As the Last Lords, I've been trying out the mechahumans before this and got simply.. uh sorry. But a little bored.

Last Lords was more fun since I could buyout an army and get things done a lot quicker while avoiding the game to end too soon. But after the final score victory at last turn I felt empty tbh.

I don't think it is the victory conditions themselves that got me a little bored, I also really enjoy the battles, they are far more engaging and interesting than what they were in the first game. No, I think it is the UI and the fact it took time to figure out how to do simple things such as Round up minor faction pops etc. The time I had to invest into even getting to find solutions shouldn't be this complicated. Ofc, this is an early access just to find out stuff like this.

Another issue I found out was how city management felt like a chore instead of a fun powerboost for your faction. There are like a 100+ city improvements but they are barely making an impact until later in the game when it becomes an avalanche of bonuses.

Personally I would prefer a more powerful impact early on for decisions on the city while leaving the super-impact to add up with boons or something similar like how it worked in Endless Space 2. Its odd to me how endless space 2 felt more clean in PLANET wide management than City for this game.

It is just my personal experience though, I am fully aware that 4x games can have different pacing and no one has to be closer to another one in the design to be considered successful, as long as the majority of customers are happy.