If, like me, you love playing the best 4X games but have no free time, Stellaris Nexus is here for you. Stellaris developer Paradox has brought in the team at Whatboy Games under its Paradox Arc publishing label to create a “4X game that respects your time,” condensing all the strategy and nuance of the genre into hour-long matches. Stellaris Nexus is the answer to my prayers; a way to dive into multiplayer showdowns with my pals in the time-starved world of adult life.
“Time is a valuable currency in our everyday lives and we all know how much time a really good 4X game can take to complete,” the team at Whatboy Games says. “What if you could have a 4X game that can be played in the time it takes you to do the laundry?” Honestly, that sounds like a dream; a way to scratch the strategy itch without setting aside all my responsibilities for an entire weekend.
Enter Stellaris Nexus, then: “a multiplayer turn-based 4X clash for galactic dominance, played from start to finish in about an hour.” You’ll be able to choose from a range of distinct factions pulled from the incredible and bizarre alien aesthetics of mainline Stellaris, with the turn-based matches supporting up to six players in total. You can join your friends or head online with options for skill-based matchmaking.
Whatboy Games says you can expect all the tenets of 4X games that you know and love. The exploring, expanding, exploiting, and exterminating; diplomatic deals and inevitable, delicious betrayal; a Galactic Council where each player can exert their faction’s influence to determine potential resolutions that might benefit their goals or appease their allies.
There’s currently no release date set for Stellaris Nexus, but you can add it to your Steam wishlist if you’re interested in following its progress.
It’s certainly got me curious; while I might be able to fit in a solo game of Civilization 6 or Stellaris over the course of a few weeks of play, the idea of getting a group of friends to all set aside their friends and family, and forgo all other healthy pursuits, for two days in service of a weekend-spanning session feels like a lost art. Stellaris Nexus might just be the solution.
Until it arrives, be sure to check out the best strategy games you should be playing to keep those tactical muscles flexed, or turn to the world of the best turn-based strategy games if you’re intent on keeping things at a more regimented pace.