Galactic Civilizations III

 PC
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. PC PowerPlay
    Aug 9, 2015
    70
    It's not perfect, but it's a worthy successor to the now 20-year franchise. [Aug 2015, p.58]
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  2. Gamer.nl
    Aug 3, 2015
    70
    This game plays safe and gets away with it for the most part. The gigantic scale and endless possibilities make this game a charming one. Unfortunately the interface is sad and the multiplayer is deserted.
  3. Hardcore Gamer
    Jul 1, 2015
    70
    Galactic Civilizations III is good (and I love the cutscenes which really build up the universe), it’s just not good enough to stand out in such a crowded market, particularly due to its endgame and micromanagement problems.
  5. GameStar
    Jun 10, 2015
    69
    It can be fun, even addictive, but the overly complicated controls and bugs prevent it from being a great game. Wait for patches.
  6. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Jun 29, 2015
    67
    Endless Legend showed that even basic concepts may be reinvented. I’m not saying Stardock should plagiarize them, but it’s a proof that it can be done. Still, is such reinvention necessary for Stardock? Nope. They have a steady fan base, so GC III’s success was guaranteed. Furthermore, despite how inconsequential the changes are, it’s not exactly a bad game. But it doesn’t reach for the new stars. [Issue#199, p.80]
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  7. CD-Action
    Jul 27, 2015
    60
    Galactic Civilizations III lacks the magic of its outstanding predecessor. The developers promise that it’s just a beginning, that new content is on the way, but right now you’ll be better off playing Sid Meier’s Starships. [08/2015, p.77]
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Awards & Rankings

53
#53 Best PC Game of 2015
51
#51 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015
80
#80 Most Shared PC Game of 2015

User Reviews

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User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 257 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 140 out of 257
  2. Mixed: 69 out of 257
  3. Negative: 48 out of 257
  1. marc5477
    May 18, 2015
    5
    Its a good game, but a little boring and I believe that this is due to "easy mode" economics. One of the biggest challenges in galciv2 was toIts a good game, but a little boring and I believe that this is due to "easy mode" economics. One of the biggest challenges in galciv2 was to balance production, economy, research and approval. Well in galciv3 economy is stupid easy to maintain. Its trivial to maintain positive income even with no economic improvements on planets. Further, production seems to the king of all resources in this game as you can convert production to other types resources (like money or research as you could in Galciv2) but you can increase production much more easily than the other two and you can set up production based planets almost 3-4 times as fast. Since there are so many ways to amplify production, you can easily have a planet with 2x-3x as much production than any other possible resource with their bonus buildings. As a result, my main production center almost always acts as my best research planets (same for money but I never need money in this game)... very disappointing when you consider how much longer it takes to build research planets, one would think there should be a reward for it but nope, you are better off making all production and converting to research.

    My only other gripe is the AI. It seems to me that the AI cheats in higher difficulties rather than playing by the rules. I am not sure if Galciv2 was that way but I dont like that because it cheapens a win and a loss does not really feel like a loss since I know the AI is cheating.

    Overall a good game despite the above gripes. Much of the old game is in Galciv3 but I really did not think that any of the new additions made the game any better. I think Galciv2 is a better game.    … Full Review »
  2. Paradox1950
    May 14, 2015
    9
    I’ve been Beta testing this game through steam early access for some time and find that it doesn’t disappoint. If you like epic 4x turn basedI’ve been Beta testing this game through steam early access for some time and find that it doesn’t disappoint. If you like epic 4x turn based strategy and galactic conquest this is the game for you.

    When I say epic scale the largest map size labelled “insane” has 500,000 map hexes and you can play against up to 100 AI opponents.

    They have taken Galactic Civilization 2 and enhanced all aspects of it, the ship designer that allows you to design your own ships by scaling, rotating and clipping together premade parts is awesome fun. You also add practical things like weapons, defences, drives, and special equipment.

    The game has 7 premade factions all of which have some of their own unique abilities, technologies and planetary improvements out of the box and allows you to create further custom ones.

    It also includes a campaign that follows on from the GC1 & GC2 story lines though I have to confess I prefer to play in sandbox mode.

    The game still has a few bugs and rough edges here and there but StarDock have a well-deserved reputation for patching their games with not only fixes but features and improvements for years after release aside from already planned DLC and expansions so you can’t really loose with this game.

    Unlike its predecessor this game also supports multiplayer.    … Full Review »
  3. ronaldlee0917
    May 23, 2015
    6
    Huge disappointment!

    The game at its current state makes me think that the game is rushed and under a poor budget. A campaign with only    Huge disappointment!

    The game at its current state makes me think that the game is rushed and under a poor budget.

    A campaign with only 3 scenarios? Are you kidding me? It is the shortest campaign in any game I have ever played. On top of that, the campaign is dull and boring, adding little to the original story.

    The game is very unstable, many if not most players encountered blue-screen-of-death or crash-to-desktop issues from time to time.

    The game is very imbalanced. I can own everyone with a single carrier fleet on the hardest difficulty or keep producing the most overpowered ship 100 times the strength of my enemie's flagship every turn with my ridiculous manufacturing power; I could make a radar ship that reveals the whole map for me. I could make some "teleport" transport ship that is capable of bring 3 billions of my soldiers from one side of the universe to another, taking my rival's colony all in a single turn!

    Serisouly, I feel the game developers had spent little time on balancing the game because they don't even have enough time to fix the stability issue.

    In conclusion, the game is rushed and not polished at all. I suggest anyone who haven't already bought the game to wait until they fix the game or wait for a -75% price cut on Steam before buying it or just buy GalCiv 2 now because it is 100 times better than its successor.

    I would leave the game at a rating of 6 until they fix the game.    … Full Review »
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