I have been playing spore for a long while, but it was only now when I really got back into it and tried it on GOG. Definitely would recommend buying it here over Steam! However, I would say that this game isn't for everyone. I have a little summary on the stages below if you wish to read and see if it's a good game for you: The game in itself isn't made for everyone, but it can be fun if you try out new things! Hard mode can be kind of rediculous with everything they toss at you but that at least follows the concept of that mode...but it's not so great when you are starting the first stage and can't find food before you are swarmed by a whole lot of larger, carnivorous cells that can two-shot you. The creature stage is what I personally argue is the best and most iconic for the game. You can make some pretty neat creatures, or horrifying abominations of nature! It's incredibly fun finding those new parts to fully evolve into the best creature for the run you are trying to pull off. No real complaints aside from migration sometimes being a pain if you have hostile creatures down most of the route to the new nest. Tribal is mostly you either demolishing everyone or throwing gift baskets at everyone in the area until you can exploit enough food to last you the entire stage. Now, I would say from the Tribal stage to the Space Exploration stage is where you either love the game or hate it. You can no longer evolve, and you have to do some quick actions or you'll pretty much be soft-locked in the civilization stage if you act too slow and another nation takes the whole map. And Space?...I am not quite sure about it personally, not my cup of tea. But, if you enjoy exploration and colonization of other planets and a bit of micro-managing? Go for it! There's likely more I haven't seen about it. Overall, Spore for me would be a solid 4 Stars. You can play it differently and try different things, so I would say it's worth the money if that's what you enjoy doing.
