Think Sid Meier's Civilizations, but set in space. The most notable difference between Gal Civ III and Stellaris is Stardock opted for turn-based gameplay, which was the norm back when the first game was rolled out.

Galactic Civilizations III is currently listed on Steam for around $14. Stardock released the first installment in 2003, and the latest release hit Steam in 2015. Galactic Civilizations, as a series, has been around for ages. This makes it easier to defend against attacks (and manage choke points), as well as make the game more efficient in the late game, but does limit what players can do. Initially, it was possible to have species rocking different methods of moving between stars, but now everyone is restricted to hyperplanes. Later patches have resolved this issue, but it's still a minor complaint, as is the way the developers removed two of the three forms of travel, wormholes and warp drives. The community refers to the phenomenon as a 'doomstack,' and wars quickly developed into attempting to avoid the other doomstacks with your own, bypass defenses and lay siege to planets.

Dealing with 'doomstacks'Īn issue that plagued Stellaris from the beginning was its doomstacks, which essentially saw every player (or AI) place every ship they owned into a single fleet. Stellaris is a game that allows you to go a little deep but keeps everything user-friendly to allow those new to the 4X and strategy genres to feel right at home without getting utterly destroyed. Not only do you have the ability to design ships, but also manage planets, form governments, create alliances, become ascendants, and work with others in surviving against foes and potential crises.

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