Stellaris' Shadows of the Shroud DLC takes cues from Baldur's Gate 3's big bad

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so they say. Well, Stellaris' next big bad has some resemblance to the classic Dungeons & Dragons foe, and there's something about its Chthonic space energy that is eerily beautiful. As with all Stellaris DLC, this update promises to expand upon the known (and unknown) universe, this time with a psionic awakening as you'll attune to the mysterious Shroud. Developer Paradox Interactive has dropped some big hints about what to expect when the DLC releases via a new trailer, as well as letting players know exactly when they'll be able to get their hands on the new goodies.

Check out Paradox's creepy new trailer for Shadows of the Shroud, the next piece of DLC for the grand strategy game, below. The developer has also announced a release date for later this month - I guess it's not worried about Hollow Knight: Silksong encroaching on the 4X genre too much.

While Stellaris already has a plethora of DLC, this news comes just months after Paradox said it was slowing down releases in order to deliver more impactful changes.

The eponymous Shroud appears to be some kind of spiritual entity. After breaching it, you'll gain access to a 'Shroud Panel' which shows your attunement to it. From there, it acts as a kind of skill tree, where you can unlock benefits and bonuses from attuning to different Patrons.

Beware, though, as your Shroud Attunement will be felt across your empire. It will influence your systems, your friends, and your enemies. Unless the Mindwarden Enclave curtails your growing power, of course. With squiddy foes and mind-controlling Patrons, it's all getting a bit Baldur's Gate 3.

Shadows of the Shroud also revamps End of the Cycle. Players who don't already own the Utopia DLC will gain access to this psionic antagonist, and those that do will find exclusive new content therein.

Stellaris Shadows of the Shroud will release on September 22 for $19.99 / £16.75, or free if you own the Stellaris Season 09 Expansion Pass. You can buy it here.

If you can't wait until then, it's worth checking out some of the best space games for more orbital excitement, or the best Stellaris mods if you don't want to stray from Paradox's planets.

If you want to chat about interstellar travel or the psionic influence of your expansive empire, drop into our community Discord server to say hi. We've got loads of that stuff going on.