Though there haven’t been many 4X or 4X-like releases this past year, we’d still like to recognize the game that the staff here at eXplorminate have unanimously chosen as our Game of the Year 2019.
But first, a recap of the 4X games and 4X-like games that have come out this year:
- Thea 2: The Shattering
- Age of Wonders: Planetfall
- Jon Shafer’s At the Gates
- Interstellar Space: Genesis
- Predestination
- Fantastic Creatures
- Leylines
- Mini Gal4xy
The games that released that we believe appeal to 4X gamers and have 4X-like elements include:
- Total War: Three Kingdoms
- AI War 2
- Driftland: The Magic Revival
- Fantasy General 2
- Field of Glory: Empires
And finally, the expansions released for 4X games in 2019 include:
- Endless Space 2: Penumbra
- Civilization 6: Gathering Storm
- Stellaris: Megacorps
- Endless Space 2: Awakening
- Age of Wonders: Planetfall – Revelations
Without further ado, here are our choices for Game of the Year in their respective categories:
Civilization 6: Gathering Storm
While it’s not perfect, Gathering Storm did a lot to improve Civilization 6 and added quite a few unique features that make the game much more interesting. Natural disasters, rising water levels, and climate change are game-changing elements that add needed variety to Civilization 6.
Content additions of eight new civilizations, nine new buildings, 18 new units, 14 new wonders and more definitely helped flesh the game out, too.
Meanwhile, the changes to diplomacy and adding a diplomatic currency helped make interactions with foreign leaders feel much more dynamic and alive.
Gathering Storm brought Civilization 6 a large step forward towards making it feel like a truly great entry, even if it still seems to fall short of its predecessors according to the general fanbase.
The other expansions here fell a bit short of what we’d hoped for. Endless Space 2: Penumbra introduced a love-it-or-hate-it espionage system and Endless Space 2: Awakening didn’t quite hit the mark, even by Amplitude Studios’ own standards.
Stellaris: Megacorps may have been a decent expansion to a controversial game among the 4X community, but it’s hard to feel positive about Stellaris in its current state. Hell, even Paradox took a moment to recognize that it wasn’t quite where they want it to be in a recent development diary.
Finally, Age of Wonders: Planetfall – Revelations is a decent expansion in and of itself. However, it felt a bit lighter on content than Gathering Storm did and didn’t really push Planetfall forward as much as Gathering Storm did for Civilization 6.
So in a year of lukewarm expansions, Gathering Storm is the best of them. It’s a good expansion, but it didn’t have much in the way of real competition.
Age of Wonders: Planetfall
Meanwhile, Age of Wonders: Planetfall would be a serious contender for Game of the Year in ANY year it was released. There’s a lot to like about Triumph Studio’s new 4X game, but most of it was already mentioned in our official eXplorminate Review, so I won’t get too deep into the weeds here.
Its combat, expanded colony management, sector system, asymmetric factions, and exotic maps all make it a pleasure to play and it has only become better with frequent patching and content updates.
It’s a clear winner this year, even with the likes of the staff-favorite Thea 2: The Shattering, which is a great game and even more 4X-like than its predecessor. However, we think that Plantfall’s combat system is easily among the best combat systems in any 4X game, ever, so it was going to be a tough game to beat. Furthermore, Planetfall continues to improve with each patch and is becoming a game to measure other 4X games by.
Sure, there are some people in the community that still prefer Age of Wonders 3, and yet others, like myself, that wish to see more asymmetry among Planetfall’s factions and, perhaps a bit unrealistically, a way to randomize the technology tree a bit, but it’s an incredibly solid game and one of the best entries in the genre in a good long while.
Best 4X-Like/Lite: AI War 2
Though Total War: Three Kingdoms is also incredibly solid, I haven’t had nearly as much fun with any other game on that list as I have with AI War 2.
My review of it outlines what’s so great about it, but since its release, it’s become even better, smarter, and more intuitive. This is a sequel done very, very right and I’m a giant fan. Anyone interested in asymmetric grand strategy, even those normally averse to pausable-real-time-strategy games, should have already purchased this game.
I have sincere admiration for Chris Park and Arcen Games. He and Arcen Games were once on the brink of forever closing, but they’ve come back in a huge way with AI War 2.
Honorable Mentions
First, I’d me remiss if I didn’t mention Thea 2: The Shattering, as it receives a pretty high level of adoration around these parts. Nate can’t stop playing it and Troy wrote a pretty favorable review.
It’s a great game and if you want something that doesn’t quite fit the normal 4X mold, you should pick it up. We strongly believe in supporting great developers and MuHa Games, the minds behind the Thea series, are very generous with free updates and free content additions.
Secondly, Oliver wrote a pretty positive review of Interstellar Space: Genesis and it did receive some consideration here. It played it a bit too safe and its aesthetics were a bit too rough for some of us here, so it ultimately didn’t make the cut. However, it’s being well supported by Adam Solo and Praxis Games, including a soon-to-be-released free graphics overhaul, which is generally unheard of.
I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s going to be a game that we will look back as a sleeper hit, especially if it shores up its weaknesses and adds more content and features in the coming months and years.
Anyway, that’s it for 2019. We continue to see a plethora of good 4X and strategy games announced and expected, so 2020 may yet be one of the genre’s greatest years ever. Expect a “Most Anticipated 4X Games” article very soon!
And until then, keep eXploring!