Europa Universalis IV is a historical simulation / grand strategy war game of intimidating complexity. Even as I encroach upon 500 hours played, there are still aspects of the game that I am learning about and have not yet mastered. It is a game that continues to challenge me many years after having first played it, and never gets boring. The main issues in terms of gameplay tend to be AI behaviour (where they sent their troops, sudden changes of attitude), and RNG (i.e., the randomness of attitudes of nations towards one another at game start, for example). This can very much shape the way in which your game plays out. The AI decision making also seems to be very player-centric, which can be frustrating at times.

It's difficult to review games like this, which change so drastically throughout the years of iteration and expansion. There have been times throughout the games lifespan when the AI was unable to deal with its economy appropriately and would spiral into debt, becoming completely useless as allies and drastically impacting any attempted playthroughs. In the earliest iterations of the game, it will have been much scarcer in terms of flavour for many nations (unique events, decisions, missions, and so on), and will have been lacking in many of the interesting and complex systems which have become a central part of the current experience of the game. And so any given review will be reacting to a snapshot of the game in a particular state, including this one.

I am very happy with where the game is now, especially in terms of how much flavour there is for such a large number of nations you can choose from, and in terms of how fun the various systems are to engage with, but it was not always like this. I am not happy, however, with how much money it has cost for it to get to this point, all of the DLC and content packs. Nowadays it is possible to purchase a monthly subscription which gives you access to everything, but that's little solace to people who have spent inordinate sums on everything as it came out. Especially considering that it only really amounts to bells and whistles. Why wasn't the subscription model available from the beginning? (This is a rhetorical question; I know the answer.) Paradox is often called out on its payment model for these games, and says little of nothing about it. Lucky for them I really enjoy the games they make.

In the course of playing this game, I have learned so much about the world, different cultures, religions, their history, various historical events and individuals. It has inspired me to do courses of learning and to start studying languages, to read books and watch certain movies/TV shows/documentaries. I can truly say that playing Europa Universalis IV has been formative for my appreciation and understanding of the wider world. And that isn't something I can usually say about games. This, the current state of the game, and the subscription model which gives access to years of content, are the main reasons why I can recommend it.