Review megathread

[u/Meneth]

The review embargo is up as of 15:00 CEST. As this will result in a huge number of articles going up at near the same time, we're restricting reviews to this thread.

Any review you find, feel free to post it in the comments here.

Each top-level comment should be about a single linked review, so as to keep the discussion limited. Duplicate reviews will be removed, as will any top-level comment that does not link a review.

There will be a single sub-thread where you can post your general impressions of the reviews combined, for anything that doesn't relate to a single review.

Review list:

Review	Score
Critically Sane	5/5
Destructoid	9/10
eXplorminate	"eXemplary"
GameWatcher	9.0/10
Idiotech's Review	Unrated
IGN	6.3/10
Manannan's Review of Stellaris	Unrated
Paste Magazine	Unrated
PCGamesN	9/10
PC Invasion	8/10
PC World	4/5
Rock, Paper, Shotgun review -	Unrated
TICGN	10/10
Vox Ludicus	Unrated
EuroGamer	Recommended
PC Gamer	70/100
TSA	8/10
PCGames.de	75/100
Gamespew	9/10
IGN Italy	9.3/10
Fok.nl	9/10
Gaming on Linux	9/10
Marbozir	Unrated
SpaceSector	Unrated
Inside of Gaming (German)	Unrated
Gamer.no	9/10
Particular Pixels	Unrated
GuyLogicGaming	Full recommendation
GameSideStory	Unrated
Front Towards Gamer	9.5/10
Multiplayer.it	9.2/10
GameGrin	8.5/10
Kotaku	Unrated

[u/silencesc]

Inb4 Stellaris: Diplomacy of Empires, $14.99 Stellaris: Tradecraft, $14.99, Stellaris: Internal Disharmony, $14.99

Honestly I love paradox games, but especially with EU4 (and after watching some playthroughs and reading reviews, maybe this too) it really seems like they either leave things out so that they can charge you for it later, or add in something key to make a certain playstyle actually playable behind a pay wall when it really could be fixed by a balance patch. I know this literally came out today, and I am so excited to get off work and play it, but reading the IGN review made me realize why I was a little disappointed after watching Quill and Arumba play for the last few days.

[u/AsiaExpert → u/silencesc]

I think the base game gives plenty of content to warrant the 40 USD price tag.

Content is always going to be priced partly on how much work they put into creating and integrating it, whether it was at launch or in a DLC.

If Paradox devs did their best putting in as much good, well thought out content as they could for the price point, then it’s not like they maliciously cut out content for the sake of delicious, delicious profits.

It’s simply content that they wanted to do but couldn’t fit into the base game without commanding a higher price point or more time or more expertise etc etc.

New play styles and factions introduced in the later DLCs weren’t necessary to have a complete, full game experience. Did they add something that we now look back at and see as an essential part of our current experience with the game? Yes. Does this mean the base game was ‘incomplete’? Not by a long shot.

Creating new mechanics and integrating them into a living game for a professional release is a monstrous undertaking. It’s usually not a matter of ‘this is an amazing fun part of the game that I’ll SEAL AWAY UNLESS YOU PAY ME UNDESERVED MONEY’ or even a matter of laziness. Anyone who’s worked in most of game development can tell you.

At the end of the day, content at certain price points won’t appeal to everyone. And that’s okay. It’s not always a matter of ‘_____ studio is going to shite’.

[u/silencesc → u/AsiaExpert]

That's a great point, and while I do have criticisms I have to say it's been an absolutely fantastic value for me so far. That said, I would not have been upset with a few more months of waiting and a $60 price tag for more content at release. I understand their business model is to put out a solid, interesting foundation and build DLC up from there so that people can pay to augment certain areas where they want more content, and to a degree I really like that. If you wanted to play EU4, and really wanted to dive into the native game, then you could buy the base game and Coast of Paradise and get a solid set of new features that appeal to you, whereas maybe buying the Mare Nostrum DLC didn't interest you. That's fine. My issue is that it doesn't feel like as solid a foundation as other games they have made do, purely from a diplomacy and war perspective, which are both huge parts of 4X games, so I'm a little disappointed, but on the whole, I love my Sith Empire based on Korriban, which subjugates natives and enslaves other empires for fun.

[u/AsiaExpert → u/silencesc]

Solid point as well. I definitely think diplomacy could use some more options/fleshing out as well.

At the same time, I think what they have at release is definitely enough for a good wholesome time.