As someone who is probably somewhat autistic, this game appeals greatly to me. Due to this fact, I'm going to go over my opinions on the game, the controversy around its use of generative AI, and issues with greed. Keep in mind I am not a long time player (50 hours is worth ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ for as much as some pros are concerned.) and don't know everything about the game. I will defend my opinions with facts and maybe even logic. If you have actual thoughts and want to engage in thoughtful debate, comment. If you just want to ♥♥♥♥♥, comment anyway cause I'll have a good time laughing about it. I may update this review later.
Oh, I'm gonna curse a lot. If you have a problem with a stranger on the internet (or real life) speaking differently than you do, I would recommend getting a job and/or seeing a therapist about your racism problems
a n y w a y
Stellaris is a very good game that is very much not for everyone. Personally, I watched something like ten hours of tutorials prior to really getting into the game, but oh boy was it worth it. I love the vast galactic management of systems, colonies, wars etc. Massive fleet battles, unfathomable void dragons, and enormous space megastructures all tickle a part of my brain few other games can. The first time I upgraded an arc furnace to tier 4 and saw the +78 alloys I almost shat myself. I would talk more in depth about game mechanics but if you want to know more about those, I'm probably not the best beginner's guide. I really just wanted to talk a bit about the controversies surrounding the game. You know what they say, right? Bad news sells.
I'm going to start with the AI ♥♥♥♥ because it's surprisingly a lesser concern of mine than the other topic. I have seen a l o t of people completely ♥♥♥♥ on the game because of "AI slop" and whatnot. This is an understandable viewpoint. I myself am usually not a fan of AI; the only sense I fully support it in is the medical field in which it is very useful for developing certain treatments due to its proficiency in recognizing patterns common in the medical field. You should look into that a bit, it seems potentially quite important for society and is a prime example of why AI shouldn't be dismissed entirely, even if the more conventional uses like "hey shatgpt can you pleaaaaaase pull some random ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ out of your ass i dont wanna think for this project" or "i crave a k next to views on youtube and i dont care if that means showing young children with terrible parents complete misinformation via ai ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ slop trough."
I'm getting off topic. Point is, I understand the viewpoint of being extremely critical for Steam's AI disclosure notice. Thing is, the use of AI is rather minimal and, in my opinion, not worth leaving the game behind for. Yes, it would be better if it was not present. However, to m knowledge the only uses of AI were very early concept art. Again, better if it was still human made but the final art for shadows of the shroud is pretty cool and doesn't look like the ai ♥♥♥♥ that was likely the early concept art. The other thing is for some voicelines. Of an AI character. I think that's pretty funny and not a big deal. I believe those voicelines were scripted by a human but simply voiced by AI for the theme, but tell me if I'm wrong. Anywho, I'd love to see some debates on AI whether or not it pertains to Stellaris. I will argue my points.
The other issue is the game being difficult to get into. Not the gameplay. Yeah it's hard but that's not too big of a deal. It's fun figuring things out and trying hard things. The game is hard to get into because $50 is a lot and the DLCs which are advertised as adding a lot of new content are expensive as ♥♥♥♥. Also, a significant portion of them are kind of just cash grabs. $20 is a bit much to expand upon federations, something already in the game. $20 is a bit much to add a few bigger classes of ships that mostly fight the same along with a funny piss laser to make a planet go boom. It's cool, but not $20 cool. Alternatively, maybe you're looking at one of the generally more well regarded DLCs, Machine Age. Cool (and sometimes very challenging, which is a plus for me) new origins, an awesome new megastructure, a new crisis, a new way to b e c o m e the crisis, very good art (seemingly very human made). Then you look at the price
$25 buckaroos yeah okeldi dokeldi neighborino i think ill wait for a sale
Also, something something fix the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ bugs before moving on to the next DLC. I won't elabortate because this should be obvious. This isn't a huge complaint because I've never had any bug problems. I don't know when, but I'm assuming they at some point when back and fixed a bunch of them. Also there are free updates which are pretty good.
I didn't wait for a sale but I would say that this game slides smoothly with Total Warhammer 3 in games where patience rewards your wallet. Do that, and many of the greed issues do lessen. It sucks to wait, but this game is just as autistic as me and I love it for that. Just like Total Warhammer 3, greediness plagues the game and yet the core of the game is so good and sales dropping the barrier of entry significantly that I just have to recommend it to anyone looking for a complicated yet rewarding grand strategy game. And I do mean grand.
Again, I'd love to debate my points, just pleeeeeeease bring actual logical arguments and not importune ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
