At the start, every crystal is important, then every grain of energy, and after that the ephemeral and so hard-to-get influence comes to the fore - here it is also a resource, and the most important one. But as soon as this bright world gets stronger and stands on its feet, it sinks under its own weight. And this is without trade caravans and espionage - there are none at all.

Difficulties in transition

It is no secret that in many cosmostrategies the outcome of the entire game seriously depends on the only - first - confrontation with the enemy. If your fleet of one and a half frigates and a snotty admiral was destroyed - wind up and start over. It's too early to talk about winning, but they lose exactly at this stage. Due to the enormous size of the universe, the border of success often goes even closer: the interests of empires intersect, as a rule, late, and the development curve itself is important from the first days (which generates an unhealthy desire to restart for a little more resources.)

The reason for this is a kind of control system: directly the ruler player can control only five or seven planets (depending on the form of government), and the rest must be allocated to peripheral "sectors" for which only some options are available. You can also turn planets into vassals - this is an even greater degree of autonomy, quite suitable for states defeated in a rapid war. The idea is clear - to save the player from unnecessary micromanagement. However, AI manages its fiefdom unimportantly, and victory is mainly forged on the central, first colonized planets. Their potential will determine in what state you will meet the first neighbors: pan or disappear.

The second point, because of which a powerful start in general decides everything, is the strict restrictions on the size of the fleet at the beginning of the game. Ships take away relatively little energy resources - a more or less suitable state can freely afford "the sky in destroyers". Therefore, apparently, they decided to establish a balance by tightening the nuts. In the first encounters, your limit is 12-15 frigates. But this is also the limit of the opponent! Therefore, if the player has at least one more planet, he is the king in his part of the universe. After all, there are already 20 frigates. The outcome of the battle cannot be influenced in any way, and therefore the opposition is exclusively arithmetic. By the way, the leaders of the nation - admirals, rulers, scientists - develop without giving the player any choice regarding their skills.

As a result, after meeting the competitors, the main task is to quarrel with at most one of them. Because 20 versus 15 is one thing, and 20 versus 30 is quite another. Would you say that sometimes this can be an impossible task for diplomats? Alas, even intractable rivals due to ethical differences are surprisingly passive. Observing the emergence of "big bad" in your face, neighboring alliances will not hit a finger, tracking the disappearance of another smaller republic with a sad look of faceted eyes ... The only consolation is that to win it is enough to capture 40% of the colonized planets. Or subjugating / destroying everyone is usually a longer and more tedious approach.

Well, we understand the basic mechanisms, and now we are ready for a serious battle. Raising the level of difficulty, starting over ... And we see that the only available settings in the universe relate to the number of stars. The abundance of resources, the percentage of planets suitable for habitation, the number of hyperspace channels - all this is decided for the player. And space is still roaming space leviathans, indifferent to our ships, regardless of the chosen race. And 100% of the quests of the first stage are repeated in the first hour of the game. And the only racial characteristic that seriously affects the course of events is her way of moving between the stars. Replayability is rapidly approaching zero.

A life-long company

The interface, from the first seconds, persistently demonstrates the shortcut keys for each action, leads to the fact that the game should be revealed in multiplayer. here it reveals how a wilted flower was in caring hands! Very slow and surprising nonetheless.

The confrontation on a universal scale can take place with the participation of up to 32 emperors! And here most of the disadvantages fades into the background - when a person plays instead of AI, diplomacy and alliances (as well as stabs in the back) acquire a completely different strength. The "monotonous" universe, boring in a single player game, gives out roughly equal chances at the start. Wars become much less linear, and cooperation becomes multidimensional and fairer (the computer does not understand the value of resources at all: for example, a pair of crystals can persuade it to conclude a long-term scientific agreement). What is happening is taking over: look, for example, at parsing collisions during a competition with the participation of 22 players - a short, 40 minutes.

Keep in mind, however, that multiplayer requires a colossal cost of one additional real resource. The scale of what is happening and the low speed of the game mean that a promising game lasts for several days! At the same time, on the first day, you may not even face a single human competitor in a military confrontation, and in the later stages the emperors should be ready for negotiations that can last all night. Yes, the game continues under the direction of the AI, if you suddenly fall asleep from exhaustion and turn off the computer with your nose. But the thirsty for victory must put a lot of time on its altar! And by the end of the third day, he may be fourth and finish with a "wooden medal" ...

When a studio like Paradox Interactive, known primarily for global historical strategy, decides to ride a rocket and go to explore the depths of space, you involuntarily begin to worry about the end result. What if it doesn't work out, suddenly it will be boring or too crooked (the impressions of the early version of the recent Master of Orion are still fresh in your memory)?

It would be better if it was crooked, because after the next sleepless night there is a desire to curse both the developers who created Stellaris, and the entire galaxy, along with the "Play" button on Steam, urging you to click on it at either six in the evening or at seven in the morning. Painfully entertaining 4X-project turned out.

⇡ Freedom for the galactic pigs!

The day for the reptilian Vasily did not work out from the very morning. The empire is on fire - inside the borders are raging separatists who want independence for their system, outside there are militant conquistadors with a powerful fleet. Yes, and not everything is going smoothly on the far line - a war is going on between two powerful factions, which risks spilling over to friendly systems. There are definitely not enough resources to solve all the problems at once.

The paragraph above describes the real situation that developed during the next batch in Stellaris. This is one of hundreds possible options development of events. However, to grow to such a scale, there is a long way to go. To begin with, we are offered to decide on the race, and this is not a quick process. The choice is impressive - from ordinary people to reasonable pacifist mushrooms. And after all, each has a different political system, attitude towards other species and a lot of additional parameters and nuances. If you don't like the options available by default, then there is a convenient editor at hand, where you can either tweak or build your own civilization from scratch.

Then it remains only to go to conquer the inhospitable space. Paradox understands that great starts small, so at the start you will get the role of space pioneers, that is, a race that has just mastered the technology of long-distance travel. If at this moment you open the galactic map, then you can be seriously scared of the scale. But you should not be afraid, because Stellaris is very patient with newbies and, quite slowly, explains the features of its mechanics step by step. For example, scientific ships, like research, need leaders: anomalies, neighboring systems and new technologies will not study themselves. For other things, it is not necessary to hire leaders, but it is desirable - governors and admirals will give useful bonuses to settlements and the fleet. And the secret eternal life even in deep space, it remains a secret - members of the ruling elite age and die. It is especially annoying when a scientist engaged in important research leaves for another world, and, as luck would have it, there are not enough resources to replace him. And this is just one of the many little things to keep in mind.

In general, the fresh "paradoxical" strategy can be conditionally divided into three levels of control: planetary, systemic and galactic. On the surface of celestial bodies, we set the vector for the development of settlements: what exactly to build and which of the inhabitants to send to work at a mining or production station. In a separate solar system there is an opportunity to study celestial bodies, if you are here for the first time, as well as to install various structures, from scientific stations to defensive outposts. Finally, information about the resources in each specific region is available on the map of the universe - with this data, you can plan in which direction to move the borders of the empire, and which of the neighbors is better to beware of.

And all this happens not in the step-by-step mode that is familiar for the genre, but in real time. At any time, the player can change the speed of its flow or turn on a pause in order to calmly issue orders or read the description of technologies. It is very unusual, and the eyes in the first hour are desperately trying to find the "End move" button. However, you soon get used to it, the study of dozens of systems delays, and then, after a certain number of minutes (depending on the size and shape of the chosen galaxy), you find that you are far from alone in the universe. Here, the romance of free space travel and incredible discoveries of the initial stage of the game is gradually running into a wall of geopolitical problems and interspecies enmity. This is especially acute if you are “lucky” to find yourself between xenophobic neighbors who flatly refuse to allow even civilian research vessels into their territory, not to mention the military fleet.

From the moment when the galaxy map begins to fill with multi-colored ovals with the coats of arms of various states, Stellaris becomes a trade and political simulator. To strengthen peaceful coexistence, various agreements are concluded, embassies are established, alliances are formed and even federations are formed, but not all races are eager to cooperate. This is where brute force comes in handy. However, no one will allow anyone to invade someone else's territory just like that - it is necessary not only to declare war, but also to indicate for what purpose it is being waged. For example, make the losing side your vassal or make it give the selected planets under your leadership. For each of the requirements, a certain number of limited battle points is spent, so it didn't work out to roll out your lip and capture everything at once - you need to think and choose.

The collisions themselves are automatic. You simply direct the ships to attack, and then the game itself will calculate who and how much damage was done. At this time, a window is displayed on the left with information about the current position in the battle, but the maximum that you can do is give an order to retreat. Therefore, there is no point in dividing the flotilla into several units, all the same, they cannot be controlled in a direct battle. It is easier to form one giant armada of all combat units - Stellaris allows you to combine an infinite number of troops into a "stack" - and roll out the resulting lump of everyone who gets in the way.

⇡ Someday you will get this empire, son

Over time, the number of colonized and captured planets will grow so much that it will simply not be possible to physically cope with them. This is not to mention fines for exceeding the limit of controlled celestial bodies. Therefore, it is possible to separate systems into separate sectors - such autonomies are controlled by a computer, and a percentage of the resources extracted on its territory flows into your treasury. And here new problems begin - this does not like the political system, an opposition faction has appeared there. Having gained enough supporters, the artificial intelligence will first incite the settlement to revolt, then sabotage production, and the final chord will be an armed uprising aimed at gaining independence.

And it is worth at least ten minutes to be distracted and let everything take its course, as a formidable empire hangs over the abyss, at the bottom of which chaos is raging civil war... This happens, of course, at the most inconvenient moment. You can conduct a military campaign on distant borders in order to expand your influence, and at this time, the other half of the state, to the sound of pop-up notifications, will declare its independence, deprive the flow of all resources located on its territory, and it’s good if it doesn’t have time to make friends with your own enemy.

Oddly enough, the interface will help prevent this from happening. It is worth giving credit to Paradox for taking care of users - despite the large number of windows, it is simply impossible to get lost in them. It is always clear where you are and where to click, and tooltips will not only describe the technology or parameter in detail, but also help you understand what resources are being spent on right now. You just need to feel free to hover the cursor over an incomprehensible element. The dedicated menu deserves special praise, where all information about the controlled planets, troops, civil courts, factions and other important parameters is presented in a convenient form. If at the start of the game you don't pay much attention to it, then at later stages it turns into the main tool for monitoring the vital signs of a huge empire.

It's probably time to finish, and it turned out to be too much. However, everything described here is only a tiny part of the strategy that Paradox released on Steam without much advertising. This completely unpredictable, incredibly fun and complex creation can easily make you fall out of real life for days. And even after a 30-40 hour game, there is no desire to leave Stellaris. I would like to choose a different race, set the difficulty higher, and the map - more and again go to conquer the galaxy.

The studio has always been famous in my eyes for the fact that it worked exclusively on its own games, and did not deal with the development of others. And the guys from this studio mostly worked on strategies. Although the list of their games is not long, there is something to be proud of. Remember at least Crusader Kings, or Europa Universalis, or in general Hearts of Iron.

Therefore, it is not at all surprising that even at the time of the "Gamescom" event, another strategy from. But what was most interesting and surprising was the location of the game - space. After all, until recently, developers were only engaged in historical games. However, the decision was not only original, but also a good approach, because nowadays strategies in the style of a fanatical future are very popular, although they are published literally in batches every year.

Nevertheless, why are we sometimes not satisfied with modern turn-based strategies related to space? Well, for example, Master of Orion, or Galactic Civilizations. If we take such games, then we can safely say that they simply did not give an answer to one of the most important questions: "What is it like to actually live in space?"

Paradox Interactive decided to answer this question, taking literature on some sociology and waving measuring instruments. Why exactly these items? Yes, because they have literally put their previous historical games on the shelves, so the moment has come when it is necessary to move much further - to a mysterious and unknown future. And in fact, these people really did it.

A new look at space

Any player who has managed to play all the known space strategy and knows all the ensuing details of such games will definitely feel some strange discomfort. For example, there is no “End turn” or “End turn” buttons typical for such games. Instead, such a strange dial appeared in the corner, displaying the date and an equally strange "Pause" command. Amazing, right? They simply could not resist and decided to add their own unique, inimitable real-time mode. And you know - the game only benefited.

However, this did not end there. If we compare the previous games, for example, take Europa Universalis and Endless Space, then new project much closer to the first option than to the second. From the past mechanics "4X" was taken, roughly speaking, the frame. So, the people with all their might are breaking free from the so-called captivity of their cradle. He begins to actively colonize new worlds. The people are trying to expand the range of their scientific research, and at times even conflicts with other similar peoples. And what is most important in all this - the developers "reforged" everything so that it corresponded to their manner.

You have to start your huge cosmic step as usual on your home planet. In orbit of this planet, a new shining spaceport is shown, and with it the first scientific and construction ships. And somewhere nearby to conduct their exercises another small fleet. Why another? Any start is the same for everyone.

It would seem that once everything is ready, you can set off to carry out a plan for the global colonization of the galaxy. Everything would be so, but the colonial module, which is required primarily for such a plan, mercilessly devours a huge part of the budget. And this will last until the colony can become autonomous. In addition, as we all know perfectly well, there are not enough suitable planets for life. One more or less suitable ball for a hundred or two other balls. Although on the other hand - quite good result! And the galaxy will actually be huge even when you select medium in the "Size" box. Surprisingly, in any new game begins not with rapid expansion, but with a close inspection of the surrounding stars.

In exploration, and especially in the exploration of the galaxy, this is a much more important detail than the rest. Skimming through a couple of systems means that you never figure out all the nuances, which is very bad. The expedition ship must survey absolutely every planet. However, it remains unclear why this is so important and why a quick glance is not enough? The main problem lies in useful resources, or in an anomaly that needs to be studied, thereby risking its crew. And yet these are only two reasons, only the smallest of all possible reasons... Perhaps, on one such planet there will be a new civilization, which has not yet even managed to go into space.

Dawn of civilization

By the way, in the first minutes or even hours, you may not be able to meet neighbors. It's not that easy. Before meeting with another life and even after, your small empire is trying with all its might to establish new colonies and is expanding in every possible way, building up various planetary cells with a variety of buildings. In fact, the principle of this building is very much reminiscent of what was in the well-known beloved "Civilization": each unit of the population must be put on a cell where the improvement process is taking place. But the most main difference between "Tsiva" and lies in the fact that you put not just a picture or some conventional object, but a real separate society, which has its own unique standard properties, albeit slightly different from others.

By the way, the mechanics of social spending is based on the one that was in Victoria 2, however, it manifests itself only closer to the last stage of the game - exactly when contradictions of various kinds can begin to arise in the empire.

In the future, the game gradually begins to change. Sooner or later, several worlds will be mastered, so a kind of colonization limit arises. Of course, no one can forbid you to continue expanding the borders of your empire in the same spirit, but some planets may begin to give peculiar fines, and quite unpleasant ones. Sooner or later the time will come when you need to divide your empire into sectors. For example, on economic ones, where autonomous regions will be under the control of artificial intelligence. But this does not mean at all that you cannot influence the state of affairs in any way. The couple will have different kinds of questions to be resolved. Well, for example, how many resources should be allocated to the federal center each time? Or where to focus all your efforts? Or maybe rebuild improvements (which depends mostly on the situation)?

The issue of improvements is especially worrisome, because AI, as a rule, likes to make mistakes and thereby builds cells incorrectly. So, this “disease” (you cannot name it otherwise) did not migrate. As a rule, the flow of money along with the mineral remains intact, but sometimes, all the same, the governors make strange decisions, due to which in some month the income can still collapse to an unpleasant minus.

However, as is usually the case - when an empire reaches a large size, falling profits cease to affect success. It seems to me that the problem here is completely different: the management of all these sectors turned out to be simple. Although the reason is quite clear, because the role of such a system lies in the fact that it should unload the player, so that he, in turn, does not go crazy from such a strong "hassle" with the planets when their number exceeds a hundred. But you can't do what the developers did either: they force them to put all the priorities on the shelves of their governors once, in order to forget about these matters until the very end of the game and not worry about it at all.

Speaking of governors, I started the topic for a reason, and in general it's time to talk about their role in. Playing to its fullest uses the so-called "Leaders". Leaders are specific individuals who are assigned to key positions. Leaders can be different: someone can be a governor, someone can become a scientist, and there can also be generals and even admirals. Some may even lead your empire. The closest example of the role of these personalities lies in the game Europa Universalis. There are also similar personalities there: they have several skills, general level skills, they age, die and stuff like that.

The gameplay is also based on technical progress. And like any progress, it does not stand still. In the game, you just won't be able to walk along the entire technology tree. First thing to know: Research is clearly divided into three disciplines. These disciplines are expressed in physics, sociology, and engineering. After completing the research, three completely random designs are offered to choose from. The mechanism of this "randomness" is unknown and is explained only in one of the developers' diaries: this "randomness" is based on the nature of your nation. It is important to note that this kind of "accident" overcame another "disease" of any such strategy - predictable development.

To each his own

Sooner or later, the galaxy gets too crowded. Sooner or later, the interstellar boundaries will be determined. Sooner or later, even languages ​​will be completely decrypted for each other, although this cannot be done without specially decrypting, which is studied separately. In general, a moment comes when you remember your national characteristics... Militarists can organize a military dictatorship, and xenophobes can enslave aliens. In addition to all this, there are also more well-known features: charm, hard work, restlessness. However, the role of these features is not as great as national features.

By the way, a little later, you will definitely be able to find all sorts of aborigines who are either reasonable, or so far only strive to gain reason (just like in Spore). So they can be helped in development. You can even impose your own worldview on them, but you always need to know that not all of them will be happy with the intervention of a foreign civilization.

With such a small tricky studio, Paradox Interactive came up to political system... There are fifteen basic types in total. In addition, there are special ones, they are slightly different. For example, militant isolationists are a particular species. The bottom line is that these special species belong exclusively to extinct empires.

The legal system is similar to that of Hearts of Iron. Therefore, it will determine the government's attitude to certain important issues. For example, on the issue of orbital bombing, or migration - in general, everything in this spirit. And naturally, one cannot go against the mentality, so that some nation of collectivists cannot in any way accept the initiative of individualists - a contradiction.

But that's not all! There are also edicts. Edicts are amendments to laws that spend a resource called Influence. Moreover, either constantly or drop by drop. These edicts are useful in general in that they can help direct human planetary resources in the direction that is needed. Thus, you can increase the financial inflow, or stimulate scientists, or generally accelerate the offspring. And most importantly, the further, the longer the list of available edicts will be, and the richer the sphere of politics will be.

Galactic intrigue

It would seem that the experience of past games is only beneficial, but this is not entirely true. The fact that in the same Europa Universalis worked just with a bang, in the style of science fiction, began to fail. For example, if earlier a real reason was required for war: some kind of dynastic claims, rights in the territory or espionage. Now everything is simple, because you only need a good fleet and unlimited ambitions. Press the button, press the target, declare war and fight to your health. Problems threaten in the event that there are other members of the alliance, because they will need to allocate a kind of share, although if the comrades are still convinced pacifists, then the trick is in the bag.

However, if you look at diplomacy from a more peaceful side, then it becomes much more interesting. For example, alliances in Stellaris are not such traditional alliances as is usually the case in games of this kind, which end in a global war, from which you can only get out of another war. The Alliance is really represented here for what it is. Alliance B is something of a bloc like "NATO", whose members decide any important issues strictly in a team.

However, there is also a more perfect form of the Alliance - this is the Federation. The Federation will be headed by the President. From time to time, the president of this structure will change, and the whole foreign policy will become common. In addition, the Federation will even have a federal fleet. However, it will definitely be out of place if the form of diplomatic influence is improved and deepened, because games in multiplayer will be reduced to the fact that there will be war at the first opportunity.

On the other hand, it will not be possible to prove oneself as it should in a war, because all calculations and any maneuvers are strictly undertaken. So the task of any player is only to send a fleet to the enemy, after which an automatic battle begins. However, I would like to see a huge, massive battle, like in Hearts of Iron.

Stellaris- this is a new and freshest game at the moment from wizards and, in general, practically monopolists of the global strategy market - Paradox, which is interesting, at least because this is the studio's first game in the genre of space strategy that is going through a renaissance and I personally felt mad wondering how well they managed to get out of their comfort zone.

Stellaris review - first impression.

New brainchild of Paradoxes begins to bribe you and at the same time barely noticeably reach for your wallet with its long bony paw literally from the first minutes of viewing screenshots, a video about the game and getting to know a description of its capabilities. In addition, I consider myself to be a fan of the genre of space strategies and at one time spent many hours in the already classic game Galactic Civilizations 2 , so the question of whether to review Stellaris or not was not at all for me. Going into the game itself, I immediately thought that I would like it. Yes, it happens when even the menu already says that the quality will be such that you will not dig into it. I was also pleased with a truly diverse tool for creating my own civilization and all the necessary game settings were available: the number of enemies, their intelligence, aggressiveness, anomalies, global events, the shape of the galaxy and much more. However, all this was just a prelude - to surprise me with a game Stellaris I was not going to stop yet.

Going into the game itself, it amazes first of all how much Stellaris's interface is complex in appearance. Indeed, the first hour, probably, I spent almost all the time in the game trying to understand what and how it works, and even after that, for a long time, to my surprise, I found in the game that I had not seen before, but that is quite could be useful to me. At the same time, Stellaris has a kind of tutorial - an advisor that provides basic knowledge, but this, of course, is not enough. However, I do not consider a certain threshold of entry to be a problem and a disadvantage of the game - I am quite positive about games that require the player to make efforts to master it - because it is more interesting. I will not return to this in my Stellaris review, but be prepared that you will have to go down for a while before you figure out how to play it.

Gameplay

Stellaris is a global strategy game. This means that the player is invited to control in the literal sense all the processes taking place in his empire - be it colonization, the construction of mining stations or the conduct of military operations and diplomacy. It should be understood that the cost of an error in this case is quite high, so it is quite difficult for some to start really enjoying the game in a short time - especially for those who cannot lose. Stellaris gameplay can be roughly divided into four not quite equal parts :

How are wars won in Stellaris?

War in Stellaris is all about entertainment. At least, as it seems to me, this is exactly what was conceived, because if not, then it is strange why the player is pushed towards her by hook or by crook. Anyway, the war was supposed to be the most fun thing that happened to me in Stellaris, but it didn't. She didn’t simply because she, too, was turned into a routine with ease and ease, which one can only envy, but about which it is difficult to remain silent. Now imagine that you are declaring war on a civilization that is noticeably weaker than you, but at the same time, either out of stupidity or due to lack of experience, you choose to capture only one planet as the goal of the war. The enemy has, for example, three. And now you triumphantly take out the enemy in one gate, leaving absolutely nothing from his fleet, except for debris, which your scouts are already eagerly studying and your mood is excellent, and your ambitions are growing - you are already looking at your neighbors, choosing whom to eat next. But you rejoice early, because in Stellaris, no matter how unconditionally you win the war, no matter how many planets you occupy during it, you will receive only what you initially chose for the purposes.

It would seem that on the one hand, this is logical, because if you declare the goal of the war, achieve it, but eventually go further, then the galactic community may react negatively. But there is no reaction in Stellaris. And what could be the reaction if, for example, I play for an empire of despotic militarists, whose relations with everyone are at -100 at best? That is, it should surprise someone that the militarists are waging a war and doing it dishonestly, or what? There is no logic in this system as a class. Also, the military score system is what this game just doesn't let you fight fairly, because it forces you to play in a practical way in order to score points. A computer is not capable of waging a war smartly - it will do the same thing every time, be fought with the same tricks and give you military points even if its fleet and economy is stronger than yours. And in the end you will win the war simply because the artificial intelligence in Stellaris is dumb, primitive and straightforward. And that's why the war is completely devoid of romance - there is no surprise in it. You know how your opponent will act in advance and he will not surprise you - he will act that way. If you are suddenly attacked, and you still do not have enough fleet to give battle - send a small detachment to one of the enemy planets and he will instantly begin to pull his forces there, throwing an attack. And this can be done an infinite number of times, pulling the enemy back and forth, until you finally rebuild the necessary power of the fleet. In addition, the routine of war in Stellaris lies in the fact that you have to fight everyone, even the smallest civilizations, several times, because often it is simply impossible to score more than 50-60 military points - at a certain point in the war there is no one to defeat, destroy and capture too, but the points are still not enough. Therefore, the war has to be divided into several parts, the interval between which is 10 game years (about 40 human minutes at normal speed) due to the mandatory truce. Sounds fun, right?

Graphics and sound

Visually, Stellaris is the best global space strategy game on the market right now. I can't even think of potential competitors, because most likely they simply do not exist. The interface is beautiful, but not very intuitive. However, you get used to it after some time. The surroundings are beautifully crafted and the battles look really exciting. It's especially worth noting that all of your fleet upgrades are visible in combat. Have you studied blue lasers? Then in battle you will see exactly blue lasers. Not many varieties appearance spaceships, but after a while it ceases to be the main problem of the game. Why, you should already understand by almost reading my Stellaris review. I would especially like to note the excellent optimization - this is truly aerobatics. There are no complaints about sound and music either. The music is mostly good. There is even a funny, partially copied composition that resembles the title theme from the soundtrack to the picture. Interstellar by Clint Munsell. But this is not so criminal in my opinion.

Stellaris review summary - is it worth playing?

Summing up my Stellaris review, I don't quite understand, can I recommend this game or still not. Don't get me wrong, but the game will take you 20 hours - no doubt about it. These 20 hours will be interesting to you - it will be interesting to you simply because you will wait that now the game will show me something else, there must be some depth here? And it is, but this depth is very controversial - about knee-deep. You will be able to plunge into this game with your head only if you are a lover of routine, nerdy games. If you love to grind, all that grinds and do not regret wasting time on a game that stopped giving you something new many hours ago. If all this does not scare you, then before you is a really high-quality global strategy, which, unfortunately, did not become great, did not become the one that will be remembered and returned to. At least I definitely won't. Despite all the apparent complexity, a huge amount of statistics, information, a considerable amount of resources available for production, a lot of variables that you always need to keep in mind when starting a war or colonizing a particular planet - Stellaris is a much simpler game than it sounds. Basically, this happened not because it was conceived to be simple, but because the implementation in some key issues let us down. Diplomacy pumped up, war pumped up, completely deprived of the need to think tactically, trade pumped up. But the saddest thought that came to me only after many hours spent in the game and, perhaps, which became a stumbling block for me, is complete lack of romance in Stellaris. Stellaris is a dry, well-made product that, like a robot, gives you content without leaving room for thought - not allowing it. Your imagination rests while you play Stellaris - you yourself act like a robot according to the schemes that you yourself understood or googled - and this is strange and wrong.

Stellaris score

If you are a fan of Civilization, then I'm sure you will love Stellaris. Yes, what to say! Anyone who looks even a little towards strategies will experience warming feelings as they explore billions of square kilometers of outer space.

Do you think you're planning well? Can you keep a unit under control, besides a few dozen others? Or maybe you are well versed in ion engines and know how to conduct a diplomatic dialogue with an extraterrestrial race? In any case, here you will find a lot of pleasant and not so - surprises. Many moments and nuances that need to be constantly monitored will make you turn off for several hours the real world and be transported into a gigantic and deep wasteland, the silence of which depressingly presses. Having played stellaris, I can say that it is Dark souls in the world of strategies. The game punishes you mercilessly for mistakes and miscalculations in the control strategy. Made the wrong decision? Get it! Took the right one? Well done. But still, get it!

Sit down more comfortably, I'll tell you a little more.

Gameplay

In an endless galaxy between unreached stars and unexplored planets in different systems, you will be entrusted with leading an empire. The main goal of the campaign is, of course, to conquer new territories (systems). You can talk with the adjacent race of purple beetles about a truce, establish relations with them. No? Okay, you can disintegrate them with your huge fleet of warships. If, of course, you did everything right and you have a fleet, and not 2.5 insignificant cruisers.

Beginning of the game

You can start by choosing one of the proposed 8 empires with your race. You want to be a mammal, okay. Decided to try to control the reptilians?

or molyuscoids?

no problem. But take your time. Don't judge by looks. Each of the proposed races in Stellaris has its own history, its pros and cons, characteristics, skills and attributes. I do not like? Create your own, no problem with that! You can name your empire what you want, choose a flag for it under which you will conquer the galaxy. Choose a portrait, racial characteristics, what the fleet will be and the initial types of weapons. Even the most mischievous gamer will find what to choose here.

When starting out in single player, remember to decide on the difficulty and size of the galaxy. This is how the system looks like:

And so, the galaxy. I marked our system on it.

And this is the smallest galaxy that can be made. Can you imagine? You can study the planets before Chinese Easter.

After the start, as always, you will have available a few "resources" around which the survival of the empire is built. Among them:

• Minerals... They are spent on building stations and ships. But they can be stored in a certain amount. Do you want to store more? Research technology. Are you mining a little? Explore planets in systems and if you find a suitable one, build a station on it.
• Energy loans... Everything that has been built requires energy. The situation is identical to minerals.
• Influence... Affects buildings on distant "lines", on decrees, or for the recruitment of new scientists or generals of the armies. You can earn money by declaring war on other empires, issuing decrees or researching technology.

Incidentally, an unpleasant moment. Living beings die. Do you have a seasoned admiral of the fleet under your command and is he 70? Well, if he does not go to the gates of Valhalla, then soon he will simply die of old age. In order for him to live a little longer, you need to pump longevity.

Technology is what underpins the empire's development. You need to develop:

• Physics. May increase energy storage capacity or open solar modules.
• Society. They will just help increase influence or unlock new types of ships.
• Technology. Will help increase the capacity of minerals or build a defensive platform.

Of course, this is only a small fraction of what is available for study. Before starting to study, decide what you really need at the moment, but do not forget about foresight.

The universe in the game is procedurally generated, i.e. no matter how many times you launch the game, you will get different universes. It will be unique every time.

Everything that I have described, all the nuances in control, learning and opportunities, I can represent in blue on the diagram.

Stellaris has dozens of nuances for every piece. You should be everywhere at the same time, and all kinds of reminders will not let you forget about it. Fortunately, the flow of time is regulated, or even can be stopped altogether to exhale and look around. Assess the situation and make the right decision. To understand what is happening, to join and master the game, you need to spend more than a dozen hours in it before going online. Otherwise, you will spend several hours of your life and everything that you have acquired, as it seems to you overwork, will be destroyed in a moment, and the wreckage will be studied and mastered.