Being a (compared to it's real hardcore players, a mere casual) CK2 & sci-fi fan, got Stellaris as soon as it went gold, I initially found the game a bit sterile and hard to get attached to, but after a couple iterations of fixes and buying some DLCs, I find it more and more appealing to me. Now I can recommend it to any strategy lover.

Pros:
- there have been a lot of fine-tune and design overhaul since released, the game has became a lot less hungry for constant micromanagement and leaves more time for grand strategy. They take care of their core game just as much as they're hatching DLCs. It's quite important for a starter.
-The game is rock solid. I barely have the nerves to play anything in Iron Man mode as a random crash can ruin my entire day (since my playtime is very limited). Stellaris crashed maybe once since I own it, and even that happened before I got to the main menu (maybe even more related to Steam than Stellaris). Once I'm in-game - I feel safe from random crashes. It's very comforting.
- Diplomacy has depth and weight compared to most non-paradox strategy games.

Cons:
- main game is less appealing and rich in content than it's medieval counterpart, Crusader Kings 2, but is also more approachable.
- UI is a bit... weak. Still way better than in their other grand strategy games, though.
- Same frustrating 'catch me if you can' thingy with the opponents' armies like in CK2. On low speed, things never happen. On faster speed, you always miss to click in the perfect 0.1 second window to catch a hostile fleet. Half of a war is composed of this annoying minigame.
-micromanagement on core systems is too tedious. Vassals and sectors don't help here and as far as I'm aware of, there is no easy way to switch through ports and armies of non-core systems - making core worlds (and making as many of them as possible) a necessary evil to have.
- sometimes winning conditions are buggy. Like I once lost an iron man game to a federation victory against an alien race that has never been part of any federation. That can ruin iron man games.

Overall, I think it's a good deal to anyone with a taste for strategy games and sci-fi setting.

Being a (compared to it's real hardcore players, a mere casual) CK2 & sci-fi fan, got Stellaris as soon as it went gold, I initially found the game a bit sterile and hard to get attached to, but after a couple iterations of fixes and buying some DLCs, I find it more and more appealing to me. Now I can recommend it to any strategy lover. Pros: - there have been a lot of fine-tune and design overhaul since released, the game has became a lot less hungry for constant micromanagement and leaves more time for grand strategy. They take care of their core game just as much as they're hatching DLCs. It's quite important for a starter. -The game is rock solid. I barely have the nerves to play anything in Iron Man mode as a random crash can ruin my entire day (since my playtime is very limited). Stellaris crashed maybe once since I own it, and even that happened before I got to the main menu (maybe even more related to Steam than Stellaris). Once I'm in-game - I feel safe from random crashes. It's very comforting. - Diplomacy has depth and weight compared to most non-paradox strategy games. Cons: - main game is less appealing and rich in content than it's medieval counterpart, Crusader Kings 2, but is also more approachable. - UI is a bit... weak. Still way better than in their other grand strategy games, though. - Same frustrating 'catch me if you can' thingy with the opponents' armies like in CK2. On low speed, things never happen. On faster speed, you always miss to click in the perfect 0.1 second window to catch a hostile fleet. Half of a war is composed of this annoying minigame. -micromanagement on core systems is too tedious. Vassals and sectors don't help here and as far as I'm aware of, there is no easy way to switch through ports and armies of non-core systems - making core worlds (and making as many of them as possible) a necessary evil to have. - sometimes winning conditions are buggy. Like I once lost an iron man game to a federation victory against an alien race that has never been part of any federation. That can ruin iron man games. Overall, I think it's a good deal to anyone with a taste for strategy games and sci-fi setting.