A grand strategy game on consoles is difficult to make for a number of reasons, least of all the massive change in control scheme required for the switch. A keyboard and mouse setup is easy to build a user interface around, while a gamepad is much more limiting by comparison. But in porting Stellaris to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, Paradox and Tantalus Media have done what I previously thought was impossible: Make a grand strategy game that controls just as well on consoles as it does on PC. Stellaris: Console Edition may not reach the highs of the original PC release, but it still conveys much of what made Paradox’s strategic space opera so engaging in the first place.
For newcomers, Stellaris revolves around the creationand management of an interstellar empire shortly after it discoveredfaster-than-light travel. Though there are a number of pre-made civilizations tochoose from, the real joy comes from using the surprisingly robust andcustomizable empire creator, where you can choose everything from theappearance of your empire’s starting species, to the tenets and ethics thatwill determine how that empire interacts with the cosmos. The variety of theoptions can yield some oddly compelling and strangely humorous results, such asmy empire composed of penguin-like aliens who are both really strong,long-lived, and also believe that authoritarianism and slavery are perfectlyacceptable forms of government and policies to live by.

From there, youset out to explore a randomized galaxy, using exploration vessels, constructionships, and military fleets to expand and espouse your chosen goals. Thoughthere are victory conditions, such as conquering every independent empire orowning a set number of planets, in practice the goals of your empire arewhatever you want them to be. My penguin-slavers, if one couldn’t tell, weredefinitely bent towards militarism, and practiced gunboat diplomacy at everyopportunity. But even outside of military force, Stellaris bends to your will pretty easily, and peaceful empireshave just as many routes to their goals as those with numerous fleets at theirdisposal.
The systemsthemselves interact with each other in, frequently, fun and surprising ways.Factions can develop within your empire over time that advocate for specificideologies, such as spiritualist faction that believes in purity in the bodyand the sanctity of organic life. That same faction will greatly dislike it ifyou research artificial intelligence technology, and over time could be causeenough to rebel. But developing sentient robots itself runs the risk of an AIuprising, which could be greatly magnified in a late game crisis. Thesechallenges and relationships are what make Stellarisso engrossing, and it’s all retained in the Console Edition.
That’s becausethe controls and user interface are very well designed, particularly for astrategy game on consoles. Using the d-pad, you navigate hotbars on the leftand right sides of the screen, with each icon opening up to a themed set ofmenus. Resources are displayed along the top of the screen, with notificationsabout diplomatic inquiries and combat summaries coming in like a ticker alongthe bottom. The menus are complex, and it’ll take some time to get used to theonslaught of information. But between navigating around the map and using themenus, it’s a lot easier to pick up and play than one might expect.

Let’s make thisabundantly clear: Making a control scheme for Stellaris on consoles that is not only merely serviceable, butactually easy-to-use and intuitive, is an accomplishment in and of itself.Paradox and Tantalus have taken a genre that is known for complexity, withmenus nested within menus many times over, and made it feel natural. While akeyboard and mouse setup would still be the preferred method for controlling Stellaris, the fact that I can use agamepad and command my empire with a speed and ease that even slightlyapproaches that system is noteworthy, and should be celebrated as such.
That does notmean that the Console Edition canstand shoulder to shoulder with the PC version. Far from it in fact. For one,Paradox began development on the ConsoleEdition back when Stellaris wason patch 1.7, and the launch version closely resembles that, with some minortweaks. Stellaris has dramaticallychanged since then, primarily for the better, and some of those changes willhopefully make their way over to the ConsoleEdition over the ensuing months. This includes megastructures, the massiveDyson Spheres and ringworlds that can be built in the late game. They come withthe Utopia expansion, which willrelease on consoles sometime in the future, but megastructures areunfortunately present in the base game as an option in the construction ships,even though you cannot build them. It’s an unfortunate inclusion, but one thatwill be fixed in due time.
Yet outside ofthe version differences, which are perfectly understandable considering thetime between development and launch, the ConsoleEdition has a major issue when it comes to pacing. Though you can selectthe speed at which time moves, even the fastest setting feels remarkably slow.This isn’t as big of a deal in the early game, where you are rapidly expandingto new star systems, or in the late game, where you are maneuvering fleets andtroops to contain any of a number of crises’. But in the mid-game, once thereis little room to expand and you’re waiting to upgrade technologies, months cango by where all you can do is stare at the timer as it chugs along. It’sboring, as both peaceful and militaristic empires will have long stretches ofdowntime where nothing happens. And if you happen to get into a fleet engagementpast this point, expect plenty of dropped frames and sluggish performance allaround, as the game struggles to keep up with the massive amount of ships andprojectiles firing at one another. Outside of those engagements, the Console Edition runs smoothly, with fewbugs and technical issues marring most of the proceedings.

Which isfortunate, because I find myself being drawn back to the Console Edition every night. The best grand strategy games oftenmake me want to keep playing one more turn, just to see the outcome of mydecisions and what the world has to throw at me. With Stellaris: Console Edition, that feeling comes often, only now,it’s coming from the comfort of my couch. The changes made to accomodategamepads and consoles work remarkably well, even if some much needed changesare still waiting in the wings. Does it come close to the level of satisfactionbrought by playing Stellaris on a PC?Not yet. Is it still a remarkable strategy game that is worth your time onconsoles? Most definitely.