ENDLESS Legend 2 Demo Impressions for Steam

developed by AMPLITUDE Studios and published by Hooded Horse

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ENDLESS Legend 2 is the upcoming 4x strategy game and sequel to ENDLESS Legend, which I never played.

4 those not in the know, the 4 x’s stand for eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate. And when I say “those not in the know,” I include myself. I’ve played one other 4x game, also by Hooded Horse, and both times it has felt a little intimidating, like taking a test that I didn’t study for.

That being said, the publisher is Hooded Horse, a name I associate with quality and addiction. So when I saw their logo stamped on ENDLESS Legend 2, I knew I had to Dust off my old college-ruled notebook and give it my best shot.

And, well, the adage is true, “Hold on to your Hooded Horses, this is gonna be good”…I think Mark Twain said that.

Story

The story of Saiadha is one that I can only guess at, mainly because the devs have only released the first ~90 moves of the game, but it definitely has something to do with the fact that the seas are receding in tidefall events. This environmental anomaly is revealing the ancient ruins of a lost civilization. It’s a setup that lends itself to eXploration since the map is constantly changing.

Within this overarching mystery are the various inhabitants of Saiadha, or factions, each with its own story and objective. This is where the eXpansion, eXploitation, and eXtermination come in. Each faction is trying to strengthen their foothold on the land, though they all have different ways of going about it.

Gameplay

I have played through the demo…+12 times now, alternating as the Kin of Sheredeyn, the Ascent, and the Necrophage. Each playable faction pushed me to think and play in radically different ways. Their goals, personalities, and even the ethical lens through which they see the world are distinct enough that I found myself adjusting not just my strategy, but also my roleplaying. For example, I don’t consider myself a bloodthirsty person, but swarming and swallowing like a horde of locusts is pretty much the only way you can approach the Necrophage. We always hunger.

To really talk about the gameplay, I would want to devote an entire review to each faction, but since I do have a deadline, I’ll try to stick to the general statements that can be made about the game as a whole. And, it only makes sense to tackle this according to XXXX.

Exploration

As mentioned, at intervals, mysterious “tidefall” events cause the seas of Saiadha to recede, revealing new stretches of hexagonal terrain. What begins as a disparate set of islands slowly transforms into a unified Pangea (this b don’t know about Pangea? Brain, leave it alone). Each tidefall uncovers new dungeons, resources, and ruins to investigate. As well as new land to claim in the holy name of Garin (or the coral, or the hive queen).

This system is more than just aesthetic flair—it’s Amplitude’s answer to a long-standing 4X problem: how to keep exploration engaging once most of the map has been revealed. The result is that exploration doesn’t end with the opening turns; it remains an ongoing challenge throughout the game. It also means that what once seemed like a safe, defensible position to found your city might suddenly be exposed to attack when the ocean pulls away.

Of course, my own experience began much more chaotically. In my first few playthroughs, I simply let my armies auto-explore, which only compounded my confusion as I lost track of quests and resources. Later, I refined my approach by bulking up my units before sending most of them to roam on autopilot, keeping one under my direct control. That balance let me actively pursue new objectives while still gathering the materials needed to expand. It turned what initially felt like aimless wandering into a deliberate colonization.

Exploitation

If exploration is about discovery, exploitation is about turning that discovery into something profitable. Expanding settlements unlocks side quests but also increases the need for essential resources like food, science, production, influence, and Dust.

To be quite frank, exploitation is the feature I understand the least at this point, despite 15+ hours in-game. Everything I am about to say is 50% research, 50% best guess.

First, I can tell that each faction has tools to strip tiles of resources; for example, Necrophage consumes them outright, while the Ascent chops down forests, but these actions take several turns. Now, whether this actually contributes to your nation’s overall standing, I have no idea. But I do know that the only time I actually achieved victory, I had two dedicated legions who were just chopping down every piece of wood I could find.

Second, building Foundations around your city appears to allow you to take advantage of the resources on said tile. I think, but have no idea, that the district you build on the tile can amplify or take advantage of these resources as well? For example, if I build a Dust District on a tile with Dust, that does something…right?

Expansion

Exploration and exploitation (whatever it is) are necessary for expansion. You will need to plop down a new camp, burrow, or coral spore on new territories, just to make sure everyone knows you own it.

The fundamentals of expansion are seemingly straightforward, claim a new territory by spending influence and a turn, then evolve/attach that territory to a City, which allows you to build more foundations, and more districts, and potentially to be able to exploit more resources?

Where I get confused is whether there are any additional benefits to expanding. The game seems to indicate that building new burrows allows for the Necrophage to move faster across the map. I pictured that as the legions teleporting from my main capital to whatever outpost I wanted to send them to, but this does not appear to be the case. But, it is clear that the Ascent can move faster when they are travelling over coral growths and can even walk on water as long as the coral is present. I’m not sure if my confusion about this feature is my own inexperience or just the fact that so little of the game has been released to my greedy hands, but I’m not mad that I don’t understand. In fact, it is the game’s complexity that has kept me returning for so many hours.

Even without fully understanding the who, what, when, where, why, and how, the act of expanding, seeing my little flag over more and more territories, is satisfying. I particularly liked founding a new city right next to one of the other factions. Like literally the hexagon next door. It feels pleasantly passive-aggressive.

Extermination

This was the X I thought I would get the least out of. I’m usually a very kind and gentle soul. But ENDLESS Legend 2 has a way of just sort of nudging me in that direction. It also helps that the combat system offers instant dopamine by allowing you to know the outcome of the battle before it starts.

The Necrophage in particular brought out the hungrier side of me. Their armies thrive on meat, and well, I have to feed the troops, so what better way to do that than by offering them the corpses of our enemies. I mean, it’s basically like foraging for mushrooms.

Combat allows for as much customization and choice as the rest of the game. You can choose to get an Instant Resolution, have a Manual Battle, or even have the computer play out both teams. Personally, I found that engaging in a Manual Battle could help even the odds if I was slightly underpowered. If, say, my legion had a total combined strength of 114, and the enemy was around 120, even if the Instant Resolution option said Defeat, I could sometimes pull a draw or even a victory out of my pocket by using the Manual Battle features.

With my whole chest, I loudly proclaim/admit that I was reloading saves whenever I was defeated.

Lol, this is a tactic I almost never rely on. And as a traditional RPG gamer, I don’t usually have to, since a defeat usually means death and an automatic reload anyway. But my ego was getting so wrapped up in my legion’s ability to dominate that if I encountered a stronger foe, I’d reload, adjust my strategy, and then re-engage until I was successful. I will also acknowledge that this play style came out after several playthroughs where I kept losing the game. The demo only allows for ~90 turns, so each move felt too valuable to waste.

Overall

ENDLESS Legend 2 is everything I didn’t know I wanted. It is like dating against your usual type and finding your soul mate. I was confused, overwhelmed, and my eyes hurt from squinting at the screen, but I knew I had struck gold, so I couldn’t walk away.

Each faction’s storyline unfolds in a way that encourages curiosity, nudging you to experiment with different approaches and to see how the larger mystery of Saiadha connects back to your chosen people. Thematically, there’s a mix of grandeur and grit: civilizations rise and clash, but under it all lies a sense of fragility, as though everyone is scrabbling for survival in a changing world.

If there’s a weakness, it’s that some arcs, like the Ascent, feel harder to grasp strategically, at least in the demo state. But even there, the struggle adds to the fun: I don’t yet know what I’m missing, and that’s part of what keeps me coming back. The blend of faction-specific storytelling and overarching myth makes ENDLESS Legend 2 feel like stepping into a living saga where your choices genuinely shape the outcome.

AMPLITUDE hasn’t even produced an entire game, and I’m already predicting it to be one of my top five for 2025.

Releasing to Early Access on Steam on September 22, 2025, ENDLESS Legend 2 is a great addition to anyone who already likes 4x, and a great entry for anyone who hasn’t tried them yet.

Related: Reviews by Michelle Jones

Michelle Jones

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I'm a completionist gamer who just needs to find that one last object and clear that final dungeon. I love all video games, from open world sandboxes on a console to a mindless match three on my phone. In addition to gaming and writing, I am a graduate student working on a thesis about the ancient Icelandic Sagas. Feel free to ask me anything about Vikings.