Cover artwork I generate from the game data. I do not use publisher artwork.
Game profile
Europa Universalis IV
A historical grand strategy game guiding a nation from the early modern era into the 19th century through diplomacy, trade, colonization and war. Countless expansions make the simulation extremely detailed and deep.
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What kind of game this is
At its core this is Strategy, set in a historical period. Visually it is deliberately stylised rather than photorealistic, and the overall tone stays somewhere between light and heavy. The world is open, so wandering off and ignoring the main path is part of the deal. It rewards long uninterrupted stretches more than quick check-ins.
It is genuinely demanding, and repeated failure is part of how it is designed. There is no story to speak of, the systems carry everything. Competitive play against other people is part of the package. It is available on one platform. It sits in the mid price bracket.
What stands out
- centuries of grand strategy
- diplomacy and colonies
- extremely deep simulation
This fits you if
- you enjoy being made to think
- you can sit down for a proper long stretch without interruptions
- you like getting lost and ignoring the main objective for hours
- cutscenes annoy you and you just want to play
- you want real resistance and are fine with dying a lot
- you enjoy competing against other players
Look elsewhere if
- you want to relax and not be punished for mistakes
- you play mainly for narrative
- you do not have 150 hours to give a single game
- you only ever get short bursts of play time
What it costs you in time
About 150 hours in total. At three evenings a week and two hours each, you will be busy for roughly 25 weeks, or 75 sessions.
How the rating ranks
Critics settled on 91 out of 100, which puts it above 90 percent of the 1206 games here and at rank 102 overall. That is a strong score, comfortably above what most releases manage.
For comparison, Strategy averages 82 points across the database, so this one sits 9 points above its own genre. The figure rests on 258 collected ratings.
Released in 2013, which makes it 13 years old. A genuine classic, and worth checking how the version you buy holds up today.
The facts
- Release year
- 2013
- Genres
- Strategy
- Playtime
- approx. 150 hrs.
- Difficulty
- Demanding, punishing
- Story weight
- None, pure gameplay
- Play with
- Solo, Competitive
- Setting
- Historical
- Visual style
- Stylised
- Price bracket
- Mid price
- Platforms
- PC
- Critic rating
- 91 / 100
Direct comparison
| Genres | Release year | Playtime | Critic rating | Price bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europa Universalis IV | 2013 | approx. 150 hrs. | 91 | Mid price |
| Victoria 3 | 2022 | approx. 100 hrs. | 77 | Mid price |
| Europa Universalis V | 2025 | approx. 150 hrs. | 84 | Full price |
| Crusader Kings III | 2020 | approx. 100 hrs. | 91 | Full price |
If you liked this, try these
- Victoria 3 Shared: Strategy, Historical, shorter
- Europa Universalis V Shared: Strategy, Historical
- Crusader Kings III Shared: Strategy, Historical, shorter
- Hearts of Iron IV Shared: Strategy, Historical
- Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic Shared: Strategy, Historical
- Wartales Shared: Strategy, Historical, shorter