Support NeoGAF

[Deputy Moonman]

It's been a while since I've played that genre. I remember having a blast with Alpha Centauri years ago. It looks like Civilization 6 remains the current installment from Sid Meier (and I have yet to play it). I might just go ahead and grab it but wanted to ask if there were any other games to consider? While it's not turn based, I really enjoyed Age of Empires III back in the day as well, though not sure if that falls under the same category. Today I was perusing steam and looked at Stellaris as well as Age of Wonders: Planetfall. Thoughts on any of these games? I'd appreciate some opinions.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Civ Vi and AoE are both great.

 

[Jigsaah]

I'm not familiar with the "4X" nomenclature, but a similar game I've been recommending is Stellaris. It's free on gamepass on Xbox (and PC I believe), though you would need to pay for some of the expansions. The base game is more than enough to get ya going though. It's considered a Grand Strategy game set in space where you need to manage your custom made space-faring civilization. You'll meet new alien races and will interact diplomatically or through war. You have to manage you own people and their needs, make allies and defeat enemies, while growing in your knowledge of technology, participating in the galactic senate and warding off end-game crises. You can choose how to win the game, either through complete supremecy, religious domination or overwhelming possession of the galaxy.

 

[Hydroxy]

That is a good question. I will let others answer as I'm not really into 4X games although i have tried to get into it.

 

[DrJohnGalt]

The Civ franchise is the go-to for most casual 4x players, but AoE is also fun (although more of an RTS), as Planetfall and AoW3 are solid for that type. Stellaris is ok. Another option with slightly different mechanics might be Endless Legend and Endless Space games. I personally enjoy more battlefield tactics with my grand strategy, so I'll have to say check out the Total War franchise if that's your thing.

 

[Sakura]

Paradox's games are pretty good. Not sure if they fit into the definition of 4X, but EUIV, Stellaris, etc are very good games that will suck a lot of hours out of you. A lot more complex than something like Civ though.

 

[StormCell]

Civ VI has really grown on me, and I really enjoyed Civ V as well. VI offers a lot of potential strategies with all the different systems in place (ie. culture, religion, etc).

Sadly, the 4x space has felt pretty empty. I've tried a lot of the recommendations like Sins of a Solar Empire and such, and I always went back to Space Empires IV. Of course, SE IV has gotten so old and getting the mods for it is becoming nearly impossible if not impossible.

 

[Deputy Moonman]

Yeah I'm not sure if i want too complex. I'm definitely more casual when it comes to strategy games. I'm leaning toward Civ 6 still, but wanted to see if there were any other games that people had really good experiences playing. Stellaris has good reviews but I don't know if I want to do the space setting.

 

[TheContact]

either age of wonders 3
or age of planetfall
i haven't played planetfall but age of wonders 3 is fucking great

 

[manfestival]

If you want something that is a mix of 4x plus rts then check out the Total War games. Their main bread and butter is RTS but the 4x stuff is what I spend more time playing than the RTS aspect of it lol.

Sins of Solar Empire
Stellaris
Endless Space is really nice
Crusader Kings 3 is the latest and greatest

Age of Wonders Planetfall - hmmm so this game was super neat at first but I lost interest in it way faster than any other 4x game. I think the combat just felt so lackluster for being so important.

 

[Low Moral Fibre]

I'm playing Stellaris again after first playing it years ago and it is very good. That being said there are a million things hidden away in menus that you won't realise are there unless you stumble upon them or watch a YouTube tutorial. I'd say the basic game is pretty straightforward but it can spiral out of control very easily as it can be really cumbersome.

Crusader Kings 3 is a little barren for content atm as like all Paradox games they really pump out DLC but it feels a lot more refined than Stellaris in terms of the UI. It's on PC Game Pass if you have that.

Civ 6 is still great and still getting regular content and I can actually finish it at the highest difficulty unlike the others. While there are some crazy advanced techniques you will also be fine at a mediocre skill level like me if you pick one of the stronger Civs and plan ahead as best you can while Stellaris can just fuck you over in an instant even on the lower difficulties.

 

[Deputy Moonman]

Thank you for all the recommendations. I think I'm going to stick with Civ VI. It sounds a little more relaxing to me, but I could branch out and sample some other options in time.