Europa Universalis IV is a pausable, real time grand strategy game. The game was released back in August 2013. This game has certainly not been forgotten by developers at Paradox Development Studio with new DLC being released roughly every six months. The DLC count is currently at 14 with the newest, Dharma, which was released in September 2018. The game is very MOD friendly with a huge variety of content available in the Steam Workshop.

For those who are new to Grand Strategy games, or those of you who have not played other titles from Paradox Interactive may find this a bit overwhelming at first. All I can say is stick with it because it is truly worth it once you have gotten to grips with it. EU4 allows the player to take control of any nation in the world with the overall objective of world domination. The game plays through the year 1444 – 1821AD.

There are twelve bookmarked dates in which you can start from, however, the player is able to choose any date down to the very day between 1444 and 1821.  The game play is a top down view of the world map which can zoom all the way into a single province. Depending on the start date and which nation you pick, a lot of the world may be shrouded out. As you zoom in you will see your armies and navies represented as a single 3D sprite.

The game clock continuously ticks by the days and the player may increase, decrease and even pause the clock at will. Whilst the game is paused you can give orders to armies and make any adjustments to your nation and it will be carried out as soon as you un-pause the game. You as the player have full control over your chosen nation. You can declare war, arrange royal marriages to a foreign dynasty, make alliances and more through diplomacy. Wars are mainly a numbers game which can take away some of the strategic element to battles. That being said, there are a number of factors which help decide the outcome of a battle such as technology, terrain and the quality of general you have leading your men. You can hire and fire government ministers who each have perks they add to your nation but it is at the cost of money.

Every month you earn monarch points. Monarch points are split into three categories:  Admin, Diplomacy and Military. The number of points you earn each month is based on your current rulers’ stats. These can also be increased with ministers. The points are used to increase development in your provinces. They are used to discovery new technology and invest in national ideas. They can also be used to increase stability and suppress rebel uprisings. Choosing what to invest in, and when to invest requires forward planning.

There is not much to say about the graphics in this game. The graphics are nice and nothing more, but they do the job. The 3D sprites on the map look and move well. To be fair you don’t play a game like EU4 for the graphics. EU4 is all about game play.

For those who have played other titles by Paradox interactive may find a certain familiarity with the soundtrack to EU4. It was done by Andreas Waldetoft who also composed the music for Crusader Kings 2, Stellaris, Cities Skylines and others. The EU4 soundtrack consists of 24 songs with some only playing during war or peace time. The music really suits the game. It helps create and adds to the atmosphere. The sounds of your armies moving and fighting is very basic. The odd clash of swords here with odd cannon or musket fire there.

So in summery EU4 has tonnes of replay potential. With all the different start dates and hundreds of nations to choose from, you will easily clock up 110+ hours into this game. If you shop around you could find this game at around the £10 to £20 mark. For that price it is a bargain and great value for money. The fact the developers keep releasing new content shows that this game will continue to improve on what is already one of the most in depth games out there.

I score this:

92/100

Pros    

• Hundreds of hours worth of game play
• Endless possibilities
• No two play throughs are the same
• Well priced
• Good DLC
• Strong modding community
• Continuous improvement

Cons

• Average graphics
• Steep learning curve