Stellaris

(Disclaimer, I own this on Steam. No idea it'd ever come to GOG!) Stellaris is just, plainly, a great game. It is, first and foremost, a grand strategy set in space. If you're familiar with other Paradox titles, this has just as much depth, choice, and open-endedness as EU, HOI, CK, etc. If you're not familiar, this is a great entry point for this style of grand strategy. Stellaris is complicated, but not needlessly so, and definitely without the cumbersome menus of its sister titles. Where Stellaris really shines is the discovery. The best, and most developed, part of the game is your fledgling empire's exploration of the stars. I really love discovering the universe just ahead of my construction ships, uncovering anomalies before I claim the system for my empire. Add to this a layer of randomization, and fun RPS choices - no galaxy is ever the same. This game has come a long way since 1.9. I entered at the end of that iteration. 1.9 felt off. I like what they were trying to do, but doomstacks, weird boarder mechanics, etc just didn't work. 2.0 was a fresh take that made the right changes. This game is still very much 'in development', and I'll use the term loosely. Regular updates and expansions are being released, often making very consequential and significant changes. E.g., the Le Guin update is overhauling how planets and population work, as well as developing trade. Before that, the Apocalypse update tackled wars and conflicts. This game is well worth the money, although I would definitely buy it on sale. Sales are frequent enough, and with the long-term investment Paradox makes in its games, Stellaris will soon have a dozen expansions; this can get pricey quick. Highly recommend. Will purge 10 out of 10 Xenos.

Linux version gets no more updates for no reason.....

I am really glad I got this game on sale, as it is nothing but problems. Crashes when loading a New Game. Kills X.org when exiting (This is a big no-no for me as games should not be messing around with the OS like that) Finally Graphic options are messed up. Final verdict: Game is unplayable and was clearly not designed to be functional on Linux. (Wait for a sale and try at your own risk.)

Content-wise, this game is superb. It's a sci-fi real-time 4X of the easy-to-learn-hard-to-master ilk rightly praised for its depth, complexity, and emergent story-telling (and that's just the vanilla version). Much has been made of Paradox's seemingly-parasitic DLC policy, but while it can get pricey to be a completionist, I don't see it as any different than a board game manufacturer selling expansions for a popular product: you don't have to buy them all to enjoy the game. Heck, you don't have to buy ANY to get something out of this game (IMHO). I know that sometimes gamemakers sell shells to add onto later (Paradox has been guilty of this even just recently), but this is not one of those times. This is not exploitation; if you want to see outrageous DLC, try Dovetail's Train Simulator. Or heck, take a look at almost any "live service" model if customer exploitation is your bane. "So then why give two stars to a game that's not exploitation and that you've put hundreds of hours into here and on Steam?" Have you ever been really into your empire? Like, to the point where you've sat for 14 hours in a zone like no other just really enjoying yourself? And then you finally tear yourself away and go to bed, vowing to return? And then when you do it turns out that, because you weren't logged into a Paradox account, your game wasn't saved at all? AT ALL?! Yeah, moan all you want about the DLC; it's the DRM that's the real enemy here. Being treated like a thief after owning the game for three years and buying lots of DLC is the real enemy here. Not being able to play in Ironman mode offline at all (even single-player) because of paranoia about piracy is the real enemy here. But hey, ya know what? It's a real easy fix, Paradox. Return my empire, and I will return your three stars. It's just that simple. Does this mean I'm never gonna play again? No. But Paradox deserves its bad reviews, and GOOD LORD do I understand the point about DRM now. It sucks. Get rid of it.

As an owner of the game and all available DLCs, I can say that it was quite a disappointment. Main points being: 1. Lack of tactical combat or any real influence of player on combat process 2. Crippled diplomacy 3. Overloaded micromanagement and grinding. 4. No espionage / sabotage possibility. Such things like finding artifacts and random events can spice the game up a little, but boring routine of micromanagement kills all excitement. Also, the game is extremely time consuming, so it will not be something I'd recommend to play.