Welcome back to the Critical Moves Podcast. This week’s episode is a change of pace. We’re not covering one big topic, announcement, or interview. Instead, we’re doing something a little more relaxed: talking about the strategy games we’ve been playing lately. From grand campaign builders to multiplayer RTS brawls, the team shares what’s been keeping us busy and what’s fallen flat.
Jack joins us for his first full episode as a regular host, and we’re glad to have him. So, what’s on the Critical Moves playlist this week?
Mount & Blade in Space? Tim’s Playing Starsector
Tim kicks things off with Starsector, an indie strategy RPG set in a hostile galaxy. It’s a sandbox experience where you start with a single ship and slowly build a fleet, manage colonies, trade, fight, and navigate diplomacy. In Tim’s words, it’s basically Mount & Blade in space, right down to the economic micromanagement and faction juggling.
The group digs into how Starsector blends real-time ship combat with long-form strategic planning, and how it shares DNA with X4 and Space Rangers. There’s some discussion around accessibility, there’s a learning curve, but nothing a 20-minute tutorial can’t fix.
Beyond All Reason: Still Addictive, Still Free
Adam, who had planned to talk about Aliens: Dark Descent, ends up praising Beyond All Reason (BAR) again instead. Originally drawn in by BAR’s free price tag and large-scale battles, he’s now fully hooked. Despite losing most of his competitive matches, he’s spending every night thinking about it.
The group agrees BAR hits a sweet spot: it’s massive in scale, well-designed in terms of UI, and lets you play like a general rather than a StarCraft micromanager. As Adam puts it, BAR’s strength is in how it feels built by players, for players. There’s even a brief moment of redemption for Tempest Rising, but it’s clear which RTS is getting most of the love.
Bannerlord, Stellaris, and Tropico: Jack’s Recent Rotation
Jack lists three games he’s been playing: Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, Stellaris, and Tropico 5. He makes a solid case for considering Bannerlord a strategy game, pointing to its troop morale mechanics, resource planning, and large-scale battles. Tim agrees, especially when the conversation loops back to Starsector being essentially Bannerlord with spaceships.
When it comes to Stellaris, Jack is honest: he’s never seen most of the endgame crises. Like many players, he spends most of his time in the early game and rarely pushes through the management slog that comes later. There’s some frustration with the pacing of grand strategy titles – Stellaris in particular tends to front-load all the mystery and wonder.
Tropico 5, on the other hand, is pure comfort. Jack plays it to relax. His fiancée likes watching him build banana plantations and issue edicts. It’s chill city-building with a bit of flavour. Nobody argues with that.
Diplomacy Sucks (Except When It Doesn’t)
A major thread running through the episode is the general failure of diplomacy systems in most strategy games. Improve Relations. Declare War. Sue for Peace. Rinse, repeat.
The hosts explore how games like Stellaris and Victoria 3 could go deeper by giving players more meaningful tools to influence others beyond just button-click math. Tim brings up Suzerain as an example of well-executed diplomatic gameplay, even if it wouldn’t fit easily in a typical 4X. There’s a brief tangent into multiplayer diplomacy, with Victoria 3 again getting praise for how voice chat turns politicking into something genuinely engaging.
Stellaris: We All Love the Start, None of Us Finish
Everyone agrees the early game of Stellaris is brilliant. You don’t know who your neighbours are. You’re discovering alien life. You’re building the first pieces of your empire. It’s exciting.
But once you hit the midgame, the cracks show. Too many systems. Too many numbers. Too much tedium. The AI stops being interesting. Every neighbour becomes a stats sheet. Jack points out that Stellaris is best when it leans into weird science fiction—when you’re interacting with a Shroud entity or marauder clan, not just some random technocrats.
There’s a lot of potential in pre-built factions with proper flavour and event chains. But right now, most games stall out somewhere after first contact.
Victoria 3: The Best Economy System Yet?
Tim and Adam rave about Victoria 3. It’s strategic, fast-paced (for a Paradox game), and offers more session-length flexibility than something like Stellaris. Adam compares it to Hearts of Iron in terms of session time, and praises its astonishing economic simulation. There’s even a bit of unexpected historical empathy. Tim admits the game helped him understand why certain real-world political decisions happened the way they did.
Voice chat diplomacy in Victoria 3 multiplayer gets special attention. Unlike Stellaris, where diplomacy is locked behind abstract systems, Victoria 3 lets players negotiate directly. You can trick each other. Set up trade deals. Break alliances. And do it all in real-time.
The Ones That Didn’t Stick
Not every game lands. Riftbreaker had all the ingredients Adam usually likes – base-building, twin-stick shooting, tower defence – but it just didn’t click. He gave it a few chances, but Aliens: Dark Descent and BAR kept pulling him away. Riftbreaker fans, don’t take it personally.
Tim’s toying with another Baldur’s Gate 3 run, and Adam’s eyeing Sins of a Solar Empire 2, once it’s on sale. Jack’s got Age of Wonders 4 in his sights. Everyone has a backlog. Nobody finishes Stellaris. Some things never change.
Meet Jack
This episode also marks the podcast debut of Jack, a game composer and long-time listener. He’s based in the US and brings strong opinions and a smooth voice to the table. You can find his music at dryexpression.com.
Welcome aboard, Jack.
If you’ve played Beyond All Reason, Starsector, or are stuck 80 hours into a Stellaris campaign you’ll never finish, this one’s for you. Catch us next week on Critical Moves.
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