Stellaris DLC Hype: The Machine Age Is Here, Again!

Bozidar Radulovic
stellaris the machine age dlc cover

Paradox has released the trailer for the new Stellaris DLC – The Machine Age. While there were a lot of speculations about what the new DLC would entail, few would have guessed that it was about the machines again. The hyper is real this time, since the DLC really looks promising so far, and the technical details that we seen in the DLC notes look very extensive.

Trailer For The Machine Age

In our humble opinion, it’s one of the best trailers Paradox has put out. The theme itself is very dystopian and resembles the “cog in the machine” scenario from Matrix, where everyone is just fuel for a giant machine. The point of interest is what this “Horizon Needle” that everyone is fueling with their brain power. Also, we can’t skip commenting on the music from the trailer, because it’s phenomenal and music is one of the reasons we fell in love with Stellaris.

It brings up a lot of questions, but we are really excited to see these super-technologies because they usually have very cool mechanics, the potential for a fun role-play, and the impact on the game is noticeable, unlike something like Astral Actions, where there isn’t that much difference in gameplay.

What Can We Expect

stellaris horizon needle
“Horizon Needle”

The crux and the most details are in the Stellaris Dev Diary, and while there are a lot of things that the Dev Diary gave info about The Machine Age DLC content, we don’t know the deeper technical aspects. We can see that we will get the overall AI, machines, cyborgs, and robots polishing, from ship designs, ascension perks, civics, origins, and traits, all the way to new music and portraits. The one thing that stuck out to us the most is the new Endgame Crisis announcement. This is very exciting because Stellaris players have been longing for a new Endgame Crisis for a long time.

It will also be interesting to see the actual impact on these super machines because that is probably the most fun thing in a sci-fi game like Stellaris.  Of course, as the tradition goes, there will probably be a big patch alongside this DLC, which will aim to expand and fix rusty game systems…maybe Ground Army rework? One can only dream.

While there are a lot of Stellaris DLCs, there have been a handful of them that really didn’t add anything substantial to impact the game in a profound way. We hope The Machine Age will be different. It kinda feels like it will because the trailer is promising, and the theme is something we know that developers are passionate about. Sure, designing toxic planets or astral planes is cool, but when it comes to machines, we know Paradox is bringing their A-game!

Stellaris Subscription Situation

stellaris the machine age dlc

With the new subscription model that Paradox is rolling out, one question is obviously negging us: Will the new Stellaris The Machine Age DLC be included in the monthly subscription? We think so because it would be a very good selling point. We really hope Stellaris will be kept alive and Paradox is doing a fine job at lowering the barrier for entry for the whole Stellaris pack, as well as dishing out a good DLC trailer.

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