STELLARIS
RELEASED May 9, 2016 | DEVELOPER Paradox | PUBLISHER In-house
After six years, several expansions, and dozens of patches, Paradox’s space 4X has aged like a fine alien wine. With a mind-boggling array of options to create anything from a profit-hungry megachurch of zealous interstellar geckos to a Terminator-style rogue AI, almost any sci fi trope you can imagine is at your fingertips. And various systems reworks and improvements mean there’s never been a better time to spin up your drives.
What really sets Stellaris apart from other space 4X games is the depth of its society simulation, a staple of Paradox games. There is more abstraction going on here than some of the studio’s other projects, but the fact that I can see what is causing so much crime on my forge worlds or be pressured to change my stance on planetary bombardment by a disgruntled political faction helps the galaxy come alive.
ENDLESS LEGEND
RELEASED Sep 18, 2014 | DEVELOPER Amplitude Studios | PUBLISHER Sega, Iceberg Interactive
is one of the most memorable fantasy 4Xs ever, mainly because of its rich world lore and creative faction design. You want to play peaceful traders with mobile cities