Stardock’s turn-based intergalactic 4X strategy Galactic Civilizations 4 launches today exclusively on the Epic Games Store. It adds a larger map than Galactic Civilization 3 and has the opportunity to bring more worlds into your vile empire or benevolent federation. All the familiar civilizations are back, except the mantis-like Thalan, and some newbies like Festron Hunt: crab-eating monsters of other races that sound a bit like Neal Asher’s Prador. Maps are also now divided into discrete chunks called constellations, connected by streams of subspaces that must be discovered and studied so they can be navigated.
Stardock has changed the victory conditions so that the late game is no longer a foregone conclusion, the Galactic Achievement Challenge can earn the prestige points necessary to win, reduce polishing and refocus on the story. Citizens introduced in Galactic Civilization 3 also get a boost in their approval rating, and if they hate you enough, they can even split off to form their own rival empires. The new core world system no longer requires micromanaging the not-so-good colonies by importing them into the core planet, so there are fewer worlds to oversee directly even if you’ve colonized a loadout.
Galactic Civilizations 4 was announced a year ago, and the Stardock game has had a fairly long early access period that involves monthly updates. The series has been going on in one form or another for nearly three decades, though it’s been almost seven years since Galactic Civilization 3 launched. Adam (RPS in Peace) said in his Galactic Civilizations 3 review that it was “a fantastic update to one of the best 4X games out there”. “The game’s ship designers are great,” he added. “If you wanted, you could spend hours fussing with the aesthetics of each ship, creating a custom fleet for every custom race you made.”
Expect plenty of DLC and expansion packs to come in the next few years if GalCiv 4’s predecessors are eliminated. If you’ve never played any of the series and want to give it a try in an early game to see your interest in Galactic Civilization 4, you can download GalCiv 3 as part of Microsoft Game Pass for PC.
Galactic Civilizations 4 is priced at £40/$50/€47 on the Epic Games Store. The GalCiv 4 website has more information on a veritable galaxy.