Stellaris Reviews
Stellaris builds a foundation that will hopefully yield something wonderful within the next few years of patches and expansions. For now, this is a good game that I recommend for both the newcomer and the hardened veteran that probably already has this game.
Stellaris captures the wonder of exploring space and colonizing the stars, but gets bogged down when the borders freeze and negotiations start. A solid foundation of things to come and an excellent entry-level grand strategy game, this will hopefully be a good start for a greater experience to come.
All the galactic flavour and themes of a 4X space title, married to the mechanics of Paradox's recent grand strategy offerings. Stellaris has a space opera tale of gene manipulation, Federation politics, or colonial slavery for everyone.
Stellaris captures the craziness and fun of sci-fi in an engaging, infinitely replayable strategy game.
Stellaris isn't perfect, but it can easily improve in its problematic areas. For the dozens of hours you'll sink into first establishing your empire, it's a fun experience even if it doesn't quite unseat the likes of Master of Orion or Civilization.
A major improvement in almost every facet of gameplay, made even better because it's free.
Not for me, though. I sunk more than 24 hours of gameplay into my first week with Stellaris. An entire day! With more than 500 hours clocked on CKII, I'm clearly susceptible to this sort of thing – but the fact is, Paradox have done it again. Stellaris is already a deep, compelling and hugely atmospheric game of strategy on a galactic scale. It'll only get better as time goes on – and I'm thrilled to see where it'll go next.
Stellaris is a game that begs you to explore but with erratic sector AI and trait conflicting win conditions it is a confusing and at times unexciting game to play.
Stellaris is simply wonderful. If you enjoy grand strategy games then you'll love this. If you don't then this could be the one to change your mind. If you've been too intimidated to try the genre before now, then here's your ideal starting point.
Stellaris is great. Maybe not Crusader Kings II great yet—give it a few expansions to fill out—but it's a compelling bit of player-directed science fiction. Freed from the chains of history Paradox has created something creative and bold and inspiring, something that illuminates just how vast and unknowable space is and how tiny our place in it.
Stellaris, bringing the final frontier to your PC allowing you to build the galactic empire of your dreams
The crown jewel however is that grandest of strategy… Paradox really do know how to craft an engaging and challenging yet natural narrative building engine
So how to go with recommending it? Were this a creation of any other developer or publisher, I'd have my concerns. But the truth is, once they get it all sorted, it's going to be a heck of a game. From the modular ship constructor system and the impressive (if automatic) fleet battles, to the ethical tensions between interstellar neighbours reminiscent of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, to the endless moddability that'll allow, no doubt, classic sci-fi reskins (the likes of Dune spring to mind), I can't wait for Stellaris to be the game it is so obviously going to be. For now, though, it's still struggling with escape velocity on its mission to the stars.
A blisteringly fun early game can be dampened somewhat by the bloated middle and late stages, but Stellaris is another example of Paradox Interactive showcasing that they are the kings of grand strategy, and is a game that every fan of the genre should have in their collection.
The game is meant to evoke that kind of wide-eyed wonder that the night sky holds, placing the player, at first, in an empty galaxy that holds such promise and excitement.
Stellaris strikes the rare balance in the 4X space strategy genre of bringing enough new things to the table, while retaining what works from the past. An amazing amount of customisation in skills, traits, and abilities seamlessly flows into the background without ever bogging the game down. The single largest difference from others in the genre is a heavy focus of the early game and "eXploring," as you actually feel like you are leading a brave race into the empty space and the dangers there. All the subtle touches, decisions and excellent GUI make this a rare pleasure to play and an absolute recommendation to fans of the genre.
Stellaris is a dream come true for any fan of the sci-fi genre and strategy games. The graphical representation of the solar systems and the galaxy itself is breathtaking, but unfortunately for long-time strategy gamers Paradox's Stellaris may come across as simplistic. Many new players, who may even be intrigued by the setting, will be put off by the sheer inaccessibility of the game, due to either the need for better English language skills or a weak tutorial. However, I highly recommend that you don't break a leg over Stellaris and give it a try.
Review in Czech | Read full review
While overall a good, captivating 4X/Grand Strategy hybrid, Stellaris does have sections that could benefit from improvement. Certainly there are flaws and things that could, and perhaps should, have been in the game. That’s why Stellaris isn’t a stellar (heh, heh) title right now, instead, being just a good 4x/grand strategy hybrid.
An accessible mix between Grand Strategy and 4X with a narrative-driven focus that, despite small annoyances, makes a great entry point to the world of strategy.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review