Base game is 80% off on Steam atm; £1.85 for me.
Though DLCs are only discounted if you buy them bundled; -10% for Deluxe(2xDLC), or -15% for Legendary(all 4 DLC).
If you already own the base game then you aren't charged for it again when buying the bundles, so you're only out of pocket a few pennies if you opt to give the base game a try before investing in the DLC.
:edit:
Gotta be honest, 2 hours in and I'm bored.
For what is touted to be lightweight, both the strategic layer & tactical layer seem unnecessarily slow & drawn-out.
Why is the galaxy map so big?
Why do the factions start so far from one-another?
Why are players limited to a single action per turn?
Why is there no drag&drop for giving orders?
Why aren't there any keyboard shortcuts?
Why are all the star systems so miniscule & generic looking?
Specific to the tactical combat:
Many actions are blocked by unskippable animations.
The tactical decision making process seems very rote; order your actions so you don't block your ships, focus fire, choose appropriate anti-shield/armour weapons, position your support ability ships correctly.
Planning your manoeuvres so you can utilize your fixed-forward weapons efficiently seems to be the most complex decision, but it's still rather simplistic.
This simplicity leads to every battle playing out the same; it gets very stale very quickly.
It's typically bad decisions by the AI, not finessing your own play, that delivers most victories.
Also, turn-based, largely deterministic, yet there's no undo to reverse mis-clicks? not a fan.
The vast majority of battles seem to be landslides, yet the way they've made the auto-resolve woolly and unpredictable, and the finite nature of galactic resources, encourages the player to play out every battle to ensure optimal outcomes.
The evolution of the Total War franchise over the past 20+ years has demonstrated how to do auto-resolve well; this isn't it.
If they wanted to deliver engaging turn-based tactical combat I think they should've gone for something more akin to Table Top X-Wing, or Battlefleet Gothic, (or the ancient PC game Critical Mass; look it up!),
- Lose the grid
- make manoeuvring a key consideration
- introduce battle damage mechanics so ships can lose capabilities in combat forcing the player to adapt their strategy on-the-fly (could even persist between engagements)
- give us some space terrain
- Admirals & captains would've brought some much needed character to 'battlecruiser #20', and seems like a natural fit given the strict fleet size/number limits.
It's a swing & a miss for me I'm afraid.
Not engaging enough, and too repetitive.