Stellaris: Cosmic Storms Review – More Drizzle Than Hurricane

Surviving Cosmic Storms in Stellaris

Galactic conquest. From military tactics to economic policies, no detail is too small for those among us that seek out grand strategy games. Complicated combos give way to diplomatic maneuvering. Methodical military build up replaces pixel perfect precision. Of the myriad grand strategy options out there, the one I return to expansion after expansion is Paradox Interactive’s Stellaris. This week, the latest Stellaris expansion – Cosmic Storms – joins the baffling number of expansions the game has amassed in the past (gasp) 8 years.

If there’s one thing Paradox games are known for, it’s expansion content. Titles are often released feature complete and fun to play, but without a ton of breadth. If the release version of a Paradox game is a sapling, the mature version is a mighty oak with endless branching ways to play. Stellaris is no exception. Starting from scratch, it would cost a new player hundreds of dollars to pick up everything. The good news is I’ve done the hard work for you, and have an opinion on Cosmic Storms. First, though, some back story.

The 3 Types of Stellaris Expansion

Stellaris expansions fit into 3 different buckets. There are major expansions, like Utopia and Federations, that fundamentally alter the game with big swings. On the other end are flavour expansions, like Aquatics and Toxoids, that have some mechanics or ways to play, but can be avoided unless you want to play that way. In the middle, which is where Cosmic Storms belongs, are what I call wrinkles.

Wrinkles don’t necessarily change play styles, but have an impact on what you’re able to do, and when. In Cosmic Storms, that’s … exactly what you’re thinking. As the Alarian Storm Riders, I fired up a new galaxy ready to surf the waves produced by galactic storm activity.

Storm activity can have dramatic impacts on your empire. As the Storm Riders, I cosplayed as a thrill seeking species desperately wanting to FEEL ALIVE. The Storm Chasers origin puts you on a direct path to that outcome, for better or worse. Storms are much more likely, and your research is heavily weighted toward storm related options. This can lead to fun scenarios where a technology makes your empire unstoppably powerful inside a storm, especially earlier in the game. But the origin feels like a mechanical tutorial I’d probably only choose once.

Riders on the Storm

In my play through, a giant storm spawned right on top of me in the early game, and my species was stoked. I’m not sure why. Storms can cripple your empire in a host of different ways, and for me it felt cheap. I fought through a gravity storm that increased upkeep costs and devastation on my only world, while giving a little boost to unity production. Most of the storm types have similar effects. In general, something gets a mild bump, while something else absolutely tanks. Unlike other dangers in the galaxy like Leviathans, cosmic storms are more nuisance than opportunity. That said, it was hilarious when my storm repellant tech let me watch gleefully as a rival struggled to keep the lights on.

I do think there’s some tuning needed, though. Out of the box, storms are far too common, even without the Storm Chasers origin active. On a small galaxy, there were often 3 or 4 storms going on at once. I have conflicting thoughts on that. Certainly, a Cosmic Storm should have far reaching consequences, but I think it too often makes the mistake of disrupting the other great content Stellaris has to offer.

Oooooooh, Pretty Colors and Precursors

Visually the storms are stunning. Gorgeous swirling colours and particle effects make Cosmic Storms mesmerizing to watch. The art team really earned their paycheques with this expansion. The writing is fun and quirky too. Did I expect the Storm Chasers to be surfer dudes? No. Am I mad about it? Also no.

Cosmic Storms also packs in 2 new Precursor races to discover and investigate, and additional variety there is always a good thing.

So who is this DLC for? It’s for the Stellaris veterans. For extreme micro-managers. For those who like to live dangerously, and won’t be too upset if they get wrecked through none of their own doing. Like I said, it’s a wrinkle. And Cosmic Storms might be – for some of us – the wrinkle that pushes our fun, stressful, management sim too far. There’s fun to be had if you’ve perfected the art of conquering the galaxy, but Cosmic Storms as a set of mechanics may push getting into Stellaris from challenging into not worth it territory.