Paradox's Masterpiece: Why Europa Universalis 4 is PDX's Truest Form

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When Europe Universalis 4 eventually has its development ended after what is primed to be more than 11 years, it is very likely going down in history as the world's largest, most-in-depth and longest-developed strategy game, at least for my sake I can't think of another game with what's likely going to be more than 13 years (obviously including pre-release development which began around September 2011). By all accounts, EU4 is not just revolutionary in its development length, but also in its mechanics, which spans dozens and hundreds of nations, centuries of development and warfare, and an unprecedented amount of challenges.

But EU4 does something that few other Paradox games do - EU4 is consistent in its desire to take itself seriously, and to simulate history and its alternative outcomes. EU4 might move slow, but this is where its heart lies, because no Empire is made in a day, and similarly, EU4 desires your dedication, but in return offers complexity, depth, an astounding soundtrack that draws you in, and immeasurable amounts of immersion.

These are all reasons why EU4 has become my favorite Paradox game, and arguably my favorite strategy game of all time. It truly has stood the test of time, and partly managed to do so because of the mostly excellent job of the developers to continue innovating and creating fresh experiences. And that's what I wanna talk about in this video.

Let me know your thoughts on this topic and video in the comments, and make sure to leave a like and subscribe to the channel if you enjoy what I do :)

#eu4 #europauniversalis4 #bestparadoxgame

[tboicovas]

And Vicky3 is the other uncle who cant stop yapping about the economy and politics every dinner.

[SereglothIV]

For me, Europa Universalis IV is the best Paradox game simpley because it has the most variety and balance. What I mean by that is that Crusader Kings focuses strongly on characters and diplomacy, while economy is very marginalized and governing your state is somehwat whacky, as you're just one character, not the state itself. Victoria's main focus is economy and internal politics, while waging war and conquering lands isn't as fleshed out or even important. Hearts of Iron is my least liked game, I think, because it's just 'take some tanks and fight everyone' with much less thought required to actually govern your country. Europa Universalis, however, does it all and does it well. Diplomacy is super important, economy consists of many systems working together pretty well, governing your country can be done in different ways thanks to idea groups and wars are really engaging as well. Other games specialize in just a few select aspects of running a country, while EU4 does it all. Yes, diplomacy is simpler than in CK and economy is simpler than in Victoria, but all aspects are fleshed out enough and work together really well.

In addition to all that, the timeframe also makes a difference. You can really feel that you lead your country through the centuries and the campaigns last long enough so you can put your heart into them, as opposed to Vic or HoI campaigns that can be done over one weekend.

[alexandersen]

Lets see what happens with project Caesar
It looks like pdx's magnum opus

[restful]

Absolutely agree. I started my journey into paradox with HOI4 and about 500 hours later I decided to give EU4 a shot. I don't know what it is, but it captivated me so much more than HOI4. The time periods, the mechanics, everything blended together so well. And almost every playthrough I've had has been different. Sometimes Russia will be formed, sometimes Lithuania will crush them, sometimes the Ottomans will fall apart, etc etc. It's just such an enjoyable game.

[jishinore]

EU4 took my whole life, I also started PDX games with CK2, but it’s EU4 that kept me going. Right now I have 4864 hours in EU4. By far the most I spent in a game. And I still feel like a noob.

[wanedguy]

I agree this game has so many features that are not in any other paradox game because I used to play HOI4 and it felt so unreal after wars the player just annexes the whole country which just felt wrong compared to every single other peace deal in history and when I started playing EU4 it added so much more realism and strategy also:










first

[madman-ocjh]

i remember EU 4 before mission trees and god i dont miss that time lmao

[m.thorton]

call me crazy but i consider EU4 have the best looking UI for any strategy games

[HistoricalFanatics]

Making a eu4 viceo essay on hoi4’s anniversary is crazy

Just kidding I love eu4, it’s my favorite game of all time

[combrade-t]

This is actually a good point that EU4 is already kind of a staple paradox game. EU5 Seems like it's gunna be stepping that up to the next level, but I never really considered EU4 as that. I agree that it's map is the best though, (with possible exception of Imperator, that game's map is amazing its a goddamn globe) EU5 Maps are looking pretty clean, although they are doing the Zoom-mapmodes thing which I kinda hate.

If people don't pick up EU4 and at least give it a go with the subscription they are seriously missing out. Banger game, although if its MP could run faster it would be an absolute banger of a game for lil MP games - which atm Stellaris is kinda the best at getting together dominating with a couple of friends in MP. EU4 Lacks the internal micro early game to play that well like that, which is kinda why small nations are so fun. Lots of Early Game Struggle so by the time you're big you've actually got stuff to do. EU5 will probably be great for that though, getitng together dying to the black death. Will be fun times.

[Meamiscool]

I've always had a pretty on and off relationship with EU4, I'd always rank it as one of my least favourite Paradox games, but I think I was really just looking at it the wrong way. I always saw it as a shallower version of CK2 with much more gamified and abstract systems that just appealed to those who like to map paint with less options for roleplay allowing you to get immersed in your nations history. This video, however, has made me think of the game in a different light. Cohesive nation states play a much bigger part in this period in history than in the early and high medieval time, so playing as a state instead of a character makes a lot more sense now I think of it. I've played the game for a couple hundred hours already but I haven't played it at all in the past few years, I think I'm gonna give it another go though. I was already really hyped for EU5 and this has made me even more excited.

[mattbowdenuh]

Victoria: Revolutions was my first Paradox game and EU4 was my second. Have played basically all of them, but EU4 is just so balanced and stays grounded. Nothing really out of the ordinary or weird. Balanced on diplo, economy, and warfare while ck or victoria or hoi seem to concentrate only on a one of those each. EU4 is for sure their best game overall.

[MisterCoolaidMan]

All I can say, if they screw up Eu5 its be bad for Paradox.

[casio]

2:24 according to wikipedia, that twitter poster is actually right about Leningrad. The German army was ordered not to storm the city when encircled for pretty evil reasons.

[fanofcodd]

I find HOI4 Very good in multiplayer, you can dedicate an afternoon and an evening and playing it with friends at home and finish the game.

Hard to do with EU4.

But in Solo I prefer EU4

[panayiotis_antoniadis]

I wholeheartedly agree with everything that's been mentioned in the video. CK2 brought me in as well and, due to nostalgia and personal reasons, it will always be my favourite game, but one cannot deny that EU4 is their best game so far.

And to add two more reasons;
-mission trees (their absence is felt in CK2 and Stellaris)
-not too complicated (100 different buildings and ship components in Stellaris)

[bredom]

Eu4 is the only paradox game where i prefer vanilla over like wacky modded stuff. With other games like hoi4 theres always stuff like road to 56 or the 17 million alt history scenarios.

With EU4, I only use visual mods and one which massively expands the dynamic province name list for alot of cultures and renames every country to their local endonym for themselves.

It says alot how good the base game is and honestly how much more there is to do here than in hoi4. Theres like 50x the amount of time and 10x the amount of playable nations.

[sashsash]

Imperator is the Roman Empire Fanboy ( we all love the roman empire )

[tigrecito]

did you know that you can play as japan, change to christian, become hre emperor and have mandate of heaven at the same time?
worth doing.. its pretty op, i just did it.. dunno if anyone else has done this before?

[bogda]

I agree completely. I still remember when I was in high school amazed at Rome: Total War and a friend said to me: "nah, this game is easy, there is only a handful of nations and you can conquer the whole map. I play a game where you can pick any nation that existed on the planet at any point in time and it is just impossible to conquer them all". I thought such a game was just some myth, computationally unfeasable, something I was seeking for years. The game was EU2. It was frustrating at first, a game where things were slow and indirect... No internet guides back then, only a short and incomplete manual. But once I started getting the hang of it.... man, so rewarding! I've seen many Paradox releases, some good, some bad, but always EU has been the firm Paradox spine that never let down. I was fully against mana and thought I would hate EU IV, but man even with mana the game was just so good... To this date EU IV has the best diplomacy I've ever seen in any game.