New Stellaris DLC Astral Planes will take you on a journey to other dimensions
"What will you discover, in a universe beyond limits?"
Paradox's space 4X strategy game Stellaris is getting a new Astral Planes expansion, in which you send ships through rifts to "completely different realms of existence, where fundamentals that were certain at home may not always be true". I've read a few sci-fi novels in my time, and have come to the conclusion that tunnelling into other dimensions is seldom a wise move, but there's no turning back at the threshold when you're nurturing a mighty galactic empire, I guess. Find a trailer below in which some poor science ship pilot gets his brain fried by a crackling window of purple impossibility.
A collaboration with Faeria studio Abrakam Entertainment, the Astral Planes expansion is a smaller, narrative-focussed, mid to late-game add-on which introduces over 30 types of Astral Rift to the universe, each with its branching storyline. That's on top of eight new relics, four civics, a new origin and some mysterious "Astral Threads and Astral Actions".
The Youtube blurb contends that "Astral Planes offers you the chance to chart your own path, navigating an array of wonders and dangers alike. Travel through Rifts in space and time for a glimpse of strange, new realities. What will you discover, in a universe beyond limits?" I'm going to say: hideous tentacle monsters. But I would love it if the DLC were grander than advertised, and we ended up managing multiple empires in different dimensions, each dedicated to a different resource. I'm going to store all my golf clubs in Astral Plane #471.
There's more info to be gleaned from screenshots. Amusingly, it appears the process of navigating the Rifts involves researching giant, ball-shaped observatories on chains, which are then dipped into the rift by the aforesaid science ships, much like ocean diving bells. I feel like I'm going to have a tough time persuading my boffins to clamber inside one of those.
The DLC pack includes three new tracks from fan favourite composer Andreas Waldetoft. There's no release date, but Astral Planes will release alongside the forthcoming Stellaris 3.10 Pyxis update - you can find a bit more info on the Steam page. While Stellaris has never set worlds alight with its DLC, the Paradox sim remains one of the best space games on PC, for our money. If you're wearying of its setting, you might want to check out Star Trek: Infinite, which is Stellaris with a dash of Jean-Luc Picard.