STAR WARS: Galactic Racer™
STAR WARS: Galactic Racer™
Game
Game2020
Shadow Empire
Developer VR Designs
Shadow Empire is a strategy video game developed by French studio VR Designs and published by Slitherine Software. It combines gameplay from computer wargames and 4X games in a setting of post-apocalyptic conquest. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
278 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy) · newest Nov 1, 2026 · last updated Nov 4, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
76
LovedLoved
188 positive · 59 negative
95% range 70–81%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 188 | 59 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 11 | 1 | 18 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
1,349 of 1,639 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
76% recommend · 179 yes, 57 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 236 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (1,647 of 1,974 positive).
Players praise the game's deep mechanics and unique blend of 4X and wargame elements. [1][2][3] Many reviewers criticize the use of AI-generated art, calling it a downgrade. [4][5][6] Some players note the steep learning curve and sparse documentation. [3][7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [5]
The AI use in the main game and the dlc unironically make the game look worse and ruins the overall experience. If you can get over that, good game. If it ruins your enjoyement, avoid
- [1]
This is THE best game of it's kind. It is a 4X game and it is a true wargame. It can be played as an "up from nothing" start, with the dark and the unknown all around- very 4X and far more thrilling than any other. It can also be played as a wargame where you start out somewhat established, knowing the shape of the world you are in and where your competitors are to be found on the map- very much a wargame and far …
- [3]
A genuinely unique and incredible 4x. It's hard to condense everything into a review, but it combines Dwarf Fortress-tier map and history generators, Grognard-tier logistics and combat systems, and absurdly complex character management and political systems. It's amazing that it all hangs together at all, but it does. The main complaint you'll see, which is legit, is that documentation, tooltips and UI affordances …
- [4]
The game seems great but the use of AI-art disturbs me. I am new to this specific game, and picked it up on a whim as I wanted a roguelike/warfront/society sim and this fit the categories really well. I have been playing it a bit for the last three days and it has been a blast learning the new systems. I actually and honestly really liked the original artstyle the game had pre-AI patch, it had that fantastic crunchy …
- [2]
**Shadow Empire + Oceania DLC – A Love Letter to Hard Sci‑Fi 4X** As someone with roughly 2000 hours sunk into *Hearts of Iron II & III*, a few hundred into *Civ V*, and over 500 hours in *Shadow Empire* itself, I don’t say this lightly: *Shadow Empire* is one of the most compelling, demanding, and rewarding strategy games I’ve ever played. With the *Oceania* DLC, it becomes even better. This is not a game for …
Summarised from 34 of the 266 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 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
76% of the 236 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Shadow Empire. The complaint that keeps coming up: aI-generated art is criticized as inferior. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Shadow Empire received generally favorable reviews from critics, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Joe Fonseca of Wargamer called it "the Alpha Centauri of today, only better" and recommended it fans of 4X games and complex computer wargames. In his review for PC Gamer, Jonathan Bolding wrote, "Ambitious in the extreme, Shadow Empire is a unique sci-fi wargame that's a little lost in its own details." Bolding criticized the game's opaque complexity, which he said made parts of the game seem like a black box. Sin Vega of Rock Paper Shotgun wrote that it is "the best and most compulsively playable serious wargame I've ever played for a solid month."
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 278 · most liked firstThis is THE best game of it's kind. It is a 4X game and it is a true wargame. It can be played as an "up from nothing" start, with the dark and the unknown all around- very 4X and far more thrilling than any other. It can also be played as a wargame where you start out somewhat established, knowing the shape of the world you are in and where your competitors are to be found on the map- very much a wargame and far more thrilling than any other. Yes Grognards, I said this wargame is thrilling.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Imagine you’re a small developer using AI-generated images as placeholders just to keep your project moving forward, and suddenly a swarm of Redditors shows up to downvote your game. Do I personally care for AI art? Not really. Do I think it’s worth downvote bombing someone’s work over? No. That said, charging $40 for a product that relies on AI-generated images? I don’t think that’s justified either.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The AI use in the main game and the dlc unironically make the game look worse and ruins the overall experience. If you can get over that, good game. If it ruins your enjoyement, avoid
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've enjoyed the passion and eccentricity of this game, which makes the decision to go out of the way to replace the endearingly bad art that is so emblematic of the game with incoherent and indistinguishable AI-slop so surprising and hard to understand. This game has long been on my to-do list of games to dive back into when I have proper time to focus on it, but I'm taking it off that list now. If I had known this is the path the game's development would take I would not of bought it back…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazing 4x game, tho I can not recommend this game at all now since the developer has decided to use AI generated artwork. The crude 90s-esque style artwork this game had was much more unique. Thankfully the old artwork is still toggleable, just a shame this probably means all of the new stuff is going to have AI trash instead.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →*sigh* Another day another pointless ideological war fought against indie devs who barely have enough time as is for development. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but keep the review of a game strictly to the merits of the game. Shadow Empire was a unique and innovative game with lots of depth before it used generative AI in assets, and it will be afterwards. Graphics has almost no bearing on a strategy game anyways. If you want flashy human-made graphics go pay $100 for a PDX title and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Shadow Empire is the most divisive 4X strategy game I've played. It's mastery of the genre is on full display, yet has a glaring absence of many qualify of life features. You play as the ruler of a new nation in a fictional post-apocalyptical world. There's just one win condition: conquer. Along the way, you will surround yourself with randomly generated leaders akin to Crusader Kings Paradox games. These leaders have deeply intricate character sheets breaking down attributes, traits, and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →**Shadow Empire + Oceania DLC – A Love Letter to Hard Sci‑Fi 4X** As someone with roughly 2000 hours sunk into *Hearts of Iron II & III*, a few hundred into *Civ V*, and over 500 hours in *Shadow Empire* itself, I don’t say this lightly: *Shadow Empire* is one of the most compelling, demanding, and rewarding strategy games I’ve ever played. With the *Oceania* DLC, it becomes even better. This is not a game for players looking for instant gratification or slick presentation. It *is* a game for…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've been a fan of this studio since Advanced Tactics Gold, so it's extremely disapointing to see that the devs have decided to fill this game with AI "artwork". The art assets they used before were crude, but they were effective in telling the story of the world. The AI slop in the game now looks terrible, and even if it did look great, AI is essentially a theft machine fed by unpaid artists, so it is still morally questionable. I am aware the AI art is toggleable, but I really doubt the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a great 4x game if you like your game mechanics deep. I have zero issue with AI art (especially with smaller studios who work with limited budgets), which seems to be driving a recent spate of bad reviews.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Looked better without the AI. The option to remove it still doesn't inspire confidence.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Liked this game a lot, and still really do it, you probably can't find another game like it, which makes it an even bigger shame that the dev has abandoned their original artstyle and now uses ♥♥♥♥♥♥ ai slop to promote their game and the upcoming dlc
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ruined by AI slop. You can toggle it off but judging by developer responses, the game is going to get more awful AI content in the future. Developer diaries even talk about introducing LLMs into the AI decision making in game. Such a shame.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I preferred the old janky sprites over the newer AI slop sprites. They are painfully obvious. Edit: Apparently you are able to revert back to the old sprites, which is good, I was unable to find it at first because it's in the main menu not the normal settings menu.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A genuinely unique and incredible 4x. It's hard to condense everything into a review, but it combines Dwarf Fortress-tier map and history generators, Grognard-tier logistics and combat systems, and absurdly complex character management and political systems. It's amazing that it all hangs together at all, but it does. The main complaint you'll see, which is legit, is that documentation, tooltips and UI affordances are sparse. But, once you've spent the several dozen hours to get acquainted,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Stuffing the game with AI slop this far along in its lifetime is really frustrating. If it was there to begin with we could make the choice to avoid the game or not, instead it's patched in and we're blindsided with unethical rubbish.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I think switching over to AI art was a big mistake by the developer. Especially since the AI generated art isn't very good. However, you can turn it off. The core game itself is a deep and difficulty strategy game, and worth getting on that basis.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game seems great but the use of AI-art disturbs me. I am new to this specific game, and picked it up on a whim as I wanted a roguelike/warfront/society sim and this fit the categories really well. I have been playing it a bit for the last three days and it has been a blast learning the new systems. I actually and honestly really liked the original artstyle the game had pre-AI patch, it had that fantastic crunchy old school asthetic to it, and it had so much more soul than the new lifeless…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is fun and I've spent a lot of time playing it. The complaints about AI are overblown given that the dev is one person. Games have used procedural generation for years, this is just the next iteration of it. The few images that look off are getting patched out, and the actual gameplay is still great regardless. Give it a chance.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I enjoy the game. The use of AI is meh, it can be turned off. I do prefer the older/"uglier" art designs as they had a character of their own. I never played this game because of it's amazing artwork, I played it because of the intense complex nature of it. If this was something like CIV made by huge corporations using AI instead of hiring I would be against it, but seeing this game's development since the beginning done by 1? or just a few, I don't think its that large of an issue.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is listed as split-screen pvp, split-screen co-op and split screen. When you dig into the game, this is via file transfer, not a multiplayer option. I dont think these tags are appropriate for this game and are in fact very misleading.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →AI slop art in my favorite strategy game :(. So sad, there is really no need for it and there are some many talented people that would be able to do better for such a small amount of money relative to the work. I'm sure there are fans of the game that would love to contribute their art as well. Instead people are using generative AI to steal artists work and make slop.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Games for People who Love Dwarf Fortress | Nookrium Youtube - (Invidious link). > Happy 20th Birthday, Dwarf Fortress. These are 16 Games that scratch that DF itch. Nookrium is great! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d5B8kqB0GA ::: spoiler list 0:31 - Songs of Syx store.steampowered.com/app/1162750/Songs_of_Syx/ 1:24 - RimWorld store.steampowered.com/app/294100/RimWorld/ 1:57 - Going Medieval store.steampowered.com/app/1029780/Going_Medieval/ 2:24 - KeeperRL…
neutral · AI labelView post →Going to give a positive review to counteract the recent mixed review score. Starting with the obvious: This game is not for everyone. It is made for a small audience of people who enjoy complexity and know the dwarf fortess motto "losing is fun". The new DLC has made it much more "fun", as it introduced anti-snowballing mechanics to maintain difficulty through the whole game. This makes it so that frustration is guaranteed unless you REALLY know what you are doing. About the game: This…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Personally I think VR Designs should triple their AI budget so long as it keeps filtering redditors. Absolute gem of a game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of my favorite games. I love just how unique this game is and how fun it can be. No other game can have you going from Stomping raiders to being stomp by mutant hordes from the poles. To fighting for every scrap of metal and oil on a young world. Then next game you're fighting your war through a jungle world that humans can't breathe on, trying to keep sky scrapper sized Aliens from demolishing your already ruined capital. A genuinely good game. My problem is the Generated art. It…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really wish I could recommend this to others but I just can't. After many hours, and plenty of research and failed games, I have learned how to play and found myself enjoying the game. The game scratches a real itch for me and allows you to rebuild your own nation from the ruins of a Galactic apocalypse on a random planet. It's very detailed to a fault and there's a big learning curve. The game is not user friendly at all, the UI is horrible, the reports you have to sift through can be…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's like Dwarf Fortress but for strategy map game spreadsheet autists. Don't expect to win, you are going to lose and struggle and through that you will learn and find satisfaction in the chaos. Getting close to 200 hours now and I still don't know how to stop my logistics points from vanishing every round. Fight wildlife, fight raiders, fight rebels, fight the planet, fight yourself, but don't even think about fighting other nations unless you really have a death wish. There is a manual…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really like the concept of the game and enjoyed hours of it. But I'm tired of fighting it's buggy logistic system. Phantom pulls from dismantled supply bases. A "dead end" road will ignore traffic signs for no apparent reason and the fix is adding a side road so it's a "crossroads" instead of a straight road. My unit crossed a road and was still in direct pickup range of it's SHQ and was considered out of supply. So apparently you can't have any loops in your roads at all or it totally…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game, not sure what else to say. One of those games that is extremely off putting at first but once you dive into it a 100 or so hours, it really grows on you. It rewards mastery. I see a lot of people recently complained about "AI slop" (WRT artwork) but you are free to turn it off, literally an option to revert back to the original non-AI art and the designer was clear about that. Lot of people complain about the UI, learning curve, etc BUT it's literally a grand strategy game, the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →good game but bad balancing/settings, doesnt matter what settings you pick, 90% of the time you're gonna be placed adjacent to game ending fauna in the first 5 turns or empires that out tech you by turn 20 cutting off your borders so you're trapped in a corner, forced to reload and gen new planets over and over. When the game works its great, but sadly most games get binned
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Been playing Shadow Empire on and off and I am really enjoying it so far. The setup grabbed me pretty quick. You’re basically in charge of a small struggling nation, on some wrecked planet, trying to build it back up. It sounds grim and it very much is, but that’s kind of the appeal. I like that you start with almost nothing and just have to figure it out from there. The planet can be wildly different each time, which keeps things interesting. An airless moon or a jungle filled green gem with…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played a few campaigns and here are my complaints: 1) The political system seems to have some depth, but the base game locks you into following the same idealogies the entire game. It would be much more enjoyable if there was a strategic reason to switch and it was feasible to do so. However, switching mid game will likely summersault your empire into massive rebellion and quite possibly defeat. It's like a character build you are locked into. The game invites you to change it, but doing so…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The new AI generated graphics are a complete travesty and waste of time. I will never again pay for anything made by Vic.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Another good game ruined by AI Slop
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →a turn-based 4X wargame at it's best from a great developer that's still be developed and improved and added to still to this day from the power house of VR Designs
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A game of unlimited potential sullied by the use of AI generated slop where none was needed. It breaks my heart that I can no longer enjoy a game that I am constantly thinking about.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Shadow Empires is amazing. Insanely crazy good 4x. One of those indie games you discover, is made by just one guy, and is that person's singular vision and passion wrapped into a cool product. Easy 9/10, could be 10/10 if the next military DLC hits and maybe they fix diplo a little. What is it: SE is a scifi 4x game, blended with a WWII hex-and-counter wargame. There is also a lot of procedural worldgen, which is the first shining star of the game. You live on a planet settled by the Galactic…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →That's what I call an artisanal indie game. A true testament to human ingenuity. Even AI genned imagery(which is oftentimes sloppa of a highest order and indicate laziness on dev's part) here is curated and edited to fit very well thematically and overall doesn't stick like a sore thumb. Absolute brilliance. Although the UI could use work. The economy info should be in one tab and the resources on the left panel should give you the necessary info on how many were produced and consumed without…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the deepest, intricate and thought out grand strategy games that has unfortunately doubled down on AI use. It's everywhere in game from end turn image recaps to the horror show that is leader portraits. Once upon a time I would recommend this game to anyone and unfortunately I'll never pick up the DLCs, not that you would want to anyways as for 12 Canadian dollars you get an ocean update with NO NAVAL SUPPORT!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Possibly the best sci-fi turn based grand strategy game. It's complex, it takes a long to learn, and even more to be able to play "decently", but it's immensely deep, and it blends rebuilding your planet after the galactic annhilation war, handling all your leaders and factions, and waging war against the other regimes, as well as against the planet itself if it is inhabited.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Interface is near impossible to figure out. Help is useless as it doesnt cover the things you need to know at start of game like why you cant build dirt roads or how to manage Industrial Points which apparently aren't displayed anywhere. Even exiting the game is a challenge. Avoid unless you want to spend hours just figuring out how to play. There is a PDF available online but it also ignores important information (like why does game keep telling me I have no SHQ when building roads? how to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Started using crappy AI instead of the old art or hiring an artist, kinda harshes the vibe and implies using AI junk code is an option
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It used to be an interesting, if a bit clunky game. Now it's AI slop. Depressing, frankly.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The gameplay is a very good and deep 4x wargame, has amazing systems and is very fun to play. But i dont really plan on playing it anymore or buying the new dlc with the AI art :( was really disappointed when i saw the AI warning. Im giving it a No on reccomedation, i could not see myself showing this to people i know dispite the good gameplay due to most people i know hating gen-AI enough to not touch something with it in it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazingly deep strategy game. Every turn has important information to engage with and every map can be unique from the amazing planet gen engine. Must play.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As someone who has played rts, grand strategy and 4x game my whole life I have to say no other games even comes close to what this game has to offer. It scratches that itch of managing a nation through endless struggles and problems to solve with endless replay ability. The game has a fairly large learning curve so I recommend watching youtube tutorials and playthroughs. Also Google, google, google! Curious about something google it. Learning the game is half the fun and coming to an…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nah man, this game is clunky as hell.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I find all the recent reviews regarding AI art by the moronic bleating sheep who regurgitate other people's rage clickbait repackaged as their own opinions to be disgraceful. Try thinking your own thoughts. This is probably my favorite 4x of all time. It provides the tabletop Hex and counter war game feel to scratch that tactical itch, the Gathering of resources and the puzzle of where to apply them to grow your economy, and to the delicate balancing act of providing Logistics to satisfy all…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There are just no games out there like that, great blend of 4x and wargame in the post-apocalypse setting. Mechanics and simulations are deep, there is a great immersion and replayability. I am still finding something new even after so many hours of play. AI opponents in my opinion were improved a lot over a few recent years, and can make you sweat. Overall, very satisfied with the constant development of the game, and it seems a lot of goodies are on their way. Solid for multiplayer experience…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Extremely good game, and the AI use isn't that bad. What matters is that it's an extremely good 4x game with deep mechanics you won't find anywhere else.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First Impressions after 45 minutes (there are more below): 1) There is a 3 hour fan-made youtube tutorial that I am fairly certain I have to drag myself through just to get the gameplay basics down. 2) The UI is super overwhelmingly cluttered. Hence the need for the tutorial before even feeling ready to play. 3) BUT, I did try opening the game and was immediately blown away by how UNREADABLE the fonts are! 4) There are discussions in the forums about how bad the fonts are, and the dev…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't mind jank UI if the systems are good, but AI is completely lobotomized and there is zero progression for minor factions. Also oceania DLC is quite bad
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Ai Slop has made Shadow Empire Painful too play as I am left constantly feeling bad due to the theft of people hard work for a collection of souless images. Thou the gameplay is rough it is still fun. I am truly sadded by the developers choices.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A fine game that combines the best of strategy wargames which takes a few defeats to understand its excellent qualities. Its a blending of Crusader Kings, Hearts of Iron and Decisive Campaigns and it works just right. So get it and enjoy hours of strategy gaming.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the best 4x games i played. The concept is very ambitious. Behind the horrible (but very functional) interface lies one of the most immersive games. It pulls of real complexity - the emergent gameplay that comes from troops, territory, zones, resources, politics is very elegant, onece you get the hang of it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of my all-time favorite games. Unparalleled in the 4x genre for its depth of world generation, roleplaying potential, and endless replayability. Fantastic game. 9.3/10, with continued support and development even after way over delivering on price. Simply one of the most fun turn based strategy games you will ever play. Relatively easy to learn for the genre, almost impossible to master, will ALWAYS leave you coming back for more. Some of my favorite campaign playthroughs all of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bought this before I started looking for generative "AI" in games that catch my eye. And now instead of replacing the generated pictures with real art they added even more slop. Would refund it if I could.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really enjoying the game, love the depth and setting. The AI art is perfectly fine for an indie developer, and I think all of the hate is unwarranted. Update: I have followed this game for ages and finally picked it up. It has absolutely sucked me in. It is a nice blend of: Crusader Kings court management (directors factions, ideology mgt), meets sim city, meetings Civ IV all having a bastard child with Hearts of Iron. Just the child resulting in an orgy from some of my favorite games of all…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gonna drop a positive review to support the dev. The ai art negative reviews gloss over the fact its a togglable option and personally, I like the diversity and don't think they look bad. About the game itself, genuinely one of a kind with the amazing world generation, in depth simulations of multiple mechanics, super fleshed out factions/politics/beliefs/etc, and top notch warfare. A great 4x game combining amazing elements from all games of this genre with complex population and economy…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.
