CHENNAI: When it comes to grand strategy video games, it’s almost impossible to have a conversation without Paradox Interactive’s name popping up sooner or later. With heavy-hitters like Hearts of Iron, Europa Universalis, Crusader Kings and Stellaris under its belt, it’s easy to see why. I’ve long been a fan of strategy games, primarily the Civilization and Total War series, but I’d never dipped my toes into Paradox’s notoriously complex waters; until a month ago when I bought Stellaris, and I’ve barely stopped playing it since.
Stellaris is a 4X game (that is, a game about exploring, expanding, exploiting and exterminating) where you are given the reins of a would-be interstellar empire. You start off with just a single planet, a couple of starships and a dream of galactic domination...and not much else. Paradox’s games are primarily criticised for being obtuse and not particularly user-friendly, and even though Stellaris features helpful tips and hints throughout its UI, it’s quite daunting when you’re first starting out. Just exploring the various screens of data at your fingertips can be challenging enough that mastering the galaxy seems like it ought to be a stroll by comparison. It’s going to be rough early on I don’t even want to think about how long it took me to figure out how planetary districts work! but stick it out, because there’s gold in them thar hills.
The sheer depth of the world that Stellaris provides you to play around in is probably best exemplified by the empires/species that it offers you as playable options. Scrolling through them, you’ll start to get an idea of what you might’ve gotten yourself into. You’ll find sentient rock monarchies, insectoid hive minds, ruthless plant-like capitalists and robotic diplomats, just to name a few off the top of my head. Each offers a play experience that will differ hugely from the others. For my first game, based on a suggestion I saw online, I chose to play as a Hive Mind because it simplifies certain aspects of the game your population, seeing as how they’re all part of the same gestalt consciousness, doesn’t care about things like consumer goods or personal liberties and so on.
During my second game, however, where I played as the United Nations of Earth, my good-for-nothing citizens wouldn’t so much as get out of bed if I didn’t bribe them with enough consumer goods, which was simultaneously frustrating and hilarious. I cannot underestimate just how much is going on under the surface of Stellaris, but it is endlessly fascinating to poke and prod its systems and see what happens.
A word on longevity here Stellaris, as previously mentioned, came out five years ago and Paradox has spent that time well. Multiple DLC packs have been released, each fleshing out the galaxy a little bit more in a different way; so much so that the Stellaris you can play today is a much more refined and complete version of the game that came out in 2016. I can only speak about the current experience, but this is reminiscent of Civilization V a very good game to begin with, but one that became great with the release of its expansions.
I’ve barely scratched the surface here, because there’s so much to say about Stellaris. It’s always difficult to talk about a game this complex without getting bogged down or glossing over it too much, so I’ll speak plainly this is a simply staggering game that doesn’t hold your hand at all, and there’s so much to love about it. Honestly, talking about it for this long has just made me want to play it all the more so I’m going to do that now. You should too, if this sounds like it might be for you it’s not an easy ride, but it’s well worth it!
What’s New?
Total War: Rome Remastered
The Total War series is another grand old strategy franchise, and the original Total War: Rome was one of the jewels in its crown. Its sequel, unfortunately, was one of the more disappointing entries in the franchise but, with this remaster of the original, Creative Assembly could yet right some wrongs with this return to the Pax Romana.
Stellaris: Nemesis
The latest DLC pack for Stellaris came out just last week, and it’s a blast. Featuring new mechanics for diplomacy and espionage, it also throws a truly titanic twist into the mix — an endgame crisis usually befalls the galaxy during each game of Stellaris, but Nemesis offers you the chance to become that crisis.
Arjun Sukumaran
http://goo.gl/uNBWN3
(Arjun is a gamer, book lover and an all-round renaissance man)