The new story pack brings new origins and technologies to Stellaris.
Paradox Interactive has announced that Stellaris’ fifth story pack, First Contact, will be released in mid-March. The studio also posted a new trailer for the expansion alongside this announcement.
Stellaris’ story packs are mid-sized expansions designed to expand the game’s narrative potential. First Contact will be the Stellaris’ fifth DLC, following Leviathans, Synthetic Dawn, Distant Stars, and Ancient Relics. The new Stellaris expansion throws players into a dilemma after their alien ship crash lands on Earth with pre-FTL civilizations. The upcoming expansion focuses on players’ interactions and exploration with the mysterious civilization.
First Contact adds three new narrative-focused species origins: Payback, Broken Shackles, and Fear of the Dark. In Payback origin, players take the role of a survivor and a resistance fighter who helped fight off an alien invasion on their home turf. In the Broken Shackles origin, aliens dragged the player out into the stars against their will, turning them into galactic explorers.
Finally, there’s Fear of the Dark origin, which will examine the fine line between paranoia and prudence. The mysterious backstory features player’s frantic superstition about something in the galactic world.
Thankfully, the upcoming First Contact DLC introduces new tech to help players endure either of the three origins. The cloaking technology applies to military and civilian ships and makes them invisible. As a result, players can slip by foes undetected or catch them unawares. The invisible tech also applies to observation posts for those wanting to survey their neighbors secretly.
It’s worth noting that the cloaking technology works in reverse. Therefore, players will need scanners and sensors running at full capacity to detect approaching enemies who also have the cloaking advantage. Since the upcoming DLC will mainly focus on the pre-FTL civilization’s experiences, it introduces an observation system with civilization Espionage, Diplomacy, and Awareness. It also comes with insights that players can learn by observing the uncorrupted civilization.
Stellaris First Contact launches alongside Stellaris’ free 3.7 “Canis Minor” update on March 14th 2023 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, and PC. Players can now pre-order on Steam.
