Stellaris is the kind of game you play when you want to focus more on the large scale aspect of galactic 4X. In this you are the supreme ruler, but that does not mean you oversee the movements of every unit and track the building of every colony.

With a real-time-with-pause time system and a slick notifications interface you get to direct your civilization from it's first days of interstellar exploration up to it's domination or collapse. Rather than playing with simple "racial bonuses" to differentiate various groups Stellaris has you playing with everything from cultural influence and governmental changes to genetic or technological modification. You can create your own races like in may current galactic empire games, but the game also procedurally generates groups for you to encounter, preventing games from feeling like the same encounters time and again.

However, this is not the sort of game you play if you like to focus on micromanaging your troops/ships in battle. Once units engage in conflicts you must sit back and watch, only having the right to call for retreat should you feel the tide turning against you.

In the end Stellaris has a dedicated developer regularly releasing new free content and updates along side paid deluxe DLC. Their regular communication with their player community is commendable and their work to refine and improve on an innovative game makes it that much more enjoyable. I highly suggest this game for anyone that enjoys games such as SimCity and who are ready to sit down and spend time really learning a game. For players that prefer Starcraft style tactics you may want to watch some Youtube play videos of the current version so you can be sure of what you are getting ahead of time.