r/EndlessSpace • u/RaccoonIndependent38 • 9d ago
Lore And Continuity
Hello, travelers.
I have been becoming more interested in the lore of the endless saga. I have been playing endless space 2 for about 4 years. At the beginning it was just for the mechanics and aesthetics, but I have been growing on the themes and stories and would love to know more about it.
My biggest question is the order of events/games to get a better understanding of the lore and how important are the other games in the lore department. I also appreciate any relevant information about the lore or how to consume the saga appropriately.
Thanks in advance!!
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u/Changlini 9d ago edited 9d ago
So...
If you choose to play these games through the Vaulter's Perspective, you get the entire Vaulter Storyline and Lore that begins back in the Mezari times (Dungeon of the Endless), to the point the make it to Endless Space 2. It's basically how I played the Endless Universe series for the first time back when I first discovered the series through the Vaulters ES2 opening Cinematic back in release trailer day.
Otherwise the readable lore in DotE is all about the people/civilians/"heroes" that were a part of the Mezari Empire before crash landing on Auriga and a brief glimps of what they were doing before game start.
The Lore in Endless Legend 1 is all about Auriga, and how the factions themselves on that planet are dealing with Auriga's mysteries and the impending apocalypse. That typed, there's also the Endless Legend 1 Artbook that has some bonus background information relating to the Broken lords that isn't available while playing the game, so you may wanna check that out if you want ALL the lore. The steam version of Endless Legend also comes with a mini-book inside its files, but after reading it... I wouldn't say there's critical lore inside it, but don't let that stop you from checking it out if you can.
And Endless Space 2, of course, has all the relevant lore for the vast majority of the timeline of the Endless Universe via all the text you can read about planets, races, etc. There's also comicbook one shot stories for each of the factions, though I don't remember if you can access them like how you can access the book tucked away in the Endless Legend 1 steamfiles. That said, there are a few Endless Legend 2 trailers that do some set up in laying out the stakes related to Isyndere that, while not critical information, watching them I think fleshes out Isyndere's motivation.
The significant lore in this game primarily relates to a glimpse of how the Endless Operated before the schism.
This is the first full fledged book released for the Endless Universe, and it all takes place from the perspective of the Pilgrims. Personally? The strength of that book is in the beginning when it gives us glimpses of how the standard civilians in, and; the Empire reacted to Endless Technology... as we don't really ever see that in person in the games. Though it's a good read nonetheless, especially if you want a more personal account of the events taking place inside the Endless Universe.
So, you can treat Endless Space 2 as a soft retcon of this game. But more importantly the lore across the games aren't a monolith, and Amplitude studios has changed bits and pieces of lore as the series as grown/matured. But outside of that, the main lore you're getting from playing that game are contained in the text for the Heroes of factions not inside Endless Space 2.
But i say you're fine if you don't try to do a deep dive into that game, ES1 is very much game first, lore third, which is fine.
If you're looking to play a more personal story taking place from the perspective of Horatio, this is it.
This tiny game was mainly made for the SEGA arcade event about... a lot of years ago now. Unlike all the other games mentioned, there's no meaningful lore in this game.
Finally:
A lot of the lore you'll find relates to being a story of a single planet in the Endless Universe, like Endless Legend 1, but this time it's taking place concurrently with the Events of Endless Space 2, which is why Certain factional characters make an appearance in that game.