This game features no difficulty settings because difficulty is determined by the nation you take over, rather than some arbitrary neutering of the AI, and because the range of experiences changes from one campaign to the next so dramatically, achieving everything that Europa Universalis IV can offer will take years of real dedication. Setting yourself the most insane goals, such as a unified Africa, feel almost impossible, but that’s because because as history has shown it IS nearly impossible. Playing a campaign as Spain, and then as the UK will result in a very different experience because historically these nations operated differently, and getting into the exotic nations like Japan, Brunei and the Incas provides a real well of depth with regards to play types. Real historical events and national motivations are impressively modelled. Before even getting into discussing the game itself, Europa Universalis is essential for students of history because there’s stuff you can learn from playing this game, such as how the despotic monarchies of the Middle Ages handled the spread of Islam and precisely why the European nations felt the need to expand into Africa, the Americas and eventually Australia.
The nations of the period have been researched to a degree beyond what we’ve ever seen in a game. Everything about this game is meticulous, from the political to military and economic systems that all closely model how they worked historically. It’s also the most balanced and deep strategy game ever designed. In fact, for the first time since I was at university and in the habit of putting off writing essays that I had three months to do for the night before they were due, I have found myself going completely without sleep.įor the first time since Civilization 2, I actually lost so much time playing this game that the sun came up, and I hadn’t realised that it actually set the day before.Įuropa Universalis IV is Paradox Development Studio’s most refined, rich and creative game to date. For the past week my sleep has been badly affected.