"Stellaris is so far ahead of its competitors in the genre that it would take a jump to lightspeed at this point for them to catch up."
Paradox is the undisputed king of the grand strategy genre, considering it owns almost every major franchise in the genre, including Stellaris, Hearts of Iron, Crusader Kings, Victoria, and Europa Universalis.
While Paradox has made some noticeable missteps over the last few years, most noticeably the disastrous Europa Universalis IV: Leviathan DLC (90% negative reviews) and several poorly reviewed titles such as Empire of Sin and Imperator Rome, they have shown they are willing to work tirelessly to improve such releases. Even when they fail to do so, their willingness to admit mistakes is why Paradox titles, even the worst, often have a higher level of polish and more content than most titles released by other publishers in the same genre.
Do I recommend every Paradox game? No. However, at least as of April 2024, there is no better grand strategy publisher, and all but their most disappointing releases are worth considering for fans of the genre.
Stellaris may not have a single overarching narrative, but it is at its core a narrative title—albeit one that is created by the player, whose interaction with the wider galaxy can influence the greater course of events. From galaxy-spanning empires that expand through war to small secluded systems that use diplomacy, technology, and espionage to rule from the shadows, Stellaris allows for endless storytelling.
In Stellaris, there is no such thing as an “invalid narrative,” and players are free to play whatever role they wish in the grander scheme of things, even if that role is that of xenophobic fish people who wish to be left alone in their watery corner of the galaxy while everyone else does their own thing.
Stellaris allows players to select an origin for their empire, which essentially sets the background for what your race was doing before it became an empire.
Unlike many games with similar systems, the origin of your empire can have a huge impact on how you play the game and interact with others, including starting the game as a vassal of a fallen empire or with an allied sky dragon that feeds on the population of your capital in exchange for its protection.
As of April 2024, there are over two dozen playable origins and a further six unplayable origins only available to endgame crisis and AI factions.
In games with randomly generated AI empires, most origins are unique, meaning only one empire with that origin can be generated.
Owners of the Stellaris Overlords DLC gain access to an enhanced vassal system that allows for the creation of specialist vassals, which benefits both the overlord and vassal. The Bulwark vassalization option, for example, makes starbases and defences cheaper and stronger for the vassal while increasing the speed and reducing the cost of starbase upgrades for the overlord. It also reduces the spread of crime via relay networks.
Like most Paradox games, Stellaris contains many random events, some of which allow the player to choose from several ways to address them. Often this takes the form of offering the player a small bonus now or risking it in exchange for a greater reward, such as scrapping alien technology for resources or further studying it, which can lead to even greater rewards such as unique technologies or increased resource payloads.
Stellaris, like Crusader Kings, is the type of game where you do not have to “win” to have a good time; rather, players are free to exist as part of the galaxy and accumulate victories and defeats as they do so.
While some players may find this lack of structure off-putting, deciding your own victory conditions is fantastic. It makes it very difficult to go back to more traditional games with linear victory conditions after being shown a better way of measuring success.
Stellaris offers players such a huge variety of content and a massive list of faction types that completing the game in a traditional sense would take the average player well over 400 hours, which is a conservative estimate.
That being said, for players who like to game in smaller doses, a single playthrough on standard difficulty lasts around 12–15 hours—more than enough time to re-enact the Fall of the Republic, Rise of the Empire, and Invasion of the Bodysnatchers while you are at it.
The Paradox Interactive business model is almost entirely focused on annual DLC releases that include substantial content and new mechanics for buyers while updating the base game with quality-of-life changes and minor mechanics that help keep their games fresher for longer.
As a result, Stellaris, like all Paradox games, has an abundance of DLC available, ranging from small cosmetic packs to larger expansions that add new mechanics or radically enhance existing ones.
Are all of these DLC necessary to enjoy the game? Yes and no. While the game is a solid 8/10 in its most basic form and owners of the base game will in no way feel “cheated,” purchasing DLC such as Stellaris: Federations or Stellaris: Nemesis helps to make gameplay more immersive. And who doesn’t want to declare themselves the Emperor of a “United” Galaxy after skillfully manipulating other empires into signing away their freedoms in exchange for increased security against mid- and endgame crises?
Stellaris is a strategy game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by DMM GAMES, it released on 9 May 2016, and is available on PC, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
On average Stellaris takes between 50 and 999 hours to complete.
Estimated completion times are derived from various sources and may vary based on the skill level of each player.
Stellaris supports the following peripherals:
Stellaris is rated PEGI 7+ and contains:
Paradox is the king of grand strategy, and Stellaris is without a doubt the king of space-age grand strategy—a genre that for too long was dominated and therefore stagnated by Galactic Civilizations. It is undoubtedly a fantastic franchise, albeit one that rested on its laurels while the competition passed it by.
While Stardock still has a horse in the race, and Galactic Civilizations 4 could one day rival Stellaris, for now it is a one-sided contest. I fully recommend Stellaris to all fans of real-time and grand strategy games.
We found Stellaris to be a masterpiece of a game, meaning it is a must-play for almost every gamer, due to its near-perfect gameplay experience.
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