Hearts of Iron IV

I've played all the HOI games over the years, and enjoyed the time I spent with HOI4. It is not my favorite iteration of the series, nor would I recommend it to first-time players of the WWII grand strategy genre. I think that even though the playing audience is larger than ever, the series has become just too dense and too weird as a result of its long evolution to appeal to its core players. However, I would definitely recommend it to other players who are familiar with the previous iterations and who are ready to engage the aforementioned density and weirdness.

Examples:

If Britain falls, the entire Commonwealth quickly gives up even if they are untouched, robbing the player of an epic far-flung struggle. Meanwhile, Sweden is ready to fight to the last empty tile. I think the strange effort of making hyper-complex focus trees for every minor power has created this imbalance.

Peace conferences result in absolutely bizarre and incongruous partitions that leave enemies still in existence with one state because the different factions ran out of points during the bidding. This is related to the way the different factions can get lumped into the same war even if they are not allies and would have diametrically opposed objectives that should lead to a refusal to even come to the table with one another. In one game, I was in 4 wars against the same enemy but paired with different combinations of enemy factions / countries.

Puppets and allies flood your air bases and far flung provinces with worthless defensive units that choke your supply lines and cause exploitable situations of the non-player armies building up enormous forces in utterly unimportant territories. So that while the player focuses on strategic objectives, those computer armies are bogged down for weeks trying to fight for huge swathes of empty territory. This led to the USA using 2/3rds of its army to invade Western Canada and just sit there while the East Coast was steamrolled.

You aren't directly penalized for wanting to control your armies yourself, but you miss out on bonuses you get for letting the AI do the work. It hardly matters, though. By controlling your units yourself, you'll have a much more dynamic front which will show you exactly why the developers wanted you to let the AIs fight each other to keep you from overwhelming it. It's a weird possibility that the developer may not have wanted you to actually interfere with their game by playing it directly.

My way around some of this weirdness was to go it completely alone. No faction members (except when forced upon me by scripted events which I would later work to undo) and annexation instead of puppets. Still the overall feeling something has been lost from previous iterations remained. Perhaps it was the limited number of historical generals, or the replacement of photos with cartoon pictures, or the suppression of pop-ups and event logs to the point that major global events go unmentioned, or that you have to gain war experience just to put medium tanks in place of light tanks in division templates, or that there are page upon page of tiny navy technologies but comparatively small tank and aircraft tech trees, or that Uruguay was willing to declare war on me when I had a stockpile of 60 nuclear bombs and had shown I was completely comfortable sprinkling them over the map just to see the pretty flashes ... I don't know.

Is this really a better game than the versions that preceded it? If you are familiar with the series, try it and find out - during a sale.

Paradox is going in a horrible direction by producing slop mods that use AI content and feel more like an edgy 14 y/o's mod. Don't support this company

You give it your kidney and then it hits you with the "I can't find launcher-installer-windows.msi" despite you opening it for it to bring the issue up, effectively softlocking me away from accessing something I paid quite a lot of money for. I've spent the last 5 hours trying to fix it with every discussed and speculated method under the sun to no avail

good game very addicting should be study for exams instead i play this game um my favourite part of this got to be the mods would recommend Andorra to roman empire its very fun

This game lets me conquer the wastes as the NCR, very cool game, reminds me of Super Mario Bros 2, certainly one of the Game of The Years of this year and every year of the past and forever more.

I like paradox games but they have the absolute worst most backwards ways of selling their games and DLCs. What a shame, I have played a bunch of EU4 and Stellaris and I don't feel like going through all that BS with this game.

Played as Germany. Forgot to research tanks. Invaded France with bicycles. Surprisingly effective.

The ultimate sandbox experience and a must play game for any WW2 history buff. The base game and DLC open up hundreds of hours of gameplay, but with incredible DLC sized mods that playtime can go into the thousands.

dlc addicting like coke in the coke, 20/10
but pls make naval it's own fckn game, me no understand, 0/10

Game crashes for a pastime & the updates wipe you out without warning. Poor choice.

No better game for taking the edge off by moving little soldiers around europe

Absolutely worth the price, it is hard to figure it our by yourself at the beginning, but I recommend that you find some friends that want to play, and it is literally one of the best games I have ever played. 470 hours in this game and the expansions always keep it fresh. Highly recommend anyone to get and play this game.

I could say that I love this game for the deep mechanics and having a great deal of control over your armed forces...which I do...but if I'm being honest, what I love the most is the fulfillment of a power fantasy that few games can really bring due to the granularity the game provides.

And mods...so many great mods for this game that add countless more hours to enjoy out of the game. This is certainly one of those games where you can play for years without doing everything, there's THAT much variety. Well worth the purchase even though Paradox's price schemes for DLCs aren't the best, definitely recommend getting DLC on sale (which they're routinely on sale multiple times a year).

This game is dogshit. wasted 3000 hours to still not be able to just play a multiplayer game and keep up with the IC of other nations no matter the industry. Bad game 2/10 because it USE to be a alright game but now its just a burning mess full of meta incells. DO NOT BUY OR PLAY THIS GAME. Play Stellaris

Even after putting 3000 hours of my life into playing this game and all the mods that come with it, I still don't really have a positive view on it. In my opinion its one of Paradox's best but also most boring games, its combat is mind-numbing and theres not much else to do outside of prepare for war and do minor politically-related things like install a new government or start a civil war. An escape from this boring content comes in the form of modding, but the modding scene also becomes boring and mundane after a while. Many mods copy other mods, a lot of scenarios are literally copy-pasted from other scenarios and the few interesting ones are usually stuck in development hell. Over time my friends have also stopped playing it because the community around it are filled with the most hateful and terminally online people you'd ever meet. I do not recommend getting this game.

I would recommend for anyone to play, the game is versatile due to mod support and can either be very hard or easy depending on the mods you choose.

A very very well made game, It is very time consuming, but not in a bad way. You can play hours and hours of it in a sitting and not realize that you've missed your Cousin's funeral, your own birthday, and quite literally your own funeral. Honestly I still can't believe that I've not left my room for 3 years.

Great game, very in depth. The expansions are awesome as well, I like playing as lesser countries, and now some of have expanded tech trees. I recommend.

This is my favourite planning simulator. It doesn't take really long to understand the game (click around, read, you can pause time whenever you need and for as long as you need), understanding history is a plus but not a must. If you expect an RTS, you will be disappointed. This is a grand strategy game where you control your troops on land, sea and in the air, politics, industry, diplomacy, you name it - everything that a real nation needs to sort out. Once you play this game and complete it, you will never look at the real world the same. I mean, I don't understand why we don't have maxed out infrastructure everywhere, we are in fracking 2024 and some places still look like 1936...

Honestly I don't even play the main game. I just play the total overhaul mods like Kaiserreich, Old World Blues, and Red Dusk. The modding scene alone is a reason to get it.

I like it because it requires good strategy and makes me think. Its the perfect match for my over thinking brain. But it could stand to be a little more user friendly. I got use to it but it could stand to be a little user friendly unless it can't be anymore.

Paradox game:
- long game
- deep, very deep game
- a strong intellectual work of planification and problem solving, long term strategies
- pretty hard
- you need to like maps and numbers

If you can pass through those limitations, you'll love Paradox games.
This one isn't the worst nor the best, but a pretty strong reference. You need to like WW2 to enjoy it.

I do. I love it.

honestly a great game, BUT, the DLC policy can be overbearing, and it is one of the games that are very hard to master. BEWARE that it will give you gender dysphoria and either make you a hardcore fascist or communist.

It has consumed my life. I wait to play this while at work. I have missed out on social opportunities just to play this game. It is fun, and very addictive. If you value your sanity and social life, I do not recommend playing this game.

I love this game, and I hate this game.

I recently uninstalled it, after 2500 hours. The mod community is great, but it only adds to the addictive property of this game. If you are reading this, I hope you follow suit.

This game is very sigma playing with friends and having to deal with 20 fronts is so fun when your friends have no equipment and gets killed instantly but at least i can manage the soviet and usa front before pulling girls.

It's a good video game to play, and has many mods. But Paradox, every time I return playing a nation in the Cold War mod, it kicks me out of the game. Do something about.

This is one of the best RTS games ever! I swear the gameplay is awsome, the mods are well made, and its impossible to get bored!

It's an overall amazing game due to it's striking simplicity - You're started off as Italy, which is perfect for learning war mechanics against an inferior opponent (Ethiopia) and it also gives you a chance to invade Europe.

it can be hard once you first play but other then that its a good game to play

Super fun game to play casual or competitive with AI not being stupid.

Great game, but chopped up in parts and developed over the years...(Thats not particulary bad) Some focus trees are just copied and pasted off the mods people made over the years... Not really cool... So imo most of the dls are only worth the 80% off price. I do understand that development and bug fixes cost a lot of money, but adding a monthly subscription service is plain milking strategy off the less well players after they tried the game with their friends who own all the dlcs.

I really like the game. It is a deep complex game of a very strategic nature. They continually add features which often significantly change the game and requires changing your strategy.

My only complaint is the AI can't possibly compete with all the strategic choices that are made. New features just make the AI even less capable of competing.

Hearts of Iron IV is an outstanding World War II strategy game that covers all theaters of the war, from the Eastern Front and North Africa to the vast Pacific Theater. One of my favorite aspects is the game’s alternate historical paths: you can reform the Roman Empire, restore the British Empire, or revive the Russian Empire, among other possibilities. The game can feel overwhelming at first, with a steep learning curve, but I found that just diving in—even without fully understanding the mechanics—helped me gradually get the hang of it. And if you’re confused about the naval aspect, don’t worry—I’m still figuring it out myself!

Playing Hearts of Iron IV with friends adds even more excitement, as you can coordinate complex strategies or even compete against each other for world domination. While the game can be pricey, especially with all the DLCs, it’s well worth the investment. After clocking in over 1,000 hours, I’d say this game is a must-play for anyone who loves WWII and strategy games.

Thanks.

Great improvement over the last 8 years. Too bad most of it is locked behind $$$$$$$$.

its a fun ww2 game where you can also get mods i love it and hate it at the same time but one of my favs

I was playing Italy for the first time and I somehow lost against Ethiopia. Then France declared on me and I lost. Fun game in general.

This game is legit bullshit, tutorial level is basic at best, barely explains how to play the game, had to play it 5 fucking times to figure out how to play, several features are missed in the tutorial level, AI will always beat you practically no matter what, even when playing on easy mode, DO NOT BUY THIS

great game, bit of a grind but a lot of fun when it kicks off

It’s the game I’ve sunk more time into then I’d like to admit. It’s really fun the sound tracks to go with it are amazing. If you like ww2 stuff and you like strategy games you’ll be like me n love this.

This is an amazing game, what with the ability to play as any nation historically starting from 1936, or send them down a path of historical divergence. Very fun, but time-consuming. I recommend.

I've been in a world war that lasted 22 years and caused near a quarter of a billion military dead all because I (France) laughed at Switzerland's request for my section of the Alps

I hate this game with a burning passion. This game made me age 50 years, made my skin start to peel, and made me blind in one eye. I wish I could uninstall this game but the withdrawls are too strong.

I told myself I cant play this game anymore after 500 hours cause its addictive especially for WW2 enthusiast. I delete, I install, I delete, I install, I delete, I install. Now I'm at 2k hours..

very fun to play, lots of different outcomes that could happen

Best game i have ever played you can invade usa as malasia or rule europe as germany, Exited for the new expanision pack 1:
Recomend for people who like strategy games and war.
It has free multiplayer and is over all a great game
Note that it takes sometime too learn the mecanics hoewer they have added a tutorial for the basics.

After playing Hoi4 for a few hours i can say, This is a good game and yes, the workshop can be as bad as you think it is!

It'd very overwhelming to get into, but once u get over the learning curve it's [retty good. If your a fan of Civilization you'll probably love this game, although Civ is a lot more simple, this game is more realistic.

It took me about 400 hours to understand the most basic of things in this game, game after game getting my butt handed to me by the supposedly 'easy' ai

But eventually

You start to understand things

The systems start to click

You spend a bit too much time on youtube trying to find the perfect guide that matches the current update of the game and eventually, you complete your first world conquest sweaty, exhausted, and slightly miserable.

This is the greatest game I have ever played. I just wish I knew about it sooner.

A steep and initially exhausting learning curve, but stick with it. The rewards are amazing. I played as Argentina (with the Trial of Allegiance DLC) and had a blast.

Literally a blast, at first, when fascist Chile attacked me, a peaceful democratic country trying to mind its own business. (And I chose Argentina to try to stay out of the way of the bullies!) They now rue the day they crossed us. This was supposed to be only a trial run but turned into a full blown and satisfying campaign.

As I learned the game, I began to realize why it is so popular. You have to do the diligence, however, so be prepared for reading and video viewing. If and when you get there, I think you will enjoy Hearts of Iron IV.

great game in general mods make it so much better also just learned what the console commands are u can create weird senirios with them