Stars in Shadow: Legacies (PC) Review

Stars in Shadow is the slow and steady 4X clone of Master of Orion 2. There is a recent glut of 4X games, but this one sticks to the basics, and for that reason it probably shines above some others. Legacies, the DLC for this game, does two major things: it adds a new race called the Tinkers and a minor faction.

The Tinkers are a lot more different from the other races in that they do not need food, are low on science, but have tremendous production. Being the mechanical race that they are, Tinkers also have a bunch of unique abilities, such as mobile bases, or the option to 'manufacture' their population, or healing while in combat.

Playing with the Tinkers turns out to be a good change of pace, as, unlike many others, their research is very, very bad. As a result, it is an interesting situation where the player will be able to swarm enemies, but the tech will often be on the worse side. They are very powerful, given they can heal in the battlefield, and as a result seem a very militaristic race. In the game, trying to be peaceful soon turns out to be more of a hassle compared to just rolling nearby allies.

The minor new faction that has also been included in Legacies is called Arda Seed, and is one that focuses on hyperlanes. Furthermore, this DLC expansion introduces some degree of narrative to what happened into the game. This aspect is cool to see, and it is hoped that it gets more widespread focus.