Stellaris ReeXamination #2
When Stellaris first launched in 2016, it was marketed under the slogan “Make Space Great Again.” Lately, I’ve been campaigning for Stellaris by co-opting a different American political rallying cry: “Keep Stellaris WeirdTM.” What I mean is, as Stellaris continues to grow and change (it’s basically a living organism at this point), I believe that […]
Weekly eXchange #226 – Predestination Is Here!
Join Nate and Troy as they bring you all the important information on all of your favorite 4X and strategy games! This week they talk about Age of Wonders: Planetfall, Predestination, Stellaris, Interstellar Space: Genesis and much much more. As well as continued coverage for your other favorite 4X and strategy games. Music for eXplorminate by Mangadrive […]
Why Do We Have To Stop Playing Civilization VI: An eXposition
As you may have noticed, we at eXplorminate have posted a couple of pieces about Civilization 6 and our thoughts on what the future could (and hopefully should) hold if Firaxis is going to take the game to the next level. While each of the previous pieces offered exciting ideas on how to improve the […]
Dominions 5: Warriors Of The Faith Review
Dominions 5 is an astounding game. As a longstanding indie darling, the magnum opus of Illwinter Game Design has long been the poster child for iterative design: more the product of small adjustments over time and continuous development than a series of leaps and bounds. With Dominions 5 (Dom5), Illwinter has brought the full force […]
Strategic eXpanse #34 – Strategic Warfare Part 2
Join Nate, Oliver, Mark, Joshua and Troy as they continue to discuss Warfare in 4X games and focus on the “Arc” of a 4X games. They also discuss ideas that they’d like to see developers implement in future games with a specific focus on Winning Conditions. So come, listen and tell us what you think. […]
Warhammer 40000 Gladius: Relics of War Review
Warhammer 40,000 (WH40K) is a grim and dark place. I should know, I’ve been tabletop gaming for more than 30 years in the universe created by Games Workshop. And not just gaming, but also reading the lore books, studying the army codices, and playing the video games. So let me get this out of the […]
The Inglorious State Of 4X Games: An eXposition
Greetings! If you haven’t listened to the 33rd Strategic Expanse – 4th Anniversary Hangout featuring all of the lesser (I’m jesting) eXplorminate staffers, then please stop reading this and go listen to that first. The rest of this little rant (thoughtful article?) will make a bit more sense with the proper context. With that out […]
What the 4X Genre Can Learn from War Games: An eXposition
I have a confession to make: the “4X Renaissance” has felt more like the dark ages to me.. Whether it’s the feature creep, strange design decisions, or age old problems that continue to plague the genre, I’ve had a hard time getting into most of the big, recent releases. And I don’t think I am […]
The XX Show #12 – Top 12 4X Games of All Time.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to discuss the top 12 4X games of all time as of July 1st 2018. So, what qualifies for Greatest of all Time, aka the 4X GoaT, many things, but the game needs to not only stand the test of time, but must truly introduce multiple mechanics (new or polished). […]
Monday eXcursion: Warbanners
Every now and then I want to take a break from the super complex games that fill my Steam library and just play something more straightforward. Thankfully, the most recent time I felt I needed such a break, I had the perfect game lined up and ready to go. Or, at least I thought I […]