Stellaris: Console Edition
A GLORIOUS ALIEN VISITOR THAT STRUGGLES TO ADAPT TO OUR CUSTOMS ROBIN VALENTINE
PUBLISHER PARADOX INTERACTIVE / DEVELOPER PARADOX DEVELOPMENT STUDIO, TANTALUS MEDIA / RELEASE DATE OUT NOW / COST £31.99/$39.99
or losing. Where most 4X games
are a test of your tactical nous and
the pure, ruthless efficiency of your
empire-building skills, Stellaris is
more concerned with the stories you
generate along the way. Its packed
universe is a sandbox of countless
sci-fi tropes, bustling with random
events and incidental details to spark
the imagination.Fun guys
Rather than just picking from preset
empires, you’re free to design your
own, down to their species’ traits,
political ideologies, government type,
appearance, preferred habitat and
more. One game, you might play as
a collective of scientifically-minded
sentient fungi; another, a ruthless,
galaxy-spanning megacorporation of
insectoids. You’ll quickly find yourself
role-playing more than strategising,
playing to your vision of how these
aliens should act.
Each empire is further brought to
life by a huge selection of portraits,
animated just enough to give themIt’s not often you see
a game like this on
consoles. Stellaris
is an unashamedly
deep, fiddly,
complicated space
strategy game, combining elements
of the 4X genre with the conventions
of Paradox’s dense historical sims.
It launched originally over on PC in
2016, and it couldn’t be better suited
to that platform – so adapting to a
controller-based interface was always
going to be an ambitious task.
On the surface, the game will seem
familiar to anyone who’s played a
4X game – such as Civilization or
Endless Space – though it’s real-time
with pausing, rather than the usual
turn-based. For the uninitiated: you
take control of a space-faring empire,
managing its military, economy,
technology and politics, expanding
it out across the stars and engaging
in diplomacy or warfare with other
civilizations you encounter.
What makes Stellaris stand out
is that it’s not really about winning
character – a bobbing head here, a
rising and falling chest there, a spore-
puffing orifice on top... Ranging from
the truly alien to the human-with-a-
funny-forehead, these illustrations
add huge personality to each species.
As you explore, discovering the
mysteries of space and encountering
other empires, stories unfold from the
game’s many interlocking systems.
Whether it’s the tale of your small,
furry pacifists’ first contact with
a belligerent warrior race, or your
discovery of the wonders of an ancient
precursor civilisation, or your battles
with colossal beings of living crystal,
you’ll find yourself overflowing with
anecdotes, each half crafted by the
game’s mechanics and writing, half
by your own personal interpretation
of events. They’re perfect for boring
friends and family with.
But while Stellaris’ depth and
complexity allows it this special
quality, it also makes it an intimidating
beast to get to grips with. Its tutorials
are flimsy, and the unfortunate reality
is that any new player, especiallyshort
cutWHAT IS IT?
The console version
of a space strategy
game already beloved
on PC.
WHAT’S IT LIKE?
Wonderfully complex
and intricate – but
the gamepad controls
are awkward.
WHO’S IT FOR?
Patient science
fiction and strategy
fans who don’t own a
gaming PC.080 THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE