There are hours of fun to be had with stellaris, if you like space and conquering stuff you'll love this game.

The game has near infinite replayability value and there are plenty of random events you can encounter or completely miss on every playthrough, various customization options and paths to take on your way too.

However, just like with every other paradox game, the game suffers extremely from overpriced "DLCs" that feel more like what you would describe as a "hotfix" in any indie game. Content from any new DLC is already introduced to the base game before you even buy the DLC but it is introduced in a way that you cannot access the content the DLC provides but you're forced to still deal with the worst parts of the DLC so you are reminded just "how much better" it would be if you had that DLC, so without DLCs the game feels like a demo for what stellaris actually is supposed to be.
On the bright side if you play with a friend or in multiplayer, only the host needs to own all the DLC so everyone in that multiplayer lobby can access the DLC content.

As a co-op game and something fun to do with friends this game excels very highly, and for the best single player experience you need all the DLCs or mods that add the DLC content when you don't have the DLC. so prepare to shell out hundreds of bucks on a game that markets itself at the base price of a triple A game.

Overall, good game, amazing soundtrack and very enjoyable all around but the pricing and the way DLC is handled has a ton of room to be improved.

There are hours of fun to be had with stellaris, if you like space and conquering stuff you'll love this game. The game has near infinite replayability value and there are plenty of random events you can encounter or completely miss on every playthrough, various customization options and paths to take on your way too. However, just like with every other paradox game, the game suffers extremely from overpriced "DLCs" that feel more like what you would describe as a "hotfix" in any indie game. Content from any new DLC is already introduced to the base game before you even buy the DLC but it is introduced in a way that you cannot access the content the DLC provides but you're forced to still deal with the worst parts of the DLC so you are reminded just "how much better" it would be if you had that DLC, so without DLCs the game feels like a demo for what stellaris actually is supposed to be. On the bright side if you play with a friend or in multiplayer, only the host needs to own all the DLC so everyone in that multiplayer lobby can access the DLC content. As a co-op game and something fun to do with friends this game excels very highly, and for the best single player experience you need all the DLCs or mods that add the DLC content when you don't have the DLC. so prepare to shell out hundreds of bucks on a game that markets itself at the base price of a triple A game. Overall, good game, amazing soundtrack and very enjoyable all around but the pricing and the way DLC is handled has a ton of room to be improved.