When Stellaris was released, the game received wide acclaim in most circles for being an innovative take on space strategy games, on a much larger scale. However, it was roundly criticized for not having enough content in the midgame, despite a robust early game and endgame. Paradox promised to fix it, and now they mostly have done so. Moreover, they’ve started to roll out the game’s first paid DLC, with the release on August 4 of the Plantoids species pack.

Stellaris DLC, Patches Have Fixed The Game

Like most Paradox games, Stellaris was released in a finished state, but one that wasn’t quite the full vision of the developers. Paradox tends to augment its games over time with huge content patches and feature-rich DLC (much of it free). Stellaris is no different. The initial state of the game and the final state, years and years from now, will be very different. That’s why those of us who play Paradox games a lot were very excited by Stellaris; it had its mid-game flaws, but Paradox was sure to fix them.

With the Asimov patch, which launched in late June, Paradox dramatically expanded the midgame of Stellaris and fixed many of the biggest gripes players had about the game. Further patches will continue to add new features, but the game is already a lot better than it was… and it was pretty cool in the first place. If you had reservations based on the initial reviews of Stellaris, you should consider them assuaged. The game is a lot more fun now from end to end.

In addition to patching up the midgame, Paradox has also now released its fist paid DLC for the game, the Plantoids species pack, which debuted on August 4 for $7.99. It’s a cosmetic pack, fleshing out the plant-based species with new portraits, new art for their ships, and new designs for their cities. If that sounds a little light, that’s part of Paradox’s model: They release a lot of DLC, including cosmetic DLC, for true fans, but a lot of the feature-rich content comes in the way of free patches. The company expands the game for free, and charges for extra little niceties along the way. You can live without the Plantoids pack, but not the Asimov patch. Paradox does us the courtesy of giving us the features for free, and if you’re a hardcore fan, you can support them and add to the game’s aesthetic by picking up the Plantoids species pack.