Stellaris: Console Edition

 PlayStation 4
User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 48 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 48
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 48
  3. Negative: 11 out of 48

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  1. Debris44
    Apr 1, 2019
    8
    I don't necessarily have a ton of time to invest into deep strategy games, running perfect builds, re-starting a million times to learn all the perfect mechanics to reign supreme in strategy games, but this game will definitely scratch the itch of anyone who loves space/strategy games in that Civilization mold. Researching new tech, diplomacy, combat, and exploration are plentiful here,I don't necessarily have a ton of time to invest into deep strategy games, running perfect builds, re-starting a million times to learn all the perfect mechanics to reign supreme in strategy games, but this game will definitely scratch the itch of anyone who loves space/strategy games in that Civilization mold. Researching new tech, diplomacy, combat, and exploration are plentiful here, with a lot of charm and easy to learn mechanics. I love the soundtrack to the game. I've heard the console version is a fairly archaic version compared to what PC gamers get to enjoy, but for what it is, it works very well on the console. I've not encountered any major bugs and look forward to another playthrough soon.… Expand
  2. Sukotto12
    Mar 1, 2019
    8
    I had wanted to play the PC version, but never got around to it. The console controls are solid; surprisingly so. There is certainly a learning curve, as I actually scrapped my first game so that I could start afresh, learning from my first game blunders. It really is an addictive game that becomes kind of a time warp. It almost made me late for work two days running. Highly recommendedI had wanted to play the PC version, but never got around to it. The console controls are solid; surprisingly so. There is certainly a learning curve, as I actually scrapped my first game so that I could start afresh, learning from my first game blunders. It really is an addictive game that becomes kind of a time warp. It almost made me late for work two days running. Highly recommended for those willing to learn the game's many nuances and systems. That being said, it's a very gratifying game that I find myself thinking about when not playing it. It also doesn't hurt that it has near-infinite replayability, which is a huge value at $40.… Expand
  3. ataalavi89
    Mar 2, 2019
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Hi, I have everything in Stellaris except the Megacorp update. It seems the PS4 version is a downgrade from the latest expansions in the game. These pros and cons were written by me for Wccftech in their comments section.

    Pros:
    -You can build your race, complete with its ethics, behavior and likely-hood of declaring war.

    -Gameplay is different for each civilization you choose (or build) so its good replay-ability if you have no problem with building stations all the time. Some races can't have federations, others can't declare war. Others can/cannot enslave populations. Lots of (endless) options in terms of building your government and choosing the ideals of your species.

    -Constant events/space anomalies keep you on your toes.

    -The producers have a good imagination. I like space science and astronomy and they make the anomalies and space events so much more interesting and believable. And without any video of events that is. Their writing is so good.

    -The coolest thing I liked was you could uplift a minor civilization that hasn't mastered space flight yet.

    -Has cheats, for the more casual gamer.

    -Yes the soundtracks aregood and you can choose from various tracks. But the best soundtracks in my opinion are from Total War and Crusader kings (being a rock lover)
    -Good customization options-you can choose your galaxy and how many species there will be in it.

    Cons:

    -Its a little repetitive. I mean you are endlessly building outposts, research stations and mining stations. Its the backbone of the game and gets boring after a while. This is why after I won in 2 play-thoughs I gave up while playing on the third.

    -The thing is all strategy games, from shooters like Mass Effect (Andromeda is the name of the galaxy closest to our Milky Way), to similar 4X titles like Endless Space 2 and Galactic Civilizations III give you a single galaxy. Most players may not see this as a problem but I am tired of it. They all feel the same.

    In my view Stellaris isn't always fun but usually is though the least fun part is when you have blanketed the galaxy with your outposts and can't declare war on anyone (Perhaps because of your ethics, so choose the right faction for the play-style that interests you.

    There's a steep learning curve and gameplay differs slightly for each of the civilizations you choose (or make) because they play differently. Whats common to all of them are the buildings though. All of them build mining stations, research stations and outposts in space and all of them have hydroponic farms etc on their planets. It would have been interesting for some variety here. Its still not a completely boring title like Galactic Civilzations 3. With so many different civilizations with different governing/rulership styles and more you can design personally there's a lot to do.

    Ata Alavi,
    Game Writer.    … Expand
  4. Alexqf22
    Jun 28, 2019
    10
    Best game strategy for consoles , good controls , everything good , most beautiful
  5. pchzmn1961
    Feb 28, 2019
    8
    This is my first time at this type of game. And for what it is I am enjoying it a lot at the moment. Have not played pc version I know it is better but give it time. I'm sure this will be updated just as on pc has. It should get better once the dlc is released until then I will have fun with this game. I am picking it up fast for my first time, agreed it can go a little faster. ButThis is my first time at this type of game. And for what it is I am enjoying it a lot at the moment. Have not played pc version I know it is better but give it time. I'm sure this will be updated just as on pc has. It should get better once the dlc is released until then I will have fun with this game. I am picking it up fast for my first time, agreed it can go a little faster. But everything takes time and I think 75 is a fair rating at this time. For the first time on console I think it is a good porting to the controller also. You can't compare it to the pc version if you have already played on pc. I see this as an introduction to the genre for those of us who like to play on console, and I see it as a good game despite being my first time playing. Granted the battles could also be a little better but for what this game is it is very satisfying for me right now. Just hope it doesn't take a long time to improve on it and take forever for the dlc to come out.… Expand
  6. Realreviews7
    Feb 28, 2019
    10
    The game takes awhile to build up your fleets and research, but that just means you are getting your money's worth. Graphics are good and controls are easy enough to learn. You have to play Ironman to be able to get trophies so that adds a bit of difficulty to getting 28 trophies to platinum the game. Also enjoy customizing races and then adding them to the game to play against. ThisThe game takes awhile to build up your fleets and research, but that just means you are getting your money's worth. Graphics are good and controls are easy enough to learn. You have to play Ironman to be able to get trophies so that adds a bit of difficulty to getting 28 trophies to platinum the game. Also enjoy customizing races and then adding them to the game to play against. This game is very addictive and I know it was a great buy.… Expand
  7. Trebor44
    Mar 5, 2019
    0
    Love the look of the game. However instruction like how to build defense stations are missing. This approach to building game with incomplete instructions is frustrating. I should not spend more time searching how to play a game online than I do playing it. Good game that is ruined by poor player instruction and player guide.
  8. megabear
    Feb 28, 2019
    0
    Alien diversity? No, more like humanized zoo animals. How are they so not imaginative? Also the game is more shallow than you'd expect. Everything is too simplified, especially the fleet combat. The game boils down to Early rush -> boring mid game -> steam rolling everyone else. Not recommended.
  9. Clayton_G
    Mar 1, 2019
    10
    A beautiful game, extremely addicting, ignore the negative reviews, the game is progressively getting better and will catch up to the pc counterpart as the debs said. I have thousands of hours in the pc version and I bought this , so I can play with my friends, its a strategy game where you can play as xenophobic slave traders or pacifist hippies, literally my favorite game
  10. brachypelma44
    Dec 1, 2020
    1
    This game is unplayable. I'm guessing that if you played it on PC, you might have some idea of how to make *anything* happen, but as a new player jumping into the game, you'll experience nothing but an unclimbable wall of frustration.

    After an hour of play, I had sent my science ship to Alpha Centauri. IN AN ENTIRE HOUR, THAT WAS THE ONLY THING I COULD FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO. Let that    This game is unplayable. I'm guessing that if you played it on PC, you might have some idea of how to make *anything* happen, but as a new player jumping into the game, you'll experience nothing but an unclimbable wall of frustration.

    After an hour of play, I had sent my science ship to Alpha Centauri. IN AN ENTIRE HOUR, THAT WAS THE ONLY THING I COULD FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO. Let that sink in.

    I gave it a 1/10 instead of a 0/10 because it looks pretty. If you're in the market for a PS4 screensaver, I guess it's worth $2. Unfortunately, I paid $15 for a GAME. They got me. Good job, whoever decided to port this to consoles for some quick cash. You win.    … Expand
  11. AHBroccoli
    Jun 20, 2020
    0
    I want to love this game, but for the life of me I can’t figure out how to play it. Downloaded it onto my PS4 on 6/13/2020 and after being too dumb to understand the tutorial and watching 5+ hours of various YouTube tutorial videos, the game is still unplayable. According some fans on Reddit, they regularly make significant changes, so much so that I literally could not find a video thatI want to love this game, but for the life of me I can’t figure out how to play it. Downloaded it onto my PS4 on 6/13/2020 and after being too dumb to understand the tutorial and watching 5+ hours of various YouTube tutorial videos, the game is still unplayable. According some fans on Reddit, they regularly make significant changes, so much so that I literally could not find a video that had the same version of the game that I downloaded. Any tutorial video I was following would inevitably get to a point where they were playing a different game than I was. I tried for *days* to figure this game out. At this point I don’t think the designers are interested in engaging with new players. Do not recommend.… Expand
  12. WOLFOG
    Feb 3, 2021
    6
    Wtf base game is crap ....need to spend ton of money to actually play game .. classic Paradox gives crapy base version and 101 dlc and in dlcs are all gud things so you need to spend toon of money
  13. HaloFever
    Jul 19, 2022
    5
    Stellaris was already a problematic game on PC? And the PS4 version makes those problems worse. The user interface is obtuse, bloated, and impenetrable for new users. If you played this on PC, you probably saw all of the quality of life mods. Paradox could have implemented some of those ideas for PS4. Instead they created a frustrating interface for controllers. Best I can say is that thisStellaris was already a problematic game on PC? And the PS4 version makes those problems worse. The user interface is obtuse, bloated, and impenetrable for new users. If you played this on PC, you probably saw all of the quality of life mods. Paradox could have implemented some of those ideas for PS4. Instead they created a frustrating interface for controllers. Best I can say is that this game fills a niche that others do not and it played well on PS5.

    The biggest barrier to enjoying Stellaris PS4 are the many, many menus that clutter the screen. More is not always better and Stellaris proves this. Finding relevant info feels like a hidden object game. If I was in charge of fixing this game, I would start by taking away factions, edicts, most of the +5% techs, blockers on planets, much of the diplomacy screen, a few redundant buildings, the ship designer, and about 1/2 of fleet management. Then I would give players the option automate many of the tasks in this game like surveying systems, building housing, and responding to pirates. A lot of players would change a lot about Stellaris, especially on PS4. The DLC adds a lot to the game, but like I said, more is not always better.

    Another longstanding issue in the game is the waiting. This is love real time equivalent of spamming “next turn” in Civilization 6. You cannot just walk away and read your e-max You need to keep watching the game, hoping that something happens so you can click something and at least pretend you are playing a game. I would prefer a turn based Stellaris. I have to keep pausing the game to make decisions anyway.

    Finally, Stellaris has major limitations for strategy and tactics. Long term strategy depends on random opportunities to research new techs and find habitable planets. (If you get lucky and can research terraforming soon enough, you can make every planet habitable.) Tactics are almost non existent. The battles are decided by numbers, and the bigger number wins. The best you do on defense is bait the ent into attacking a system with a space station that can hurt the enemy’s shield and slow them down. There are no hit and run tactics. There are no fighter versus carrier battles. There are no stealth ships with first strike advantages. As a long time fan of games like Dune II and Civilization, the battles are disappointing.

    Almost every game of Stellaris has the same beginning, middle, and end. There is little freedom to go off script. Population growth, a.i. bonuses, and technology research times are all tuned to keep the player from doing anything too interesting. Grow slow, build a a giant fleet, and fight the end game crisis, That’s every game. There is no ideological victory, no super science victory, and no diplomatic victory. The most you can do is decide to micromanage your empire more or less.

    Full disclosure: I downloaded this from my PS+ Essential collection. I also played the PC version with more of the DLC. (My son bought it and I paid him half after I played it.)    … Expand
  14. RandomWyrd
    Feb 10, 2021
    10
    Best space-strategy game on consoles, simple as that. Lots of different ways to play and to specialize your empire.
  15. FrazerRPG
    Apr 25, 2019
    9
    It's an amazing game, it especially stands out on PS4 with no other games like this. Parts of the game are not well explained but Google will fill in those blanks. Treat the first few games as learning games. The text is to small for vita remote play to be payable and there will be some lag end game depending on ai numbers and universe size. Despite these few issues I cannot stopIt's an amazing game, it especially stands out on PS4 with no other games like this. Parts of the game are not well explained but Google will fill in those blanks. Treat the first few games as learning games. The text is to small for vita remote play to be payable and there will be some lag end game depending on ai numbers and universe size. Despite these few issues I cannot stop playing this game. It's the most fun I've had playing a game for ages.… Expand
  16. Ukmacca
    Aug 2, 2019
    5
    Love this game - maybe too much!!!
  17. ClutterBrain
    Jan 28, 2020
    5
    While the game itself may have good depth and strategy, it is sorely lacking in-game instruction and information. You will probably need to spend many hours on Google, YouTube, Reddit, etc before fully grasping this game. In doing so, you will possibly be rewarded with a robust experience seldom found on console. If this sounds like too much of a time and energy investment though, youWhile the game itself may have good depth and strategy, it is sorely lacking in-game instruction and information. You will probably need to spend many hours on Google, YouTube, Reddit, etc before fully grasping this game. In doing so, you will possibly be rewarded with a robust experience seldom found on console. If this sounds like too much of a time and energy investment though, you might want to pass on this title altogether.… Expand
  18. mrgamerboy
    Oct 7, 2019
    10
    i love this game but i hope they add more dlc like the pc version cuz i want to do more in this game like destroy a planet i hope they at least add Apocalypse dlc
  19. ZeroV
    Nov 26, 2019
    10
    - finished 300+ hour gameplay on pc, finished and won devouring swarm on Grand Admiral difficulty (devoured EVERYTHING) on pc → and i have to say I LOVE the console port.
    - console port allows me 100% graphics 24/7 + end game lag is almost gone (on pc it was 5+ sec / day)
    - graphics 10/10, gameplay 10/10, story (highly customizable, so N/A), soundtrack 10/10 - Hope latest DLCs will    - finished 300+ hour gameplay on pc, finished and won devouring swarm on Grand Admiral difficulty (devoured EVERYTHING) on pc → and i have to say I LOVE the console port.
    - console port allows me 100% graphics 24/7 + end game lag is almost gone (on pc it was 5+ sec / day)
    - graphics 10/10, gameplay 10/10, story (highly customizable, so N/A), soundtrack 10/10
    - Hope latest DLCs will arrive ASAP, as the combat right now is painful
    - AI could use some hardening IMO
    *life hack - the soundtrack is the best tool for long study sessions

    To Paradox Interactive: THANK YOU.
    To Tantalus game studios: THANK YOU!    … Expand
  20. TheCroWolf
    May 1, 2022
    5
    This company is worst like EA ...they sell you bare bones game and then 101 dlc ...this is scam like thous mobile game i dont recommend this unless you want to spend 200$ on this game

Awards & Rankings

86
#86 Best PS4 Game of 2019
49
#49 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. GameOver.gr
    Jun 26, 2020
    85
    Almost five years after its initial release, Paradox's sci-fi epic graces Sony's console and finally brings the fully fledged experience and thrill of managing every aspect of a galactic empire, from sociopolitical decisions to starship designs. Tantalus' port successfully translates the PC controls, enabling players to boldly go where no other Strategy game has gone before on consoles, and it's a journey worth making.
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  2. Worth Playing
    Sep 11, 2019
    85
    Stellaris: Console Edition is a mighty impressive game in and of itself. It also did the impossible: make a fairly complex and grand strategy title enjoyable on a console. That should stand as its own achievement. If you have access to Stellaris on a powerful PC, the console edition isn't for you. Even though it is a great title, the console version still feels somewhat restrained and pared down, but that may change with future updates. Regardless, if you're a fan of the genre and only game on a console at home, this is as close as you can get to a great strategy title running in its full glory on a TV.
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  3. Gamer.nl
    Mar 11, 2019
    75
    If you want to play grand strategy on a console, Stellaris is a deep game you can play over and over again. Be warned though: this amazing game will stalk you with small text and a very slow pace.
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