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Notes -
Have you tried any roguelikes/lites? Easier to just get one to couple of runs in when you feel like it and then do something else. You don't have to stay super engaged for extended periods of time.
Hmm.. I have played several, though the names elude me. I didn't particularly like Risk of Rain (2?), I did like Hades, but once again, a few hours of fun, then I got distracted and never picked it up again.
You may like Starsector.
It's basically "mount and blade in space" but with an incredibly well designed and tight gameplay loop for the 2D ship to ship combat.
The mod scene is also exceptional (Nexerilin is basically a DLC that massively improves the game by making it a 4x-lite). Although filled with unbelievable amounts of discord drama (totally ignorable, but hilarious).
Your allied ship AI is quite stupid, but my god it's so fun to space battle.
You can also get a free CD key from the Sseth review video (meme-y video game review channel) if you want to try it, developer approved as he's a very chill guy.
I have played Starsector, but only in the most technical sense. I booted it up once, did 5 minutes of the tutorial and then got sidetracked. Surprisingly, the reason I tried it was because I saw that mod you mentioned in an overview video, and wanted to learn the ropes before diving into the modded experience. I'll try and get back into it for good!
Definitely play vanilla first just so you get a sense of what the game is like, just enough that you can win fights against evenly matched up fleets up until mid-game so you don't suck and don't get overwhelmed
Then get into mods and it'll be less overwhelming
I hate vanilla purists though, I recommend getting QoL and UI mods immediately
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