Hugin & Munin Journal

Like many Paradox titles, Stellaris lives and evolves through an extensive DLC model. Paid expansions arrive alongside free updates, old systems are redesigned, and mechanics that once seemed fundamental may later be replaced or incorporated into the base game. This is hardly unique within Paradox’s catalogue, but the effect is unusually visible in Stellaris . Its DLC does not merely add more material to a stable game. It repeatedly changes what kinds of civilisation can exist, which stories the galaxy can generate and what the game expects the player to manage. That makes Stellaris richer. It also makes it increasingly difficult to answer a simple question: what, exactly, is the base game? Official artwork for Stellaris , developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. Used for purposes of review and commentary. Two Different Paradox DLC Problems Europa Universalis IV also accumulated an intimidating catalogue of expansi...

I have been playing 4X games since first or second grade, when a friend introduced me to the original Civilization . Not long afterwards, I had my own copy, and between Civilization and Civilization II I must have spent hundreds of hours conquering, optimising and reshaping the world. One of my favourite parts was always the science victory: constructing a spaceship and launching it towards Alpha Centauri. But there was a lingering disappointment. The game ended just as it felt as though the most interesting part should begin. When Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri was released in 1999, it finally scratched that itch. It did not merely move the familiar Civilization formula into space. It asked what might happen after the colonists arrived—and allowed ideology, technology and the planet itself to shape the answer. Box art: Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri , developed by Firaxis Games and published by Electronic Arts. Used for purposes of review and commentary. More...

In Solium Infernum , you take the role of a scheming Archfiend competing to become the next ruler of Hell. The Prince of Darkness has vanished, leaving eight possible successors to pursue the Infernal Throne through legions, sorcery, insults, political manoeuvring and carefully regulated violence. The 2024 release is a reimagining of Vic Davis’s 2009 cult strategy game. I had been curious about the original for years, but League of Geeks’ modern version finally gave me an excuse to enter Hell’s bureaucracy. What makes the game distinctive is not simply its setting. Solium Infernum treats warfare as something that must be prepared politically before it can be pursued militarily. The real contest is often not whether you can defeat an opponent, but whether you can create the conditions under which you are permitted to attack them. Game logo: Solium Infernum , developed and published by League of Geeks. Used for purposes of review and commentary. Grand Strat...