Our author Schuhmann has searched for an alternative to the Steam hit Stellaris and Civilization VI and found it: Galactic Civilizations IV is a way to unleash the inner space tyrant while being quite cozy.
This was my situation:
- Lately, I have been captivated by the strategy genre “4x”: In these games, you start small and build an empire that spans the world or space.
- After extensively playing the usual suspects Stellaris, Civilization 6, Old World, and Crusader Kings 3, I was a bit tired of all that and remembered “Galactic Civilizations IV,” which was still sitting in my Epic Game Store. I had checked out the sci-fi game at the release in 2022.
- The sci-fi game has gripped me again and brightened my Saturday.
Resistance is futile, it will simply be cuddled away
This is what makes Galactic Civilization IV special: Most strategy games take themselves very seriously: In Stellaris, killer robots wipe out humanity, in Victoria 3 you get a really bad feeling when you suddenly receive the order to annex Alsace-Lorraine as the German Empire.
In Galactic Civilization IV, things are a bit more relaxed: There is an Orc race that wants to eat you, but also talking trees and somewhat sluggish stone folk.
My favorite race, however, are the Mimot: They are a gang of horny space bunnies that are roughly reminiscent of the “Tribbles” from Star Trek: They are somewhat cute, reproduce like crazy, and simply overwhelm everyone else with their mere presence.
In messages to other races, the little gluttons always emphasize how big their eyes are and how cuddly-furry they are, but they also let slip that there were once 5 other races with consciousness on their planet that got left behind in evolution.
In the game, the rampant reproduction becomes noticeable as the race reproduces quickly, and whenever you build a ship, you get a second one for free. As a “compensation,” the ships of the people have 25% fewer hit points.
Furry creatures are ideal for a rapid invasion of humanity
This is my tactic: In every 4x game, there is usually a “best way” to get on the road to victory: It’s like the first step in a zombie apocalypse. Go straight at your neighbor with a drawn knife and take everything he has.
In my game with the Mimot, my neighbor was humanity.
In such a match of Galactic Civilization IV, there are, at least according to my settings, 17 different species in the universe, but at the beginning, 2 of them are isolated in a sector from the rest until you research hyperspace travel at the end of the early game.
My tactic is to spread my cuddle monsters across the entire sector and quickly research planetary invasion. Because small colonies can be conquered with assault ships, but large populated planets must be subdued on foot, for which you need to arrive with transports.
In Galactic Civilizations IV, an invasion of the defenseless neighbor is only really worthwhile when you can set up an initial reasonable attack fleet with transports.
Going for invasions so early in the game is somewhat against my established urge to first build the economy: Because for planetary invasions, you have to research a series of military things that don’t bring anything at first.
I even suffered a minor setback because the 4th planet that I could only colonize after researching a new technology was in an area claimed by humans.
Ultimately, the humans were able to take over the planet through “Culture Flip”: Apparently, my traitor bunnies found it cooler to hang out with humans and constantly be petted and fed than to serve their rightful space tyrant, namely me. Just wait!
Bunnies turn unique special ships into just two ships
How was the battle? The key to victory was a perk in the game’s “culture tree” that allowed me to expand a fleet of 10 initial units to 18. Blessed with 2 relatively strong initial planets, I was able to set up four 18-unit fleets: 2 of them with troop transporters full of space bunnies.
The remaining ships of my fleet formed lightly armed initial ships and special ships that you get when you put leaders in the cockpit.
In addition, I also received special ships that you unlock through events: In the game’s logic, these are unique mercenary ships that you unlock through special events.
The nasty advantage of the cuddle monsters: Since you have to “build” these ships, you always get 2 copies of these particularly powerful uniques.
Ultimately, humanity had nothing to counter my furry assault, and Earth, Mars, and the other colonies quickly belonged to me.
The last world of humanity, caught between stone monsters and space bunnies
But humanity was not entirely wiped out yet: They had snagged a world in the neighboring sector via hyperspace and were already embroiled in a war with the stone folk living there.
I, as furry as I am, made peace with the subdued humans, collected a 1000 credits victory bonus, and watched my subjects populate the newly conquered worlds.
Then I prepare my next attack on the last remaining world of humanity and my new friends, the stone beings.
Galactic Civilizations comes out in October in a new version on Steam
Is the game also available on Steam? Originally, Galactic Civilizations IV was released in April 2022 in the Epic Game Store and not on Steam. In a new “Supernova” edition, the game then came out as an early access title in April 2023 on Steam. This version is set to be released in full on October 19.
A week earlier, on October 12, Star Trek Infinite will launch on Steam:
“Shut up, Wesley” – New strategy game for Steam sounds like a dream for every Star Trek fan
