungarian devs had to explain to GT Interactive the concept of dubbing live action footage.
neutral · AI labelView post →Like, don't get me wrong, I know there was some Quake in Dark Forces and by extension the Jedi Knight series, I know that Rebellion wasn't the first game to do its style of gameplay (grew up with Imperium Galactica), but Lucas Arts generally tried to push the envelope with new features.
neutral · AI labelView post →Im 70 now. My first video game was Imperium Galactica in around 1996. Also enjoy a good board game with the family too. However I am not that much into it that I would by a magazine.
neutral · AI labelView post →It's a super fun RTS game. Love the multi-planet management.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This made me reflect on how I generally cannot stand to run "evil" campaigns in RPGs. I tried to do a dark side run of KOTOR after my first playthrough and just felt shitty seeing the impact I had on NPCs. But I also, completely unbidden, committed mass genocide in the game Imperium Galactica.
neutral · AI labelView post →Played this for the first time when I was eight or nine; my only complaint is that it isn't set in the Star Trek universe.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Merits: ▪ Immersive narrative ▪ Strategic space & ground combat ▪ Detailed colony management ▪ Diplomacy & trade Flaws: ▪ Dated graphics ▪ Steep learning curve ▪ Repetitive elements ▪ Unsatisfying ending Verdict: The granddaddy of 4X games, players take on the role of a fleet commander tasked with expanding and managing an interstellar empire while defending against alien threats and internal strife. While the gameplay is still decent today, the graphics and UI did not age well, it is in…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is my addiction!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a unique game. You get to build up each planet economies, have space battles and fight on the planets when an enemy fleet lands. Loads of fun!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sure it was a good game for its time but just to old for me.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Absolute groundbreaker back in its day, really setting the standars. Huge ambition way ahead of its time. Overall an excellent strategy game and more than that. Must try this classic at least once.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An Oldie but Goldie. Advice for early on: Build a Colony Hub ASAP, Focus on Building your Economics (largely leave taxes "Moderate" and make the Planets attractive(High Morale) with Churches, Bars, Recreation Centers, and Police), then work on commerce (Trader Spaceports, Banks) and when you are able to Weapons and Research. A good Offence is the Best Defense (just remember that most fleets are faster than you so you may only get 1 space/fleet battle to before you have to defend your…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Still love this game! Shame that they sold it to someone who wrecked it...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great space RTS from 1997 and works fine. Sadly it only has the singe-player campaign (as the original), but would love to see a skirmish and/or multi in this one. But it's still OK, especially for that price (5€).
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the first game I ever played on a PC growing up. I can remember the days when I was sat there on the computer using windows 95 and DOS to play this game. This game still remains a classic to me and is the longest running game which I have not managed to complete, thats right 20 years and I have not managed to complete it once.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is my favorite 4x game of all time.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the best old gems among strategy, and i love that i can play it without all the fuss with dos... There are some bugs yes, but Im encountering them less than in a new game.... The way the animation is done is brilliant, no wonder there as its hungarian made :P It is even more fun for me that I did play it long time ago. I can only recommend.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game still rocks :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the greatest games of the past. Simple, fun, easy to learn and provides endless hours of entertainment. A must have for any and every gamer, young and old.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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