I’ve been playing Stellaris for a while now. It is a grand strategy space game, where you take control of a civilization and try to dominate a galaxy. This isn’t too different from other games, like Galactic Civilizations and Master of Orion.
Stellaris has a lot of downloadable content (DLC) and has had several changes over the years. Much like other indie games, some of these changes have been great, while others have changed the game in ways that I don’t like. A few of the early changes to the game watered it down too much for me, but I eventually got used to them.
Games like this are fun to mess around with because of how much is in the game. There are a lot of races, scenarios, and other ways to customize the experience to your playthrough. Since each playthrough is different, I’ll only go over the game in general instead of giving an in-depth explanation of the gameplay.
TLDR: A Fantastic, but Intimidating game to play.
Narrative
There isn’t one overarching narrative for this game. You choose a scenario that you want to play. This provides you with an origin story for your race.
There is a lot of variety in these scenarios, and it acts as a difficulty setting, as you can choose a difficult starting position. Think of it as a supplement to the game’s difficulty and settings. Once you select a scenario to play, the story is all up to the player. You can ignore it or make up your own.
This is one of the best ways to do a game like this. With all the options you have, it would be nearly impossible to come up with a unique story for each of the races. Each scenario presents advantages and disadvantages, and I love that I can use my imagination to come up with a story for all of this.
Gameplay
Stellaris is like other grand strategy games, like the Crusader Kings series, Galactic Civilization, and Europa Universalis. The game can last a very long time, you can customize your experience with it, and it can be a little intimidating for players new to the genre.
When you start, you pick an empire that you want to play, or you can create a new empire. I created a new group, which means I have more control over what I want to do. Here is what you choose when you edit or create a new group:
- Government
- Traits
- Race
- Homeworld Type
- Origin Scenario
There are more. From here, you choose how large the map is going to be and how many races live in the galaxy you’re going to try to conquer. Stellaris gives you so many ways to customize your game that it is way too hard to list them all here.
Once the game begins, you’ll have to manage planets, exploration, construction, and the military of your empire. This is where things can get complicated, as you have to manage a sprawling galactic empire.
You’ll have to explore other solar systems, build star bases, and expand your influence across a section of space. There is also some resource management, city building, and constructing fleets to do. The game also has a very large research tree that can change the gameplay.
It can be a little overwhelming if you haven’t played one of Paradox’s other strategy games. This is more about managing what is going on and trying either to win or survive until the time limit expires. It is as close to a simulation as you can get, but it has more gameplay than some of their other titles.
Overall, I enjoy the gameplay in Stellaris. Not all of the changes made to this game have been to my liking, but the gameplay is still fun for me. I can get lost in these games, which is part of the reason I like them so much. No matter how frustrating they can be, I find them to be more enjoyable than not.
Visuals
Stellaris looks okay for what it is. Most of the game takes place in space, and the developers tried to add something to the blank backdrop of the stars. You can see what territory is under your influence and where the other empires are once you’ve explored the map. It isn’t going to blow anyone away, but it looks decent.
There is quite a bit of variety in what each group looks like. You only see this on the diplomacy screens, or if you click on another faction’s fleet. You can zoom in and out on the galaxy map and on the solar system maps.
There is one large galactic map that has all the star systems and shows how the systems are connected. This was a change made a while ago, and I didn’t like it at first. It did grow on me, though. The solar system maps are where the space battles take place, and you can also land troops on enemy planets.
Zooming in on these battles is cool. I love how the space battles look, especially with the lasers and other energy weapons firing off. There isn’t anything special about the land battles, which might be disappointing to some people.
Overall, I think the graphics and other visuals are fine for a game like this. It fits in with how other grand strategy games look. There is more of a focus on a grand overview, and you don’t always get a look at what is happening at ground level.
8.5/10. As much as I like this game, I feel that other grand strategy games do this better. I still find myself gravitating to Crusader Kings instead of Stellaris.
Pros
- A very good strategy game
- Each playthrough is unique
Cons
- Little control over battles
- Can be intimidating at first
- Graphics are fairly simplistic
Conclusion
Stellaris is one of the games that I’ve gone back to a few times over the last few years. Just like 7 Days to Die and other indie games that I’ve played over the last 15 years, it has had several things change. Most of it was the DLC that had been put out for it. It has added a lot of races and some new government types.
This is a fun game to play, but I don’t really know what to say about it as I write this review. There is something about this genre of video games that I enjoy playing. I find them to be relaxing in some way.
What I don’t like is how the game can take over my life at times. It is like playing SimCity or Civilization II. Those games seemingly took months of my summer away, not that I’m complaining about it. As I get older, I have less time to play games like this.
If you liked this post, please check out my other posts, such as 7 Days to Die or Infernax.