Galactic Civilizations IV

Though it maintains some serious design flaws carried over from its predecessors, Galactic Civilizations 4 is an epic grand strategy game on a truly galactic scale.

73%Game Brain Score

gameplay, graphics

stability, grinding

74% User Score Based on 1,870 reviews

Critic Score 73%Based on 9 reviews

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Galactic Civilizations IV is a single player and multiplayer turn-based strategy game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Stardock Entertainment and was released on June 10, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

"Galactic Civilizations IV" is a 4X strategy game that lets you explore the vastness of space as a newly space-faring civilization. Choose from over a dozen civilizations, each with its own unique history and abilities, or create your own using the AlienGPT AI. Build and customize starships, colonize planets, and engage in diplomacy with alien species as you strive for interstellar dominance. The game features a rich, immersive universe filled with lore and discovery.

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74%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,870 reviews

gameplay100 positive mentions

stability60 negative mentions

Deep and interesting gameplay with a variety of races and customization options.
Improved UI and streamlined planet management reduce micromanagement compared to previous versions.
Active developer support with frequent updates and community engagement.

Game suffers from numerous bugs and crashes, particularly in multiplayer mode.
Combat mechanics are simplistic and lack tactical depth, making battles feel unengaging.
AI behavior can be predictable and unchallenging, leading to a lack of excitement in gameplay.

gameplay
374 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
66%
7%
The gameplay of Galactic Civilizations IV has received mixed reviews, with players noting a blend of engaging mechanics and frustrating complexity. While many appreciate the expansive tech tree, varied cultures, and customization options, others criticize the game for its overwhelming micro-management, lack of clear mechanics, and bugs that disrupt the experience. Overall, the game offers a solid core experience for 4X fans, but it requires patience to navigate its intricacies and may feel unpolished compared to its predecessors and competitors.
- “The gameplay is filled with interesting choices in how you layout different planets and balance different needs over time; it's engaging and fun, and it even makes the experience bearable when I have reached the point of steamrolling the map.”
- “The game is deep, with lots of interesting mechanics to engage with, and great replayability coming from the different species.”
- “Gameplay can be as fast-paced and exciting or as slow and relaxing as you choose; there's a ton of options for you to choose from as you build your own starfaring empire from a single planet up!”
- “One of those complex 4x-style games going in the wrong direction of layered sub-systems and opaque mechanics where you just kind of make the numbers go up, micro-manage an increasing pile of things every turn, and get to choose if you are content with not really understanding why things happen the way they do or obsessively focus on digging through micro-systems and menus so you do, but it makes the game a boring job.”
- “There are tons of game mechanics that are barely explained or not at all requiring me to use Google to figure out why my games keep failing.”
- “The game's mechanics and interface can be bewildering for newcomers, making it difficult to grasp the nuances of the gameplay.”
graphics
178 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
56%
6%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the colorful and modern visuals as significant improvements over its predecessor, Galactic Civilizations III. However, some players feel that despite the aesthetic upgrades, the graphics lack innovation and depth, often blending together in a way that can obscure important elements. Overall, while the visuals are generally considered beautiful and immersive, there are concerns about graphical clutter and performance issues, particularly on larger maps.
- “The graphics are beautiful and modern, the progress steady and fair, and overall an enjoyable experience worth the investment of both time and money.”
- “Overall a very good 4x space game, great graphics, lots of aliens, lots of variety in worlds, huge selection of galaxy sizes and formations.”
- “Graphically, galciv4 is beautiful.”
- “I feel this game lacks depth... it's as if I'm playing the original GalCiv just with some new artwork.”
- “Far too much graphical clutter during battles makes it hard to understand.”
- “However, there are graphical bugs everywhere (huge ships, missing stars, missing ships, missing portraits), spelling mistakes on tooltips and, worst of all, my 7 hour game, on middle range settings, is unplayable due to game crashes which will happen every time if saved before the crash.”
story
78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
75%
10%
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players expressing disappointment over the lack of a cohesive narrative and engaging campaign content. While some appreciate the AI-generated backstories and world-building elements, they feel that the quests are often generic and fail to create a meaningful connection to the civilization's story. Overall, players are calling for more structured, scripted missions and a stronger narrative to enhance the gameplay experience.
- “Story-driven campaign: the branching narrative allows for more personalized playthroughs and adds replayability.”
- “I do have to give a special shout-out to the devs for the game's atmosphere and 'immersion factor': from the visuals & artwork, to the flavor text, to the background lore, to the excellent soundtrack, Galactic Civilizations IV has done a good job in the world-building department.”
- “I am excited to see where the story progresses from here.”
- “I wanted to like this game, but the lack of a storyline and campaign just left it feeling empty.”
- “Very low story content.”
- “So I was quite bummed to see that the story didn't match the game and why I said there wasn't really a story.”
stability
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous reports of freezing, crashing, and various glitches affecting gameplay across different systems. Despite some players noting improvements over time, many still describe it as a "buggy and glitchy mess," particularly in areas like ship management and multiplayer. Overall, the consensus suggests that the game remains unstable and unpolished, leading to frustration among users.
- “The game is not buggy and has been getting better and better.”
- “The game freezes and closes unexpectedly.”
- “It's a buggy, clunky, DLC money grab... all of which I could have tolerated...”
- “But the game is buggy as all hell, even after being released two years ago. It doesn't crash, but there are a bunch of glitches that cause you to lose control or just lose a ship or fleet about once every game.”
music
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
41%
7%
The music in the game has received largely positive feedback, with many praising its quality, fitting ambiance, and contribution to the overall atmosphere and immersion. However, some users noted a lack of variety and criticized the reuse of soundtracks from previous installments, suggesting a desire for more music selections and customization options. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong aspect of the game, enhancing the experience for players.
- “The music fits well with the setting and factions.”
- “The voice overs are amazing, the animation of the characters and the music are outstanding 10/10.”
- “I do have to give a special shout-out to the devs for the game's atmosphere and 'immersion factor': from the visuals & artwork, to the flavor text, to the background lore, to the excellent soundtrack, Galactic Civilizations IV has done a good job in the world-building department.”
- “Where they have used the same soundtracks, and even the same cut scenes/animations as Gal Civ 3, it just feels very cheap.”
- “I found the music lacking.”
- “More music selections and the ability to select which track.”
replayability
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
65%
9%
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability, driven by diverse species, customizable options, and engaging mechanics that allow for varied playthroughs. Many players appreciate the AI-generated factions and the ability to design unique species, contributing to an almost limitless replay value. However, some critics argue that the core gameplay can feel repetitive, diminishing the overall replayability experience.
- “The game is deep, with lots of interesting mechanics to engage with, and a great replayability coming from the different species.”
- “You can change almost everything in the setup of the game, speed of play, speed of tech, size of galaxy, number of sectors, number of opponents, difficulty, etc., which makes replayability enormous.”
- “There's a lot of replayability with the pre-built civilizations. Add in the custom options and ship designer, and the AlienGPT interface to create your own races, and the options to really immerse yourself into your space-faring empire are near limitless.”
- “This kills replayability for me because, in essence, every single species you play is exactly the same as the previous one except for minor differences to their characteristics at the start of the game.”
- “Replayability is low.”
- “The replayability is endless and with the implementation of AI, we're in for a fantastic installation of the series.”
optimization
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
50%
8%
Overall, the optimization of the game has received mixed reviews. While many players appreciate the smoother performance and visual appeal, especially in the early to mid-game, significant late-game performance issues persist, even on high-end machines, leading to lag and crashes. Improvements in core mechanics and resource management could enhance the experience further, making it a standout entry in the series.
- “Visually, it is more appealing with smoother performance and faster gameplay.”
- “With some key improvements to core mechanics and performance, GC4 could evolve into a truly exceptional entry in the series.”
- “The performance boost is a welcome addition to the series seeing it could take 4-7 minutes per turn in GCIII endgame on immense galaxy size.”
- “Performance is definitely an issue.”
- “Even on high-end machines, GC4 suffers from resource-intensive late-game performance issues, leading to visual glitches and delayed responses.”
- “Performance isn't the best either, and oftentimes I see the game using nearly all of my GPU and RAM right before a crash.”
grinding
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews highlight that the grinding aspect of the game is characterized by tedious micromanagement and slow pacing, making tasks like ship construction and fleet management feel unnecessarily cumbersome. Players find the mechanics convoluted and frustrating, leading to a sense of stagnation and a lack of efficient exploration. Overall, the experience is marred by repetitive actions and unclear effects, detracting from the enjoyment of gameplay.
- “It's so slow and tedious that you barely scratch the surface in 9 hours.”
- “Instead of efficiently mapping out the galaxy, these vessels seem to be programmed to follow the edge of the map in an endless loop, making exploration a tedious chore.”
- “The mechanics seem for the most part just unnecessarily tedious with unclear effects.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag; while the broken tutorial provided some unintentional laughs, the faction generation tool and AI-created custom races are consistently entertaining and amusing. However, some jokes fall flat, leaving players divided on the overall comedic quality.
- “The generation tool for creating a faction is fun and hilarious at the same time.”
- “AI-created custom races are very fun and on many occasions made me laugh.”
- “The tutorial was also hilariously broken (and bad) for the longest time, but I suppose that has been fixed by now?”
monetization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game has been widely criticized, with many players feeling it is a blatant cash grab that exploits loyal fans of the franchise. Reviewers express frustration over the perceived lack of value and transparency, suggesting that the game's design prioritizes profit over player experience.
- “This is infuriating and a clear indicator this title was simply a cash grab.”
- “It is hard after 25 hours of play to not think this was just a cash grab to abuse the trust of idiots like me who have played GalCiv since its inception.”
- “It almost feels like this was a cash grab.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The atmosphere of Galactic Civilizations IV is highly praised for its immersive qualities, which are enhanced by stunning visuals, rich artwork, engaging flavor text, detailed background lore, and an excellent soundtrack, all contributing to a well-crafted world-building experience.
- “I have to give a special shout-out to the devs for the game's atmosphere and 'immersion factor': from the visuals and artwork, to the flavor text, to the background lore and story events, to the excellent soundtrack, Galactic Civilizations IV has done a great job in the world-building department.”

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73%Critics’ scoreBased on 9 critic reviews

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83h Median play time

1143h Average play time

21-254h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 16 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Galactic Civilizations IV is a turn-based strategy game with science fiction theme.

Galactic Civilizations IV is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 1143 hours playing Galactic Civilizations IV.

Galactic Civilizations IV was released on June 10, 2021.

Galactic Civilizations IV was developed by Stardock Entertainment.

Galactic Civilizations IV has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its stability.

Galactic Civilizations IV is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Galactic Civilizations III, Endless Space 2, Master of Orion, Stars in Shadow, Distant Worlds 2 and others.

Galactic Civilizations IV

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