Have you ever wanted to have your own galactic empire, bring an era of peace and prosperity to it, and confront any that would stand in your way? Paradox's science-fiction cosmic expansion simulator Stellaris gives you chance to spread your influence across the stars. Design your own species and political system and see how well you can manage its growth.

Create-A-Species

Stellaris doesn't just pick a galactic civilization for you and forces to deal with it. Create your own detailed starting planet and its inhabitants. Choose their type and play even as fungoids or mollusks if you wish! Pick their ideologies, and create a society as aggressive or friendly as it suits your plan for the campaign.The initial choices defines the way your colonization will go. So make sure they fit your plans. It would do you no good is you planted avian species on a water world, after all.

Engaging exploration

Your planet is only the beginning. Explore every corner of your star system of origin to discover just how little you know even about your own corner of space. Every asteroid you pass may hide some long-forgotten technology that will boost you progress significantly. Or a quest that will expand you knowledge of the universe. Send survey ships to scout and you'll never see them returning empty-handed. Even if their findings may not be to your liking.Do you have the determination to make your people face the vastness of space in the hope of discovering lost relics?

Dynamic research trees

Aren't you tired of facing the same research trees every time you start a new campaign? When you know just the road to take to maximize your efficiency in the shortest amount of time? Stellaris (PC) remedies it with its dynamic research progression.Each time you want to start a new research, you are given three choices drawn for a larger deck. Make hard choices, reassign scientists to ensure a more specialized draw, and use unpredictability to your advantage. Who knows, maybe you'll stumble into a groundbreaking invention that will reshape the balance of power? With Stellaris' research system, all of it is possible.

Emergent storytelling

Stellaris' true strength are the stories of exploration and expansion you can tell thanks to its systems. Your own ruling species is a complex creation ripe for roleplaying its plight on the interstellar arena. Its interactions with other empires, the alliances, wars, and uneasy agreements are graced with excellent, tongue-in-cheek writing that doesn't fear drawing on every science fiction trope out there.What kind of saga will your species create? One of benevolence and peace? Or of tyranny and conquest? You decide, and either approach is valid.

Key features:

Paradox Interactive's is an excellent extract of the best concepts of grand strategy and 4X genres, gather in one, SF-themed package. Create your own species, design the political system you find the most appropriate, and take to the stars. There's no telling what you will find.

Stellaris features

• Randomized players - create your own species, or let the game decide for you. Either way, your AI opponents will be unique each time
• Great writing - interstellar politics of Stellaris avoid the tedium of governance thanks to descriptions that don't take themselves too seriously
• End-game catastrophes - just when you think you're on the final stretch, a calamity strikes the galaxy to up the tempo. Or it doesn't. You'll never know until it happens
• Tidy interface - you're supposed to confront other species, not the game. This is why the user interface of Stellaris keeps things impressively neat and organized
• Explore and discover - a ground breaking discovery may be waiting just past that asteroid field. Sent survey ships and have a chance at unearthing a forgotten technology