TL:DR - Great game, but be weary of DLC, not all DLC is worth buying. Buy the base game and carefully choose the DLC or wait for a sale.

This is easily one of the best grand strategy games I have ever played. As a long time Civilization fan, this game feels like a step up from Civilization. Its kind of like if the Total War series was on a much larger scale. I enjoy the historicalness of the game, with things like the HRE, Ottoman Empire, new world colonization etc. The game has a lot of depth, which is fantastic. It also recieves regular updates and DLC, which is nice, in that the developer has not abandoned this game. It also has mod support, which is cool.

I think purchasing the base game is worth while, especially if it is on sale. The base game frequently goes for 50-75% off, which is an excellent price point.

However, my chief complaint is the DLC. Its nice that the developers keep making DLC, but some of the DLC is subpar. Not only that, but the price of the DLC is extortionate. $20 for a DLC? Really Paradox? If the base game costs $40 normally and the DLC that does not have nearly as much content as the base game costs $20, why would I pay so much for DLC? If you factor in all the expansions, Europa is a very expensive game to play. Even when you wait for steam sales on the DLC where the DLC is 50-75% off, it still can get quite expensive. They need to charge less for the DLC. DLC should not exceed $10, given the amount of content added.

Another thing that is quite annoying is that when DLC is released, a free update that adds a few features is released too. While this is awesome that it keeps the game fresh and is free, it also changes some game mechanics signifigantly, which means relearning the game for a few days. Some of the changes are actually worse too. And there doesn't seem to be an option to just disable features that you don't like. I know its possible to disable updates, but sometimes its cool to have new features added, but those new features usually come at the cost of some awful change to gameplay.

Overall, I recommend picking up the base game, and perhaps even a few of the DLCs, but do not blindly buy all of the DLCs. I am thumbing the game down though until Paradox changes its greedy ways.

TL:DR - Great game, but be weary of DLC, not all DLC is worth buying. Buy the base game and carefully choose the DLC or wait for a sale. This is easily one of the best grand strategy games I have ever played. As a long time Civilization fan, this game feels like a step up from Civilization. Its kind of like if the Total War series was on a much larger scale. I enjoy the historicalness of the game, with things like the HRE, Ottoman Empire, new world colonization etc. The game has a lot of depth, which is fantastic. It also recieves regular updates and DLC, which is nice, in that the developer has not abandoned this game. It also has mod support, which is cool. I think purchasing the base game is worth while, especially if it is on sale. The base game frequently goes for 50-75% off, which is an excellent price point. However, my chief complaint is the DLC. Its nice that the developers keep making DLC, but some of the DLC is subpar. Not only that, but the price of the DLC is extortionate. $20 for a DLC? Really Paradox? If the base game costs $40 normally and the DLC that does not have nearly as much content as the base game costs $20, why would I pay so much for DLC? If you factor in all the expansions, Europa is a very expensive game to play. Even when you wait for steam sales on the DLC where the DLC is 50-75% off, it still can get quite expensive. They need to charge less for the DLC. DLC should not exceed $10, given the amount of content added. Another thing that is quite annoying is that when DLC is released, a free update that adds a few features is released too. While this is awesome that it keeps the game fresh and is free, it also changes some game mechanics signifigantly, which means relearning the game for a few days. Some of the changes are actually worse too. And there doesn't seem to be an option to just disable features that you don't like. I know its possible to disable updates, but sometimes its cool to have new features added, but those new features usually come at the cost of some awful change to gameplay. Overall, I recommend picking up the base game, and perhaps even a few of the DLCs, but do not blindly buy all of the DLCs. I am thumbing the game down though until Paradox changes its greedy ways.