The future of Elite Dangerous is exciting. This is a complete game; you can buy it right now and have a full experience without feeling like anything is missing. This was not entirely true until the Horizons expansion, which added several game play elements including planetary landing which is absolutely critical to completing the Elite experience. I can’t stress enough the importance of opting in for the expansions as they become available, but the meat is there, even if what they are promising seems hopelessly lofty (Walking around on populated planets with inhabited cities and hunting wild game? I’ll believe it when I see it - and I’m not sure it’s really necessary.) The model of smaller updates combined with major expansions to add continual layers to Elite works despite criticisms of a fairly demanding pricing model.
Elite Dangerous is an investment if you buy into it and enjoy what it offers, which is an experience that is really like no other. Star Citizen has made big promises, but until there is an official release of some sort on the direct horizon, Elite Dangerous is the current reigning champion of the space trucker simulation for better or worse, even if it will only ever attract a small yet fierce following of enthusiastic commanders.
I am one of them, certainly. But I’d never recommend Elite; not directly. If you have looked at it and said “it seems boring”, “it’s a spreadsheet simulator” or “I just don’t get what is appealing about it”, you will probably never be won over by the game in its current state. But if you read up on the planets for fun, enjoy movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Interstellar, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, or Moon, or find the idea of hauling cargo from system to system and maybe getting in the odd fight along the way appealing, there is very little else out there like Elite Dangerous. I'm highly recommending it despite the tedium in its game play and the long periods of time you will spend just looking at stars/reading stuff on a screen. It is a beautiful, one of a kind experience that I cherish, one of my favourite games in the last few years, and the PlayStation 4 release is no exception.
9 - SUPERB
A hallmark of excellence. There may be flaws, but they are negligible and won't cause massive damage.