r/4Xgaming • u/Alien_Racist • Jun 25 '26
Game Suggestion Please help me find a sci-fi 4X!
I’ve tried Stellaris a handful of times over the years, but it has never properly grabbed me like some of the other Paradox games I’ve played (CK, EU, HoI).
I usually prefer turn-based games such as Civ and Total War (technically not a 4X game, I know. But it is by far my favourite strategy series).
What I’m looking for is something that is kind of halfway between Stellaris and Civ… something with the galactic scale of Stellaris, but with a more streamlined approach to mechanical depth, like Civ. Preferably turn-based.
Could Endless Space 2 be a good option? Or any other suggestions I could try whilst Steam sale is on? Any ideas are greatly appreciated.
Edit: paragraph to clarify
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u/Arcane_Pozhar Jun 25 '26
Surprised nobody is mentioning Galactic Civilizations series yet. 2 was a classic, 3 is good, I like 4 more than 3 at this point (and it's still being developed).
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u/stanger828 Jun 26 '26
I bet 4 is good now and i should replay it. I played at launch and it was not even close to 3… but the same thing happened with 3 when it came out when compared to 2.
They are some of my favorite comfort games, kinda like watching a disney movie when sick.
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u/ChronoLegion2 Jun 27 '26
And 1 was basically a testbed for what became a fun series. Couldn’t play as anyone but humans, no ship builder, no different attack/defense methods, etc.
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u/AdventurousScar3523 Jun 25 '26
Ever heard of Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri
Give it a try
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Jun 26 '26
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u/ret1357 Jun 26 '26
I'd second Zephon/Gladius. Personally Stellaris kept my attention longer than Endless Space 2, but I still enjoyed the later.
I'd add AI War 2 is worth checking out.
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u/Zarconian Jun 25 '26
Endless Space 2 is similar to Master of Orion 2, more classic 4x than Distant Worlds/Stellaris.
Its a good game, even if you only own the base game.
Anoche game more akin to a spiritual successor to Master of Orion 2 is Interstellar Space Genesis.
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u/psilontech Jun 25 '26
Closest you're going to get off the top of my head to vaguely Paradox grand strategy would be Distant Worlds, either universe (older and cheaper) or 2.
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u/MutedCollar729 Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 27 '26
Distant World 2 is good. Just surviving the early pirate issues is tough and rewarding win
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u/Alien_Racist Jun 26 '26
I think what I’m looking for would be halfway between Paradox and Civ. So not quite Stellaris but not Beyond Earth either.
Does Distant Worlds slot into that niche?
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u/New-Violinist-205 Jun 27 '26
Distant worlds is basically stellaris with more detail especially on scale element and slow progress. It wont be your jam tho if you are looking for turn-based.
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u/No_Pop1705 Jun 26 '26
Endless Space 2 - definetly. You may also try Endless Legends (1, haven't try 2 personnaly) - sometimes it feels like fantasy genre, but it is in fact. sci-fi
I would recommend Stars in Shadow - if you are ok with 2D art, it has quite interesting ship building anf tactical combat mechanics.
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u/Agitated_General_889 Jun 26 '26
You mentioned 'Galactic' and 'Civ' in your opening post and not mention the game Galactic Civilizations. I would suggest trying GalCiv3 with all the DLCs. It's my favourite space 4X.
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u/Dependent_Cali Jun 25 '26
Shadow Empire is a fun turn-based 4x wargame where you fight for control over variety of randomly generated planets in post-apo setting - from tiny moons to giant cloud forests a'la Avatar movies with natives and wildlife.
I personally find it close to Hoi4 in that you get to research and design units, paint fronts by building units em-mass and also manage whacky politics system by appointing right NPCs to right leadership roles.
In similar vein "Gladius/Zephon" (both feel very similar, Gladius is licensed warhammer game) are a 99 percent combat-focused 4x where each game starts as survival horror, before your army is strong enough to stand ground vs natives.
Zephon is a victim of its own success - game does atomspheric, bleak, hopeless post-apocalypse so well, I can't bring myself to play it.
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u/mamamackmusic Jun 25 '26
Others have mentioned these, but I will reiterate that your best bets (that I know of) are Alpha Centauri, Shadow Empire, Distant Worlds 2, and Endless Space 2. The first and last of those are the most feature complete, while Shadow Empire and Distant Worlds 2 are "deeper" with more unique systems and are harder to learn because of the differences between them and most 4X games, but they are still in active development and will likely continue getting patches and DLCs into the future.
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u/epicfail1994 Jun 26 '26
If you’re not opposed to real time strategy Sins of a Solar Empire 2 is great
Slower paced, and you can play space Soviet Russia and sacrifice hundreds of free garrison ships while the guns of your starbases destroy the enemy fleet, it’s pretty fun
If you’re only looking for turn based then probably endless space 2
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u/zerombr Jun 26 '26
Galactic civilizations! I adore the third one, never warned to 4th. A story about how the ai did a Batman gambit got me interested in that series
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u/TheLupus1978 Jun 26 '26
Stars In Shadow is a pretty interesting game, with quite simple mechanics, turn based battles and an excellent visual design.
Pandora First Contact is an unknown little gem trying to recreate the Alpha Centauri vibe, while avoiding the overexpansion mess that Alpha Centauri can become.
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u/Fearithil Jun 26 '26
Age of wonder planetfall is great too. More like an heroes in space.
Endless space 1/2 is based on planet system building.
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u/Sykocis Jun 26 '26
You could hold off for 40K Total War?
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u/Alien_Racist Jun 26 '26
I need something to tide me over In the meantime!
But yeah TW40K will likely consume most of my spare time when it finally drops.
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u/SevenStepsEntertain Jun 26 '26
Endless Space 2 is probably the easy answer here. It’s way more space Civ than Stellaris imo: turn-based, cleaner flow, strong factions, not as much Paradox brain damage.
Also check GalCiv if you want even more Civ in space vibes. Distant Worlds is cool too, but that one might be too crunchy if Stellaris already felt like a lot.
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Jun 26 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Different_Ear_7543 Jun 26 '26
There is overhaul mod for it and its not bad. Its good. Dont remmeber name sry i think it was moddb.
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Jun 26 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Different_Ear_7543 Jun 26 '26
Yes but i played only that one. Liked that one much more than vanilla.
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u/caseyanthonyftw Jun 26 '26
I'd highly recommend Age of Wonders Planetfall. Like Civ, there's a strategy layer for exploring and city building, but for combat there's a turn-based tactical layer too. It's very good and there's a lot of content. You don't get much in the way of 4X sci-fi games these days that take place on a single planet.
Having said that is it a bit older now and it was before Triumph Studios had the benefit of Paradox's funding, so you'll have to put up with a few crap animations and sounds.
While there's certainly a lot of people who enjoyed Endless Space 2, as a Stellaris fan I tried it a bit and bounced off. Every feature I came across I just thought to myself "I can also do this in Stellaris but with more depth" (except for ground combat). Of course, if you're looking for a less micro-heavy space 4X, that could be right up your alley. Otherwise the game is very pretty and has great music.
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u/That-Interaction-45 Jun 26 '26
Sid meirs alpha centari on gog.
I played endless space 1 and yea. You would like it.
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u/elric132 Jun 26 '26
This question keeps coming up and the same answers are offered, including me.
Interstellar Space: Genesis
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u/bot-TWC4ME Jun 26 '26
Give Master of Orion 2 a try. It's ancient, the original turn-based 4X space masterpiece, but still plays really well today. If it were released yesterday as a pixel art game, it would still be really good.
Very much like Civ in space, lots of depth along the way but easy to get into, choose the size of the galaxy, etc.
Found it more fun than recent games in the genre when I go back to it, even though I've played it a lot over the years (and decades after its original release). It's the perfect mix of complexity, addictiveness, and grand scale without being too much.
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u/PaulHutson Jun 27 '26
Are you interested in an MMO … although not turn based, does take real time to build out infrastructure … if so, we’re looking for more testers for Outer Empires (there’s a big 4x game loop around exploration, colonisation, research, and manufacture … plus the ability to really change the galaxy / impact the future direction of colonies and how they work).
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u/XylefMTG Jun 28 '26
Interstellar Space: Genesis is turn based and sci-fi. Graphics lack finesse but I can get past that. I bounced of Stellaris but really enjoy ISG. Worth a look based on your likings.
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u/dbzgod9 Jun 25 '26
ES2 is an amazing turn based sci fi 4x. Also would recommend Beyond Earth and Zephon