I’ll say Victoria 2. It’s definitely hard to learn, but its ambition and scope are terrific. It’s EU4 plus industrialization plus the birth of modern political ideologies plus a Balance of Power mechanic that’s pretty nifty.
Although, I admit, I’d play it a whole lot more if it were slightly less clunky.
EU IV is my top pick.
Their best game is undoubtedly EU4 - it is the flagship title for the studio and exemplifies the best content, design and AI work Paradox has produced.
However, Paradox’s greatest game is Victoria: An Empire under the Sun. This game just seemed to appear, fully formed out of nowhere and created an entirely new genre of strategy games that only contained it, and then later, Victoria 2. I think Tom’s review of Victoria 2 sums up my thoughts on why it is such a great, and important title, and Paradox had better be working on Victoria 3 right now.
Europa Universalis 2.
I love its straitjacket, more binary approach to history. It may be a much more directive, limited game than the later EUs in that respect, but I think it diffuses an historical flavour none of the sequels ever radiated as much. The blackbox nature of the events was something I liked too: sometimes you had a different take on a famous event because of those sliders, but you weren’t sure why. Again, it somehow felt like history.
Also the per century classical works soundtrack was an awesome idea, giving aural physicality to the passage of time. And you could customize that soundtrack too, throwing your own collection of classical recordings inside. For such a longwinded game, this was a brilliant idea. In any other Paradox game, I just went straight to the “mute” button.
It’s hard for me to remember which features they added and took away over the years, but I think I’m with Left Empty on this one. In EU2 I could play as a country in Europe and actually feel like I was grappling with the same issues that I’ve read about in their histories. I got a lot more enjoyment out of that than the gameplay mechanics.
CK2 I won’t play until they can at least come up with a user interface as good as Dwarf Fortress’. As for the other series, they have little connection to historical reality and I don’t like the gameplay, so they’re not of much interest to me.
EU4. I don’t think I have played anything else since I sat down to watch all those L2P’s over Thanksgiving. I am hoping to get back to CK2 soon.
My fav is HOI IV, also. I liked EU IV, and played a moderate amount of it, but for me it was less of a builder game than something like Civ. HOI IV is much better wargame than EU IV. I thought Victoria, Victoria II, HOI III were also good games but with large flaws.
I think Stellaris has potential , but still appears to be a long way from fun, and never could get into CK II.
Has to be EU4 based on hours played, but suspect Stellaris will surpass it this year.
According to Steam:
EU4: 2,329 hours
Stellaris: 1,235 hours
HoI4: 113 hours
LOL
HoI3: 2 hours.
I know that Hoi2 would have been over 1000 hours had it been on Steam to record. I know I played quite a bit of CK2, maybe ~ 200 hours (pre-steam, Edit, whoops it is there only 110 hours). I have Vicky2, but never played it (same with Vicky1).
I did play EU2, but not more than a couple of hours, owned EU3, but only tried it for a second.
Probably it is EU4. But I want Stellaris and HoI4 to top it. Maybe this year.
The only one I’ve ever managed to get into is CK2, although I never finished a ‘career’. I should never buy an EU or HoI game again, bounced right off every iteration I’ve tried but I always get caught up in the hype and my own personal ideal of what those games could be. I had 6 wonderful hours in Stellaris then stopped playing. Huh.
I vote for Victoria 2…its the only paradox game that is DONE
yea, I went there
You’re not wrong.
I always end up hating them all, but always buy them. What is wrong with me?
If I had to choose, I’d pick EU4 since it is the one I played the most (25 hours).
Still hate it, though.
EU4 for me, followed by Stellaris.
EU4’s grand storytelling is amazing, and each game can play so unique depending on which part of the world you are in. It’s a real blast.
I’ve tried Ck2 about 8 times, and I never get more than two hours into it. I have no idea what is happening, and despite doing the tutorials and watching videos and beginner guides, I’m always left bored, confused and disconnected from the world. It feels shameful to admit that, because I know how popular it is.
EU 4 and Stellaris. Both just great
This. If bad controls and a bad camera can ruin an action game, then bad UI ruins a strategy game.
I think your assumption may be wrong. I enjoyed this medieval themed soap opera simulator a lot. Trying to make sense of those numbers and label it a strategy game, that’s a crazy stretch!
Weird how people label things they don’t understand as bad, I guess it’s a thing. Ck 2 has more in common with the Sims, UI is great, but it’s not for you, try the Sims instead.
Har har
I keep saying I should love CK2. The role playing concept really appeals to me. I even purchased several DLC packs and watched YouTube tutorials. But I keep seeming to wrestle with how to keep from getting conquered and trying to figure out how to do things and it never becomes transparent enough to just focus on playing.
Now with this thread I’m probably going to give EU a try - which DLC should I go ahead and get right away?
