Europa Universalis IV

Very good game, gave me an interest in history and has incredible replayability - it's also a massive time sink, costs a ton of money to play with all the features, and has very steep learning curve to do anything cool. Not recommended if you are employed, or want to develop a life. Very recommended otherwise.

This game kills. But only for a very specific kind of person. The kind of person who read their social studies books ahead several chapters in school, or the kind of person who daydreamed while staring at maps and pretending to conquer medieval Europe. This game has a HUGE learning curve but it's worth playing if you can figure it out. I United Japan and felt like the hands on face meme. What a game!

5k hours course I like the game. Get's bit tedious late game and slows down with all the units and scale of the game. Good grand strat game and taught me so many random facts about 1444 - 1820

Reviewing (mostly) every game (or DLC) in my library, part 168: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆ (8/10) [i]Europa Universalis IV[/i] is a grand strategy titan:a sprawling, complex simulation of early modern geopolitics where you can lead any country in the world from 1444 to 1821. From colonial empires to small tribal states, the game offers an enormous amount of freedom and flexibility. It's also one of the most daunting strategy games out there, with an intimidating interface and a towering learning curve. EU4 rewards persistence with satisfying political schemes, economic puzzles, and alternate histories—but it demands patience, and the DLC model leaves many players feeling nickel-and-dimed. [i]Europa Universalis IV[/i] is an acquired taste—but once it clicks, it can be one of the most rewarding games you’ll ever play. It’s not pretty, it’s not beginner friendly, and it requires some serious commitment. But if you’re willing to learn, experiment, and embrace the chaos of early modern politics, it delivers a power fantasy like no other. Just be ready for the long haul—and maybe a few browser tabs open on the side. 💰[b] Pros:[/b] [list] [*] Strategic depth that lasts for years. EU4 is both deep and complex. You don’t just declare war and march your troops. You think about coalition reactions, diplomatic relations, supply lines, battle tactics, terrain, manpower, and long-term consequences. You plan your tech advancement around institutions. You manipulate rivalries, exploit religion, and use subject nations to expand your influence without incurring aggressive expansion. It’s the kind of game you can sink 1,000 hours into and still find new layers of strategic interaction. [*] Incredible alternate history potential. This is where EU4 really shines: letting you rewrite the world. Will you restore the Roman Empire? Lead a Nahuatl Aztec crusade across Europe? Unite all of India under a Buddhist Raj? All of that is possible. Not through scripted storylines, but by using the game’s systemic mechanics to bend the map to your will. Watching strange outcomes organically emerge is part of the fun, and it gives every playthrough a sense of discovery. [*] Immersive country flavor and diversity. The amount of variation between nations is staggering. Muscovy plays like a militarized blizzard slowly expanding across Siberia. Venice focuses on trade and diplomacy. The Ottomans are a powerhouse with unique challenges tied to Janissaries and conversions. There’s a real effort to give each major power its own historical flavor, from national ideas to mission trees, unit models, and events. Some regions (like Europe or China) get more love than others, but even smaller nations can surprise you. [*] Rewarding long-term planning. EU4 is at its best when you’re three decades deep into a plan and it finally clicks. Like slowly vassalizing neighbors to avoid aggressive expansion penalties, marrying into a royal family to get a personal union, or stacking trade nodes to drain the New World into your treasury. The sense of payoff is massive—and because it’s not guaranteed (wars, disasters, or poor timing can ruin everything), it feels earned. [*] Modding and community support. This game has one of the most passionate and talented modding communities in grand strategy. From overhauls to quality-of-life improvements and fantasy total conversions, there’s a nearly endless array of content. Paradox has supported the game for over a decade, and the core systems still feel solid. [/list] 🖥️[b] Cons:[/b] [list] [*] Brutal onboarding for new players. Even by Paradox standards, EU4 is difficult to learn. The tutorial is barebones, and tooltips, while informative, are dense and overwhelming. Most players will need to consult YouTube guides, Wikis, or subreddit FAQs just to survive their first campaign. [*] Visually functional, not beautiful. Let’s be honest: the UI and map are outdated. EU4 looks like a 2013 spreadsheet. There’s no battle animation, no fancy zoom-ins, and no real-world visuals beyond the nation-colored map. Clicking on provinces opens menus packed with stats, numbers, and mini-icons. The font is small. The color scheme is dated. It works, but it’s not intuitive or modern by any means. [*] Expensive and fragmented DLC model. This is one of the biggest complaints about EU4. While the base game is generous, most of the essential mechanics—like improved peace deals, estates, mission trees, or trade policy control—are locked behind DLC. Paradox has released dozens of expansions, flavor packs, and immersion packs over the years. While some are great, it’s hard to know which ones are worth it, and the cost adds up quickly unless you wait for a bundle or subscribe to the DLC library. [*] Late-game fatigue. The first 100-200 years are the most exciting. But after 1700, wars get slower, AI gets passive, and systems like absolutism and revolutionary fervor start to bog things down. The AI rarely puts up a huge fight in the late game, and you might find yourself painting the map without much resistance. Tech stops feeling meaningful, and the sheer scale of managing dozens of provinces and vassals can wear you out. [*] Occasional RNG and AI quirks. Coalition wars can feel arbitrary. Sometimes the AI blobs in weird, unhistorical ways. Naval warfare is shallow. And the AI can get very stubborn with alliances and peace offers. EU4 tries to simulate a lot, and sometimes the randomness undercuts your strategy. You might get unlucky with heir deaths, stability hits, or rebellious provinces for reasons that feel frustrating rather than fair. [/list]

Best game ever made, EU5 better realize that and step it up. I like the fact that it is very involved and makes you think - is never the same scenario even if you play the same country again and again. I dislike nothing, other than the fact world conquest got way harder when they made the change that resulted in the AI building much larger forts, but then again that is more realistic. Luckily I already got the achievement, but one religion will likely never happen for me.

This game should replace the RAADS test for Autism, if you get over 1000 hours, you're as good as diagnosed.

Fantastic game! Great way to immerse yourself if you're a history enjoyer like myself. Limitless replayability due to the amount of nations in the game (each with specific mechanics and playstyles), the differing outcome of each playthrough and the absolute abundance of glorious mods. Want to larp as a mighty military powerhouse with unstoppable armies of space marines? Check. Want to colonise the entire uncivilized world to increase the reaches of your prestigious domain? Check. Want to make many much monies as an economic hegemon? Check. Want to strike fear in the hearts of all unsuspecting peoples with hundreds of thousands of elite cavalry willing to die to expand your borders as a scourge of god horde? Check. Want to seduce all the royal ladies of your potential enemies by showcasing your massive chin thus spreading your dynasty through marriage mechanics and having world powers fall under your reign via personal unions? Check. WANT TO CONQUER THE ENTIRE WORLD? CHECK.

unfortunately I am unable to leave a positive review for this product as I found the controls too tiny and confusing. there were maybe 100 different tiny buttons on the screen , many of them showing some popup user interface with even more buttons. this is not for me.

Best replayability for any game I have played - enough mechanics as well as mods to keep us happy

Almost 3k hours and I still love the game, not much more needs to be said. I hope that EU5 will live up to this master piece!

DO NOT SUPPORT PARADOX. They've continuously shown in the recent years how little they care for talent and innovation and prioritize predatory models that aim to squeeze money out of people over the course of years, just so they can play a complete game they already paid $60 or more for. EU IV is no different from any other title they've released.

good game but shit mechanics i recommend to receive a refund

My most played game on Steam, and for good reason. EU4 is complex, satisfying, and dangerously time-consuming.

so with EU5 on the horizon slowly mechanics are falling apart and the ai is starting to become broken to the point the game is unplayable now. F*** this company dont spend a dime. HOI 4 is next.

Great game. Eu4 is a mix of everything, from trade to warfare to diplomacy. My main problem is how tedious the late game gets.

EU4 is just classic in the grand strategy game genre and after 10 years of development there is really lot to explore.

There is too much DLC, but ultimately this is a very deep and fun game. You can follow so many paths and you have so many options for what to do. I'd say it's worth all the extra purchases.

Very good game, may be confusing at first but very good.

Like every other Paradox game, it's awesome at its core but the DLCs are only worth buying on sale AND if you intend to share them with friends in multiplayer.

Do not start playing this game unless you want to lose hundreds of hours off of your life.

I love this game but its an grind i spent 18 hours on this game as a very small state and had only one state now after 18 hours i have 3 states yipeeeeeee!

I mean its a fun game sure, but It just gets too frustrating sometimes, when everything starts going well, my economy is booming and I have a large army but then I get absolutely shit sweeped by lithuania due to my morale being low. Its a complex game and I understand that but its definetly too complex for me. Also the monitization is pretty bad. I buy a dlc and another dlc was required for one of the missions to work.

The game is easy to play if you do the tutorial, and if youre stilled confused, just watch some yt videos. if you learn how to play it, it is AMAZING!

If you are intrigued by the thought of having to look at numerous excel sheets and a single map for hours on end, buy this game. Do you have a life, a job, perhaps even children? Abort. Turn away. Run. I'm going to be honest, the learning curve is brutal. It took me about 300 hours of non-ironman playthroughs filled with save-scumming to learn and understand what I could get away with and what NOT to do. But once you get a sense of the games inner workings and get the confidence that you know what you're doing, booting up those ironman games and seeing the achievement pop up that you spent your entire day off trying to get, this game is CRACK. Watching the Ottoman armies disintegrate to ashes in your Caucasus mountain forts, while all of their provinces in the Balkans get absolutely annihilated or seeing a humongous Austria crumble as they have to fight you and your 3 Great Power allies just because they had to oblige to their silly Emperor duties and defend that worthless one province nation that you just attacked is a dopamine hit no other game can give you. For me, this is the best game Paradox has to offer. You can really do some ridiculous stuff in this game. Realism and historical accuracy are only a thing until you hit that "Start Game" button. Even the A.I. just straight up goes bonkers sometimes. Well, a lot of the time actually. You should NOT play this game without DLC, however those DLC as a result of years of content cost a fortune right now. I recommend finding a sugar mommy OR if you really want to torture yourself by trial of "learning to play EU4" you can pay 5 bucks to get a subscription to play it with every single DLC available and determine from there if this is the game for you.

This game is the biggest cause of western low birth rates.. Go outside fellas.. Touch grass.. Don't end up like me..

Perfect game for history immersion, but it is very time-consuming

This is a very good game, it works well with multiplayer, it is very entertaining as it covers several time periods so has a large appeal, would recommend playing as it lets you play as almost every country and lets you have a challenging but rewarding run through multiple time periods.

This game has stolen every thing I love and hold dear... would I do it again.....yeah probably

Great historical grand strategy game. Fairly easy to learn the basics but you will still be learning tricks after hundreds of hours of play as well. Excellent mod support.

Pretty much the penultimate rts game. The diplomacy is excellent, the economy is decent, though not as good as victoria, and the military system is phenomenal as well.

Highly enjoyable. Many hours of fun to be had. Very complicated, so maybe not for someone who wants to just load up for the first time and understand everything strait away, but I find fun in working out everything as I go along. I do have a bit of lag at times, but when I first loaded it, it told me I didn't have enough memory for it, but its definitely manageable as long as I don't have other windows open. With being able to play any country allows infinite possibilities. Having to buy the DLCs separately is a pain though, couldn't Paradox just integrate them into the base game and charge more? Still great though.

Awesome game. Many-many hours can be sunken in to make something stupid or horrendous (like Latin Empire). btw RIP Byzantine forever beloved.

I wasn't sure after the first thousand hours. Then I played for another 1,200 hours to be sure. I'm still not sure but I'll say yes because it's fun to colonise the new world as Sweden.

This game teach you basic of kingdom in midle age. I got the basic idea of middle age kingdom and that is very different with country right now. I prefer the game if you want to understand politic in middle ages.

This game's kickass! If you like deep strategy with lots of replayability then this one will probably do it for you.

While I would caution anyone against buying into the scam of dozens of $20+ DLC, especially with a sequel scheduled for release, this game is insanely fun even when you aren't particularly good at it. Lots of fond memories and the soundtrack plays in my head from time to time.

Pretty fun game. Can restore the mongol empire for the 2nd time in history. Yet you need a lot of RNG, (for exemple Moghulistan alliyng Uzbeks and Khazah as you plays Oirat) Besides that, you can do a lot of stupid things, like an Greek, Orthodox Ottomans.

Cool setting but wars are genuinely unbearable, so tedious and leads to chasing their army back and forth half the time. Battles feel very unrewarding as well. Go play march of the Eagles instead, way better fr

Best grand strategy game available. Mix of total war campaign map and political/economic depth that other games offer. The perfect blend.

EU IV allows you to carve out a nation of your choice between the years of our Lord 1444 and 1800-something. It takes about 70 hours to really understand most of the options at your disposal. With the right strategy, you can achieve success as anything, be it as a small trading republic, a steppe horde, a massive empire and so on. Set some goals beforehand or roleplay a bit for even more fun. Try out Ironman Mode and learn to lose too. But always remember, both in-game and in reality, the true enemy is the Swede. Virtual Sven will stab you in the back the moment you turn your strong, muscular catholic back to him, whilst the flesh and blood Horror of the North will rob you blind with his ever worsening DLC policy. I bought the game and all DLC at a massive 85% discount and I suggest you do the same if you want the full experience.

I only play for the full conversion mod Anbennar. Best fantasy & grand strategy game.

Overall, a great game. Insane I paid so much for all the DLCs in the end. Wish a few mechanics were a bit different and more historical but still love the game

Hi UwU I just got finished diplomatically subjugating all of europe as austria def will recomend :3

This game has been one of my favourite's since I was a teenager. It scratches an itch not many other games can. You control a country in the 15th century. You attack and conquer other countries. You colonise the world. All the while you have to manage your economy, trade, diplomacy and domestic affairs. I never liked the lack of historicity in the Civ series so this was perfect to me. In fact, it TAUGHT me history and it's the reason why I like history at all. This game taught me more about history than high school. It's got a steep learning curve, like other Paradox games. It took so long for it to 'click' for me, because there are so many things you have to understand and juggle. It was very satisfying once it did though and it becomes a fun focus-drain game for you to play while listening to a podcast or youtube video. The game has problems. Its DLC policy is awful. A lot of vital functions and great content are locked behind DLC paywalls. Fortunately in recent years a subscription service has been created, allowing you to gain access to them all for a monthly fee. The DLC policy has been a catch-22 for the game, because each DLC has been accompanied by a content update, so the game has continuously been improved. The modding scene is GREAT. Ante Bellum, Anbennar, etc, change the entire world in-game and allow you to play as new nations. Ante Bellum is a stunning alt-history scenario whilst Anbennar is stereotypical dwarves-and-elves DnD with insanely layered worldbuilding and new gameplay mechanics. I recommend it hard, but be ready to deal with the DLC policy and learn a lot.

This is an Excellent game made by Paradox. I love this game so very much. I Believe that this is the best PDX game ever made and is why you should spend 300 dollars on the game and it's DLC's right before EU5 comes out.

Amazing game full of wonderful possabilities ect though the dlc is expencive to obtain all of it

Small, easy to learn game, fun to play from time to time. Will not consume your soul.

One of the best games I have ever played. Near infinite replayability. Incredible depth and knowledge/skill expression. Can play a casual game as Austria protecting the empire, to a nail-biting survival struggle as Ardabil, sandwiched between multiple great warmongering powers. I recommend starting without DLCs, and purchasing/enabling different ones as you encounter those mechanics as you learn the game. One downside is the need to use the wiki sometimes, but that is more restricted to high-stakes or very in-depth strategies.

This is easily one of the most obsessive games that I have ever played in my life, as it reigns as one above all in my most-played and valued game.

Great game, you need about 100 hours to learn to play it (+ YT videos) but it gets really fun