Star Dynasties

Calling Star Dynasties 'Crusader Kings in space' is perhaps not the most helpful. On the one hand it's a selling point, and on the other it's a criticism. Star Dynasties does share the central mechanic of feudal dynasty building, but I think it should be considered on its own, rather than debating whether it's a good or bad clone job. The sci-fi setting is pretty important since it grants freedom for creativity and imposes mechanical focus. Every game is procedurally generated with fresh galaxies, factions, and stories. Sci-fi elements interject plot chains that can really shake things up, and the lore caps character count to produce a very tight politicking between the great houses. The game is turn-based and often slow-moving, but the game design means events tend to bunch up and unfold very rapidly. Star Dynasties is quite challenging and rewards patient play. Much of this is about balancing honour against expansion. Who can you afford to anger with an action, how do you cloak greed under upstanding conduct, and when should you openly invade? With the right actions you can pass off the worst tyranny as shining justice. Watching something you spent a dozen turns setting up play out as you wanted is very satisfying, although make a crucial mistake and it will blow up in your face. The latter can be frustrating because the rng your plan hinges on can be opaque, and the user interface could use some work, as it can obscure important relationships in less obvious places.

Star Dynasties is the work of a solo developer, and impressive because of that. Apparently it was not a big financial success, but it did get one dlc which adds some worthwhile content. We've become too used to games with years of post-launch support that we deem those that don't get it as unfinished or dead. While there are some aspects of Star Dynasties that would have been nice to see expanded, it is a complete experience now. It's good little game that should be better known because it does offer a unique spin on the genre.

I am going to give this Reviewing thing a go. Let me know if it helps or if I rambled too much.

I consider this one of my perfect "Sunday Afternoon" games. A game that is perfect for turning your brain off and not getting too heated before Monday shows its ugly head. This game is not a masterpiece, so why is great for a lazy Sunday Afternoon?

PROS:
Many random events. The game allows for many different scenarios and events to take place as attempt to help your Space Family survive the Game of Galactic Thrones.

Art: great art. Some of it is really well made, and I enjoy the portraits of the events. (Not the characters. More on that below.)

Replayability- This game is so replayable. So many starting conditions, different ways for the AI to play, and you can go from winning to loosing to winning again in a turn or two. Always gotta stay on your toes in this game.

CONS: No game is perfect. Here is some of the glaring issues.

Character- Kinda ugly. They don't look great haha. They work though.

Battles- You can have some cool wars, but the battles take place in menus that are pretty confusing. Takes time to understand but there is still more RNG than is comfortable. Usually comes down to making sure your Commander has a crazy high Military level and that is about the only strategy to win.

Lost in Menus: Takes awhile to get used to the menus. Once you are used to it, you are fine, but the first little while is quite the quest.

Conclusion: Perfect Single Player, no internet required, randomly generated, Family in space, strategy game for that afternoon that you just want to zone out before returning back to real life. I find myself going back to it every other week due to it doing exactly what I want out of a 7/10 game. (5/10 if the issues bug you that bad.) Reliable, not addicting, and has an entertaining element that allows me to revisit when it whenever I want. It is also not too demanding of a game, which is also fantastic. Enjoy!!

After playing Star Dynasties for 62 hours I can definitely recommend this hidden gem. Other players often describe it as Crusader Kings in space, but there are many differences. It's turn-based and it's much less complicated. In my opinion it's more like a political sim. The gameplay itself is quite simple: each turn you get a string of events and then you use your action points to appoint your house members to various tasks. The game became one of my all time favorites. It's even more impressing once you know the game was made by just one guy. But I understand it might not be for everyone, cause the strict moral system is very challenging.

I've heard about this hidden gem somewhere on Reedit while I was looking for a game with more focus on people than armies. I don't know why but this game is so immersive despite of minimalistic graphics, probably it's a personal taste but I feel more connected to the game world and personalities than in the Crusider Kings series. Also the sci-fi setting let's you to deep dive into the world of your dynasty in space. Do you remember "the Dune" book and how difficult political situation had the House Atreides? Here is the same. After 14h I feel like I still am discovering this game mechanics in a positive way (it's a kind of adventure). I like that all events have their consequences, not as a numeric bonus modifier like in other games but also as part of the world history and people feelings. People will remember things, will ask for justice, will revenge, blackmail, threaten, the longer you play the more interesting the web of connections is and the more immerse the world become.

Amazing game... a hidden gem! If you think you might like it... you will!
However... (there's always a "but")... this game rewards a particular play style one might call "deep contemplation." What is "deep contemplation?" Well, after playing my fair share of different kinds of strategy games over the decades, I have found that there are certain games where a not-so-insignificant amount of the pleasure actually comes from allowing yourself to get lost in the narrative that you are essentially creating turn-by-turn. This is kind of like "role playing," but it's also kind of more than that: you aren't just playing a role, but actually enjoying the aesthetics of the game world that you have helped to craft, turn-by-turn, as story lines evolve and decisions branch out in interesting ways... does that make sense? It may not, probably, to some of you, and that's fine. No judgment here and by no means am I saying that this is the only way to play this or any other game.
I find that a lot of my favorite war games (hex-based, operational level war) have this aspect of deep contemplation, where -- in later turns -- it becomes fun to simply look at the map and think about all the decisions, battles, etc. that got you to where you are. The cool thing about this "vibe" is that: it's kind of fun regardless of whether you are "winning" or "losing." When a game is memorable and fun even in stalemate or defeat, folks, that's a gem of a game right there. Anyway, this game rewards making careful decisions and taking advantage of opportunities. This makes the journey fun, no matter the destination. I like games like that.
Last thing I'll say: a big thing this game gets right is that, while all the decisions bear upon your House's fortunes to one extent or another, the "big" decisions are never too big in their consequences -- you can try things! You can recover from some slip-ups. Similarly, you might have a few big triumphs -- ok, awesome -- but it doesn't mean that the rest of the way will be a pushover. Far from it! You will still need to pay attention, manage your House's affairs, and keep going.
TL;DR: Get it but be patient; this one is not a sprint but a slow build.

I absolutely love this game. Make the feudal family of your dreams to rule over the stars, and watch them fall apart with bickering, cheating, lying, assassination, incestuous encounters, and betrayals.

It's Game of Thrones in space, and I'm here for it 100%.

I don't have very much time in on this game yet but I like it.
My oldest son has tried to kill me 3 times I'm done with him I should have killed him but i didn't.
I'm going to leave everything to my younger brother just to piss off my son.