What are the best 4X games on Steam?

Question

21

Options
Considered

140

User
Recs.

Jul 16, 2019

Last
Updated

4X is a type of strategy game where you control an empire and "eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate".

This question is limited to 4X games that are available on Steam.

Find Awesome Games

21 Games Considered

Best 4X games on Steam	Price	Steam Rating	Genre
-- Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion	$39.99	Overwhelmingly Positive	RTS
88 Endless Legend	$29.99	Overwhelmingly Positive	4X
-- Crusader Kings 2	-	Overwhelmingly Positive	Grand Strategy
85 Civilization V	$29.99	Overwhelmingly Positive	4X
-- Distant Worlds: Universe	$59.99	Very Positive	4X

See Full List

I Recommend...

Help millions of people find awesome games.

Each month, over 2.8 million people use Slant to find the best products and share their knowledge. Pick the tags you’re passionate about to get a personalized feed and begin contributing your knowledge.

21 Games Considered

My Recommendation for Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion

My Recommendation for Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion

Diplomacy used in a smart way

Very long games

Leisurely real time combat

Large scale space combat

Great modding scene

Many ways to play and win the game

Very distinct races

5v5 PvP team games are great

My Recommendation for Endless Legend

My Recommendation for Endless Legend

Choice of faction meaningfully impacts gameplay

Very few multiplayer games

Excellent depth

Steep learning curve

Engrossing fantasy setting

Confusing tutorial

Beautiful art style

Weak technology interaction

Region-based territory system shakes up the expansion game

Race concepts are difficult to latch onto/have specific roads to victory

Amazing soundtrack

Multiplayer is glitchy and sometimes unplayable

Interesting races, leaders and character design

Nearly all of the races are viable

Approachable without sacrificing depth

Combat system is more skill based than RNG based

Art is masterful

DLC is great and isn't a ripoff

Highly customizable

Good diplomacy system

Feeling of power

Everything is described in the lore

Autosaves every turn

My Recommendation for Crusader Kings 2

My Recommendation for Crusader Kings 2

Freedom to play how you like

Extremely complicated

Massive online multiplayer

No naval battles

My Recommendation for Civilization V

My Recommendation for Civilization V

Late game becomes a slog of ordering each unit individually

Among the most beginner friendly 4X games

Not a lot of depth for a 4X game

Customization through policies

Depth-wise it's a strict downgrade from Civ 4

Beautiful graphics

One unit per tile

Large assortment of win conditions that allow the player to experiment

No Steam workshop support on Linux

Endless scenarios and replayability

Poor pathing

Fantastic tactical combat

No stats on other Civ attitudes

Most victories won by timed or military victory

My Recommendation for Distant Worlds: Universe

My Recommendation for Distant Worlds: Universe

In-depth problem solving

Requires a time commitment

Many aspects of the game can be automated

Makes you feel like the empire you're managing is alive

The universe is huge

In-depth economy and resource management

Detailed ship and base building

My Recommendation for Endless Space

My Recommendation for Endless Space

Efficent Interface

Harsh learning curve

Still Beautiful

Diverse playable factions creating a lot of variety

Dynamic tax system

My Recommendation for Stellaris

My Recommendation for Stellaris

Emergent stories

Lack of uniqueness ever since the 2.0 update

Great early game exploration

Lack of vanilla content, currently