Yes, Paradox's DLC Policy is atrocious, yes it's overpriced. But I'm not here to review the DLC I'm here to review the base game. As it is, for $20 this game is an absolute steal. People cry that it's not complex enough for their taste, well I've got news for you. There are mods for a reason. Kaiserreich, Millenium Dawn, Weltkrieg, Napoleonic Wars, Fatherland, The Great War, are all total overhaul mods that I have gotten about 50-200 hours on each of them. The base game is a little lackluster once you've tried the mods but that is to be expected. Is it watered down? Yes. Is it fun? Yes. I always play vanilla with my new friends so that they can understand the base concepts of the game before launching them into the far more complex mods I have listed above. This has worked for me, Vanilla is merely a stepping stone, and I hope this was what paradox intended because it has worked out great for me. All in all, another good game from Paradox, I totally recommend for people new to grand strategy genre games.

I personally spent so much damned time waiting for this game, convinced it would be everything I love from HOI3, but with better graphics, and a much smoother interface. What I got instead was an extremely watered down, and extremely non-complex game compared to its predecessor. While in HOI3 I could spend hours micromanaging an entire front for a couple days, or automate it all but a small 'Special Operations' unit under my direct command, HOI4 seems to take in favour of having the entire game automated. I enjoy the factory system, but it seems not well fleshed out compared to just following HOI3 BICE's method and adding different industry modifying plants, in addition to the IC system. Combat is boring and the entire game slows to a crawl due to the lack of propper army balancing. As Turkey I should not be able to single handedly conquer the Soviet Union, it should not be physically possible, at least not for a few hundred years. The game also lacks in the political spectrum, which HOI3 was not well known for either, though somehow Paradox managed to make it worse. Instead of having 6+ different political parties, many with differing ideologies or ministers or rules which would affect how you play, you have 4 ideologies. No Social Democrats vs Market Liberals, now it is Democratic, Fascist, Communist, or non-aligned, which disappears quickly enough with no way to bring it back. Now onto what is possibly the worst offender, the AI. The AI in HOI4 is non-existent and that is being kind. What they try to pass for an AI like HOI3 had is actually just a line of forced decisions through things like the Focus Tree every 70 days. Not just to mention that the battle AI is better off literally sitting still then trying to 'arrange' itself into the best fighting stance. The AI is an insult to the player base and HOI3 is overall a much better system. Overall I would like to like this game, but it is a world sandbox which starts in 1936, not a World War Two Grand Strategy Game, which is what was advertised. There is also the issue with lackluster content and a terrible AI which sink what could have been a great strategy game.

Hearts of Iron IV is a very fun and time-consuming game, with a lot of fun elements. It does have some AI problems where the AI makes some stupid mistakes, for example, I make a line and the AI sends my troops on the other side of the world to fill out the line. Overall fun, but wait for a sale.

I have been playing this saga since the first Hearts of Iron and although everyone has been having their faults and things to improve the trend was that with each new delivery will expand playable possibilities and allow greater micromanagement and personalization of your country. Thinking that Paradox would continue in that line, had not followed the development of this fourth delivery and when I bought it I expected to find a HOI 3 improved in all aspects and with greater possibilities .. Damn the hour ..

I've played thousands of hours of Paradox games, particularly EU4 and CK2. HoI4 feels like a step closer to those games than its predecessors. A beautiful aesthetic and user-friendly interface sets it apart from HoI3, though there are faults in the AI and gameplay that leave it feeling more "gameified" and less of an accurate or realistic simulation. Hardcore fans will bemoan some of the simplifications, but there are also an number of quality of life and mechanical improvements. I've played almost 100 hours. I'm sure though that, like with EU4, time will improve both the mechanical complexity and my opinion of HOI4. If Paradox is known for anything, it's post-launch support.