Stellaris: Utopia

The late Iain M. Banks wrote sci-fi novels set against the backdrop of The Culture, a sprawling futuristic civilisation where giant supercomputers did the heavy lifting. It was a vast empire, but not one ruled with an iron fist. In fact, its citizens lived very comfortable lives where they could do pretty much as they pleased. The new expansion for Stellaris, Utopia, lands alongside update 1.5, named Banks after the aforementioned author, and it's a fitting title because the focus of this expansion is on adding new options for players looking to shape the very fabric of the society that defines their empire in the stars.

Whereas the cherry on top, and maybe even the icing too (if we're going to push the analogy), is the paid content that comes with Utopia, the cake that it sits upon is very much the free 1.5 patch. We're not going to dissect what is paid and what is not, though, because the two bleed into each other after a while, layered as they are on top of several earlier post-launch patches and paid-for DLCs. Paradox has had almost a year to tighten up and remedy some of the features that felt a touch hollow at launch, and in general, we'd say that the game itself is better for the changes made.

The emphasis has very much been on adding more interesting decisions to a reasonably typical play-through. Aside from the new hive mind option (which we'll get to later), there are several new directions in which you can take your empire. For starters, when setting up a new game, instead of picking old types of government, now you're able to choose your brand of authority, and supplement that choice with new civics that give your empire a bit more personality and purpose.

To counter this renewed focus, internal factions now give you something to think about within the confines of your own empire, with various groups forming and urging you to take different paths as you expand your domain out into the farthest reaches of space. Whether it's bending to the will of alien-hating traditionalists or keeping science-loving explorers happy, there's more to factor in now than simply exercising your own will as an omnipotent leader.

Another new resource has been added to the mix: unity. This has a two-fold impact on the game. In the early to mid-game, you're unlocking Traditions. Each tree has six stages, plus you get an extra bonus when you've unlocked a full set. Again, this prompts more frequent decision making and allows you to focus your empire in more purposeful directions. Once you've completed a set, you also get an Ascension Perk, and it's here that you can shape your empire as it lurches into the climactic endgame.

Whether you want to leave behind your mortal bodies and ascend into synthetic form, expand your spiritual and psychic horizons beyond the confines of our perceived reality, or even invest in technology and show your might by building giant megastructures as big as planets, there are some interesting paths to pursue. This in turn gives more context to your early decisions, when you're starting to think about the direction your game will ultimately take. The expansion feels transformative from top to bottom.

There's one new addition that actually renders many of the other new features useless, though. You can now choose to play as a race of creatures that share a collective consciousness, a hive mind, and doing so limits the effectiveness/relevance of several Ascension Perks, as well as entirely removing several more interesting systems (for example, there's no need to worry about internal factions, at least as far as we can tell). The price might be steep in some respects, given the options you have to wave goodbye to, but it counters that by offering up an entirely new way of playing the game. While we had a jolly old time munching our way through our closest galactic neighbours (there's no choice in the matter, once you conquer a world, the existing population is marked to die), it's also fair to say that some of the subtlety is lost in amongst all the hive conformity and aggressive warmongering, and beyond even that, more could have been done to make the presentation around this new play-style feel more unique.

When Stellaris released last year it was a game on the brink of greatness, and with Utopia it has taken another step towards total galactic domination. There's still a fair amount of busywork to contend with when it comes to managing your planet-side resources, but this has been eased considerably by new systems that more frequently interrupt those moments where you're merely waiting for something new to happen, and there are now more interesting decisions to be made more often. Stellaris now facilitates even more varied scenarios, and it's a better game for the inclusion of both the paid and free content updates. If you're among those still playing this sci-fi grand strategy game, then Utopia is a must-have purchase. If you were waiting for the inevitable slew of updates and content drops to flesh out the game before jumping aboard, there's never been a better time to explore the dark expanse of space.