The gameplay and core mechanics are nearly identical to its predecessor Distant Worlds, with the main differences being: a shift from a strictly top down 2D perspective to a 3D point of view, the removal of orbital mechanics, the default automation of previously manual actions, and various UI changes to improve accessibility to the game (although in function they remain nearly identical).

The game can be automated to take care of micromanagement or systems that players find tedious, such as ship design, research, or war.

[8] Sin Vega of Rock Paper Shotgun wrote that the game has "a lot of potential" but needs work balancing and patching bugs before it can be wholeheartedly recommended.

[4] Writing for PC Gamer, Fraser Brown called the game "an elaborate space opera as interested in minutiae as it is with the big picture".

[3] Comparing the game's ability to be automated to an ant farm, Wargamer reviewer Matt Bassil wrote, "The individual parts are functional, but the whole is quite spectacular.