- Review by: Brian Schell
- Product: Stellaris
- Creator: Paradox Interactive (https://www.paradoxplaza.com/)
- System: Windows, Mac, Linux
- Buy a Steam key through Humble Bundle (https://www.humblebundle.com/store/stellaris?partner=bschell)
Stellaris was originally released in 2016, and is still getting new DLC released regularly, with newest expansion, Stellaris: Apocalypse, released just last week. The game involves Earth just as it begins its exploration of space. The initial game involves mining and exploring the solar system, but you can get through that in a matter of minutes. Soon, you find yourself exploring Alpha Centauri and Barnard's Star, two nearby solar systems, and then branching out further and further into the galaxy.
Along the way, you send science ships to investigate anomalies, construction vessels to manufacture starbases and mining outposts, and soon, colony ships that carry "pops" (population) to habitable worlds. Once you have a habitable world, you decide what the planet focuses on in the way of production and resources, and you need to build appropriate ground structures to make that most efficiently.
Somewhere along the way, you'll make first contact with neighboring alien races, pirates, and strange unknown influences. You decide whether to be cooperative, friendly, or hostile, and of course, the aliens will respond appropriately.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, your leaders hold elections, come up with new directives, and play politics that you need to take into account as your resources are diverted and borders open and close. You recruit and train scientists, leaders, and military personnel then train them in fields you desire.
If this sounds like a lot going on at the same time, you'd be right. The game is immensely deep, and it's easy to see how you could get into a rabbit hole of economics, politics, and research, while trying to stay alive long enough to explore just one more star system or research one more technology. You can hit the "pause" button and micro-manage all of this if you want, or you can ignore a lot of it and just explore the galaxy.
There are many Wikis and tutorials available on the net. The main instruction guide is the Wiki page at https://stellaris.paradoxwikis.com/Stellaris_Wiki, but you can pick up an awful lot just by playing through the tutorial mission. The basics are easily picked up, and before long you catch on to how things work. It is complex, but it's also intuitive enough that a lot of the tiny details can be learned later.
The graphics are impressive. The various solar systems each have a unique flavor to them, and the galactic map is impressive in its size and scope. hundreds of actual, detailed star systems and thousands of worlds await exploration. The combat, while rare early on, is fun to watch as the ships circle each other and shoot missiles and lasers at each other while starbases lob weapons at them from their stationary positions. You can zoom in to watch two ships hit each other back and forth, or you can zoom out to see the entire star system in one screen. Click on the galaxy map to get the large-scale strategic picture.
Bottom line: If you like large-scale, complex strategy games (ala Civilization in space), this is a great choice!
Pick up Stellaris: Galaxy Edition with tons of extras! (https://www.humblebundle.com/store/stellaris-galaxy-edition?partner=bschell)
Leave a Reply