Niahak's Place

It has been a year or so since I picked up Chaos Galaxy 2. I played it for awhile, but grew tired of the relatively slow pace; I did beat the game once, but I figured I would write up something quick about impressions of it versus the first game. In case it’s relevant, I played CG1 on the Switch and CG2 on the Steam Deck.

Chaos Galaxy 2 is clearly an iteration on the original. That might be a turn-off for some (who might consider its new features more of an “improvement patch” or DLC) but at the relatively low price point I think it’s a reasonable sell. Where the first Galaxy started relatively stable, its sequel takes place a few years later in a much less stable scenario: two imperial vassal factions are rolled into the two largest factions (Regents and Royalists) in a civil war. The other two are nominally independent (Northsky and Southeaven), though weaker. The fully robotic faction, the Omnics, have conquered all of the star systems their former overlords the Mozi order controlled (Mozi still appears as a minor faction without a home planet). In the far north an estranged imperial navy commander has appeared, who refuses to take a side in the war. In the less consolidated south of the map, a Free Stars faction has appeared (Americana if not America-inspired; its officers include Ben Franklin, Teddy Roosevelt, and Amelia Earhart expys).

Each major faction type has new features in the strategic layer, making each playthrough a little more interesting. Some of these were in the original in some form, but most are new. Imperial factions have access to appointments to various posts in the Empire to boost their officers. Omnics get a massive amount of research income and can use it to unlock any unit type they have faced off against in battle. Even the smaller factions have their own abilities: Free Stars can incite rebellion using gold, mercenaries and assassins can take on missions for other factions, and so on.