Simple as that; the game can't launch through either GOG Galaxy or running the launcher directly. In the forum some users have success by buying the game on Steam and running the launcher from that version first so you can choose settings that will make the GOG version run correctly. But if ever the answer is to buy it somewhere else how can I give a positive review here?
Disclaimer, I purchased on Steam. This DLC pack is probably one of my favorite in a while and overall. It's a small pack but it offers interesting and fun alternative / supplemental playstyles and new sci-fi beasties to face. The two biggest things are the Grand Archive and the Vivarium, which each have a civic, Origin and tradition path. In a normal empire these are just more buffs that are worth taking and looking into but won't change your whole play - but in a focused empire using these new elements can allow you to completely replace existing systems! They take slight wind up to really shine and they take learning to use instead better than the default options but they're very powerful and more importantly FUN to use. Building a galactic museum with trophies of each little event and rarity you've found is FUN. Cloning space-cows to fight your wars is FUN. That it can be fun and useful is great! You can invest some or all in each new option, or ignore it entirely. You can also turn on or off the new space crabs and voidworms, so you never need to mind these if you don't like them; you get good new content and full control over it in-game, so what's not to love?
Majesty is a game with a simple-to-medium complexity level, unique premise, and well rounded difficulty. But forget all that for a second - Majesty is a game with utterly stunning presentation. The isometric art, drawn portraits, cute models, classic fantasy monsters and classes all look amazing. Accompanied is a bevy of unique and perfectly fitting sound effects for everything, top-notch voice acting from the narrator and heroes, and a soundtrack that is absolutely catching. Seriously, go listen to the Majesty Main Theme on YouTube. It's worth it. To the playability, the game has two full campaigns of non-sequitur levels which all feel right and require new amounts of strategy per goal. Most have limits and challenges that require different planning - sometimes a skeleton army is your best choice, other times powerful markets are needed, others need fewer, stronger heroes. The absolute hardest missions are purposely RNG-unfair, but everything else is balanced that you can succeed with the right approach. Beyond that there's a level generator for endless replay, a multiplayer with features you won't find in single-player, and a (very limited) mod support which you can find on Steam community page for extra fun. There's also a collection of cheat codes for fun effects - including enemy wave cheats for more challenge. This game is possibly my favorite ever. I've returned to it time and time again across a dozen computers and nearly three decades. It's beyond good, especially this HD rerelease from years ago which is the perfect example of how to do it: all expansions, add the downloaded quests from the dead website, make compatible with all newer OS, and leave the rest untouched. Aside from the fact that this game is totally worth it, it's almost always on sale. Seriously, for three dollars you can have a budget coffee or decades of game value. I only reviewed this in 2022 because I never considered others haven't played it yet. So buy this game!
Stellaris is a pretty freaking awesome game. It's big, really big. Insert joke about Hitchhikers and peanuts level big. A complex yet easy enough system for controlling entire stellar empires, filled to the brim with every trope and general idea in sci-fi. The biggest, biggest issue by far is the loading time. Starting the program takes at least 4 minutes on my pretty good system; even a very short game session will last nearly 20 hours and time in the end of the game lags badly. I've not bothered to play a 60 hour match but it presumably is worse. The dlc whiners are just that, whiners. I bought some of the dlc because I wanted to play as rock people. Didn't buy others because I don't care about megacorps. It doesn't make the game worse to not have all the options, I can barely keep track of the permutations and empire decisions as is; you're not going to run it of replay content any time soon. For this price you're definitely getting your money's worth, even if you don't really like 4X game types.
