Double Vision: The True State of 4X (Ep.47)

In this episode we brought in Ricky and Drexy from eXplorminate to correct the mistakes we made in episode 41 on the state of 4X. The discussion pulls apart what separates 4X from grand strategy, where games like Stellaris, Total War and Victoria 3 sit, and why the labels aren’t always useful.

We cover direct control versus large-scale influence, why Total War is neither 4X nor grand strategy, the failure of Humankind’s civ-swapping mechanic, and how Ara History Untold burned out with poor pacing and clumsy systems. We get into DLC bloat, feature creep, and how these games drive away new players while locking in the hardcore. There’s also a look at the economic side of strategy games and why most 4X titles still avoid it.

The state of 4X isn’t good. Innovation attempts usually collapse under bad execution, old titles feel dated, and sequels keep recycling the same template. Grand strategy keeps its audience, but only by demanding an enormous investment of time and patience.

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