The expansion, Invasion of the Ancients, offers a whole new threat to your sector in terms of a new enemy. The Ancients are big ol' ships that can really lay the hammer down. We only saw one Ancient during the games we played, and while we did manage to take off a chunk of its health, it reduced our operatives to cosmic dust without any issue. The Guild ended up losing way too much cash as we threw ourselves at a superior foe, and as a result we ended up losing the game.
Are you bleeding from the eyes yet?
That's just scratching the surface of Drox Operative. I could go on about your ship's stats, how upgrades work, all of the equipment you can use, utilizing propaganda and rumors, all of the different interactable items on the maps, status effects, and on and on and on. But, this is a review. For those of you still with me, I know why you guys are still reading this.
Is this game any good?
Yes. Yes it is.
Drox Operative is complicated, and a lot of the systems in game aren't explained. Despite wandering around the galaxy like a clueless idiot (and losing several games), I still felt engaged with what was going on. Solving quests, building relationships with different factions, and eventually bringing order to a sector were all very gratifying experiences I'd have trouble finding anywhere else.
One complaint I do have is the speed of the ships. Though you can find better Ramjet Drives that increase your speed, it still seemed too slow to me. I never played to max level, so there may be some pretty sick engines out there that really make your vessel haul.
Co-op is pretty much a mandatory for me.. The sectors are fairly large and traversing the pathways takes a while. It’s important not only to have someone to chat with while you’re flying to your next objective, but if the both of you are new to Drox Operative it’s important to share information. Quests and faction relations are shared so you can be exploring an undiscovered system while your buddy hunts down an objective, and both of you receive the credit. You can play off of each others strengths by equipping different items. I was primarily a laser and fighter guy, so fighters and shields were no problem, but my buddy was super into nukes and plasma beams, ensuring planets and larger ships would go down quickly.
Working together to bring down a superior force made for a much more compelling experience and brought a lot more life to the galaxy. While I was busily spreading rumors among the Fringe, my partner was culling the hideous Dryad tide. When the political stability of the Drakk race shattered, creating a brand new faction known as the Drakk Rebels, we both FTL’d straight into the Rebel’s system and threw them a laser party. You can act as a sole operative dropped into the middle of a sector and start playing political hopscotch, but the infinite darkness of space sure is cold when you’re alone.
Drox Operative sets you into a living sci-fi universe that is your very own playground. The future of the sector is yours to shape. Assisting your allies, building relationships with the other factions, and dismantling an opponent is very satisfying. That final victory screen, though not elaborate in the least, meant my story had been told. UNSC-1177 and Meat Man brought order to a once lawless part of the universe. Maybe they weren't legends, but they ensured a new era of peace for their allies.
Despite the complexity of the whole thing, I had a great time playing Drox Operative. There's a really steep learning curve here, but it's worth it. Leveling up my ship, fighting off pirates, and conquering my enemies were all very gratifying. Drox is a very unique game, and the time I spent here is unlike any experience I've ever had.
Verdict
Co-Op Score
Overall
The Co-Op Experience: Team up with friends with customizable ships in this action/rpg set in space. Battle pirates in deep space for loot, do quests for factions, or go into all out war against superior forces. Manipulate factions into cooperating or turn them against each other.
Co-Optimus game reviews focus on the cooperative experience of a game, our final score graphic represents this experience along with an average score for the game overall. For an explanation of our scores please check our Review Score Explanation Guide.