Stellaris: Apocalypse

Paradox has always made fantastic strategy games and while Stellaris proved different it still found a base. That base carried it to where it is today and Paradox has delivered just one more piece of exceptional content that, more than anything, drastically improves areas of Stellaris that were weak or confusing. While the mid-game of Stellaris still proves slow, this isn’t an uncommon problem with many grand-strategy games, but it would still be nice if Stellaris could eventually find that something to fill the gap.

Stellaris may be worth looking into if you’re a fan of space-based RTS games thanks to the Cherryh update, but it’s not for everyone. Given the nature of the game and its genre, it’s certainly not for anyone who wants fast-paced matches that can be finished in 30 minutes or less.

It certainly spiced up the mid-game significantly for us, but as we discovered here and in a different campaign, a big hit early on in proceedings can be a huge setback largely because building up your strength takes so much time due to the structural changes made in other areas.

This new DLC, Stellaris: Apocalypse, and the major update to the base game, overhaul some serious systems, but the root problem of the title still remains. It simply is too grindy, too 'bureaucratic,' and simply takes too long to do anything interesting. The major issues that have plagued the experience are still present, so those hoping for any change to that will be disappointed, while many elements present serve to frustrate the player.

In the end, Apocalypse is an interesting – yet not essential – expansion. The only real game changer are the Colossi, as a ship type, a handful of perks, and a boring mid-game crisis are hardly worthy of an expansion pack. The team at Paradox seems comfortable with putting in the minimum amount of effort when coming up with creative options.

Stellaris es sin duda un muy buen juego, pero tiene algún pero. El mayor pero que se le puede sacar es que según avanza la partida llega un punto en el que juego pierde algo de gracia, así, por ejemplo, la nave científica pasa de ser fundamental en el inicio del juego, a ser un trasto inútil en una partida avanzada, cuando ya no hay nada que investigar o explorar.