Questions From The Critical Moves Community (EP.80)

Firaxis in Crisis: Is Civ 7 a Disaster, a Success, or Both? (Ep.84)

This week on Critical Moves, we welcome back co-founder Nuno — and introduce brand new host Drexy — for a deep dive into one of strategy gaming's biggest stories: Civilization 7 and the state of Firaxis. Jack defends the game he genuinely loves, the rest of us are less convinced, and we dig into what the numbers actually say about Civ 7's launch, the Test of Time update, Take-Two's financial crisis, and whether the studio that gave us Civ and XCOM still has a future. Also: someone was coughing in the menu music at launch. We are not making that up. More from Critical Moves Podcast: Web: https://criticalmovespodcast.com [https://criticalmovespodcast.com] Forum: https://criticalmovesforum.com [https://criticalmovesforum.com] Newsletter: https://criticalmoves.beehiiv.com [https://criticalmoves.beehiiv.com] Spotify: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/spotify [https://criticalmovespodcast.com/spotify] Apple: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/apple [https://criticalmovespodcast.com/apple] Amazon: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/amazon [https://criticalmovespodcast.com/amazon] Discord: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/discord [https://criticalmovespodcast.com/discord] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/criticalmovespodcast [https://www.facebook.com/criticalmovespodcast] Twitter: https://twitter.com/CriticalMoves_ [https://twitter.com/CriticalMoves_] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/criticalmovespodcast [https://www.instagram.com/criticalmovespodcast] Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/CriticalMoves [https://www.reddit.com/r/CriticalMoves] Critical Moves examines strategy games through weekly Friday episodes and Monday news updates. Six hosts across multiple continents analyze recent releases, forgotten classics, and industry developments without the typical podcast theatrics. We cover real-time strategy, 4X civilization builders, turn-based tactics, and hybrid games that blur genre boundaries.

Space Tales: The RTS You Didn't Know You Needed | Interview with Saigon Dragon Studios (Ep.83)

This week Jack and Al sit down with Matt, Creative Director at Saigon Dragon Studios, to talk about Space Tales — an early access RTS inspired by StarCraft, built by a Vietnamese studio with 11 years of outsourcing experience and a whole lot of passion for the genre. They get into the game's retro-cartoonish art style versus its surprisingly dark Lovecraftian themes, the failed Kickstarter that became a learning curve, the decision to ditch publisher pitching and go it alone, and why the team hired a professional screenwriter to save their first mission from being five minutes of dialogue nobody was reading. Space Tales is available now in Early Access on Steam, with a full 1.0 release targeting end of July 2026. 🔗 Space Tales on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2457960/Space_Tales/ [https://store.steampowered.com/app/2457960/Space_Tales/] 🔗 Saigon Dragon Studios Discord: https://discord.gg/4be9rucj22 [https://discord.gg/4be9rucj22] More from Critical Moves Podcast: Web: https://criticalmovespodcast.com [https://criticalmovespodcast.com] Forum: https://criticalmovesforum.com [https://criticalmovesforum.com] Newsletter: https://criticalmoves.beehiiv.com [https://criticalmoves.beehiiv.com] Spotify: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/spotify [https://criticalmovespodcast.com/spotify] Apple: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/apple [https://criticalmovespodcast.com/apple] Amazon: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/amazon [https://criticalmovespodcast.com/amazon] Discord: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/discord [https://criticalmovespodcast.com/discord] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/criticalmovespodcast [https://www.facebook.com/criticalmovespodcast] Twitter: https://twitter.com/CriticalMoves_ [https://twitter.com/CriticalMoves_] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/criticalmovespodcast [https://www.instagram.com/criticalmovespodcast] Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/CriticalMoves [https://www.reddit.com/r/CriticalMoves] Critical Moves examines strategy games through weekly Friday episodes and Monday news updates. Six hosts across multiple continents analyze recent releases, forgotten classics, and industry developments without the typical podcast theatrics. We cover real-time strategy, 4X civilization builders, turn-based tactics, and hybrid games that blur genre boundaries.

Is Crusader Kings 3 Worth Playing in 2026? (Ep.82)

Jack and Adam dive into Crusader Kings 3 — where it stands six years after release, what the DLCs have added, and whether it's worth picking up if you've never played a Paradox game before. Adam comes in as a CK2 veteran with zero CK3 experience, which makes for a genuinely useful breakdown of what's changed, what's new, and what's coming. They cover the adventurer mode, the stress and traits system, the recent free update adding old age mechanics and a Kingdom Come Deliverance crossover, and the two upcoming DLCs that could change how the game is played entirely. More from Critical Moves Podcast: Web: https://criticalmovespodcast.com [https://criticalmovespodcast.com] Forum: https://criticalmovesforum.com [https://criticalmovesforum.com] Newsletter: https://criticalmoves.beehiiv.com [https://criticalmoves.beehiiv.com] Spotify: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/spotify [https://criticalmovespodcast.com/spotify] Apple: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/apple [https://criticalmovespodcast.com/apple] Amazon: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/amazon [https://criticalmovespodcast.com/amazon] Discord: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/discord [https://criticalmovespodcast.com/discord] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/criticalmovespodcast [https://www.facebook.com/criticalmovespodcast] Twitter: https://twitter.com/CriticalMoves_ [https://twitter.com/CriticalMoves_] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/criticalmovespodcast [https://www.instagram.com/criticalmovespodcast] Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/CriticalMoves [https://www.reddit.com/r/CriticalMoves]

No Borders, No Worlds | Stellaris Season 10 (Ep.81)

Al, Jack, and Joe dig into the Stellaris Season 10 announcement: the Nomads expansion arriving 15 June, the Willpower ethics rework coming Q4, four new scenario packs introducing standalone game modes, and a rebrand of ascension perks to ambitions. They also weigh in on the Beyond All Reason commercialisation controversy, what it means for a game built by volunteers over two decades, and why the backlash may be missing the point. More from Critical Moves Podcast: Web: https://criticalmovespodcast.com [https://criticalmovespodcast.com] Forum: https://criticalmovesforum.com [https://criticalmovesforum.com] Newsletter: https://criticalmoves.beehiiv.com [https://criticalmoves.beehiiv.com] Spotify: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/spotify [https://criticalmovespodcast.com/spotify] Apple: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/apple [https://criticalmovespodcast.com/apple] Amazon: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/amazon [https://criticalmovespodcast.com/amazon] Discord: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/discord [https://criticalmovespodcast.com/discord] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/criticalmovespodcast [https://www.facebook.com/criticalmovespodcast] Twitter: https://twitter.com/CriticalMoves_ [https://twitter.com/CriticalMoves_] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/criticalmovespodcast [https://www.instagram.com/criticalmovespodcast] Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/CriticalMoves [https://www.reddit.com/r/CriticalMoves] Critical Moves examines strategy games through weekly Friday episodes and Monday news updates. Six hosts across multiple continents analyze recent releases, forgotten classics, and industry developments without the typical podcast theatrics. We cover real-time strategy, 4X civilization builders, turn-based tactics, and hybrid games that blur genre boundaries.

Questions From The Critical Moves Community (EP.80)

Episode 80 is a community-led episode. Al is joined by Adam, Jack and Tim to work through fifteen listener questions submitted via the Critical Moves Discord, covering biggest gaming disappointments, steep learning curves worth the investment, the perennial argument about what a 4X actually is, how strategy games generate emotional investment beyond cutscenes, the best Total War entry point for a newcomer, the game sitting untouched in everyone's backlog, a Frankenstein exercise in building the perfect strategy game from spare parts, whether BAR can ever achieve mainstream appeal, randomness versus determinism in strategy design, the best soundtracks in the genre, what stops people engaging with competitive multiplayer, and all-time favourite factions. Joe was supposed to be here but was under the weather, which was a shame because someone had a very important question about his hair. More from Critical Moves Podcast: Web: https://criticalmovespodcast.com [https://criticalmovespodcast.com] Forum: https://criticalmovesforum.com [https://criticalmovesforum.com] Newsletter: https://criticalmoves.beehiiv.com [https://criticalmoves.beehiiv.com] Spotify: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/spotify [https://criticalmovespodcast.com/spotify] Apple: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/apple [https://criticalmovespodcast.com/apple] Amazon: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/amazon [https://criticalmovespodcast.com/amazon] Discord: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/discord [https://criticalmovespodcast.com/discord] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/criticalmovespodcast [https://www.facebook.com/criticalmovespodcast] Twitter: https://twitter.com/CriticalMoves_ [https://twitter.com/CriticalMoves_] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/criticalmovespodcast [https://www.instagram.com/criticalmovespodcast] Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/CriticalMoves [https://www.reddit.com/r/CriticalMoves]