StrategyFront Gaming

Our List of The Best Paradox Games

Over the last decade, Paradox Interactive has become one of the titans of the strategy games genre. Focusing mostly on historical titles. Paradox has blown all others out of the water in their depictions of the historical periods their games are set in.

The mechanical and strategic depth present in some of these games is truly astounding. There’s no better tribute to Paradox’s fine work then that their fans measure their playtime, not in hours spent. But in how many thousands of hours were spent playing a game.

Stellaris

Stellaris is a 4X grand strategy hybrid that Paradox Interactive released in 2016. You take the reins of your civilization beginning in 2200 with your people’s first discovery of FTL technology. 

You begin by creating a species where you can choose their appearance, traits, and ethics. For appearance, you have the option to choose everything from humans to weird fungal-tree people. There are also plenty of mods that add new races to the game. 

You will order your ships, to explore, conquer, and exploit the star systems around you. Eventually, you’ll meet other civilizations and have to engage in diplomacy or go to war. Combat is more about proper ship design and fleet composition than any sort of tactical maneuvering. 

The game has found its footing over the years. Becoming both more focused on its mechanics and more expansive in terms of the customization of your civilization. The game is unlike other Paradox titles that focus purely on Grand Strategy. Stellaris mixes elements of 4X games into its gameplay.

Stellaris is well worth the time of any Sci-Fi fan who’s looking to build up a civilization to conquer the galaxy.

Hearts of Iron IV

Hearts of Iron IV is a WW2 grand strategy wargame that was released in 2016.

The game covers the period of World War II from 1936 to 1950. This is considerably shorter than most Paradox grand strategy games. It is this intense focus that allows Hearts of Iron IV to cover its period in much greater depth than other games.

The main focus of the game is to supply and control the military forces of your nation. With the hope of leading them to victory, of course. Most of your time in the early game will be spent gathering resources, building factories, and training your troops. All in preparation for the ultimate struggle.

Military forces are divided up into land, naval, and air. You’ll have to effectively manage all three branches to gain success on the battlefield.

Your nation’s path will be guided by a focus tree which is a set of missions that take a certain amount of time to complete. Once done give your nation some sort of advantage.

Focus missions are meant to mirror either the historical reality or historical possibilities. Allowing you to take history off in a different direction.  

Unlike more expansive Paradox games, The game is very focused on the period of WW2. Gameplay-wise the production capabilities of your nation. The game relies heavily on the “focus trees” for gameplay pacing. If you don’t have the DLC adding the focus tree or that nation doesn’t have a focus tree, the game flounders. 

If you’re at all interested in World War 2 Hearts of Iron IV is a must-try game for you. The ability to play as any nation during the era, and see what decisions you would make is an exceptional experience.  

Imperator: Rome

Imperator: Rome is set during the ancient Diadochi period when Alexander’s empire has split between their successors.

The map is absolutely gorgeous and there are tons of different city-states, tribes, and kingdoms to choose from in the ancient world. Combat has also seen improvement from earlier Paradox games allowing for some more hands-on tactical decisions before the battle.

Often it seemed to be trying to be both Crusader Kings 2 and Europa Universalis 4 rolled into one without the core focus of their games. 

While there are tons of different nations to choose from, many noted that playing as a tribe in Germany is almost identical to playing a tribe in Iberia or Britain.

Same with Rome which played like any other republic and didn’t even have two consuls in the head of its government at launch, though this was later patched in. 

Since launch, the game has much improved, Paradox has added mission trees, new religious mechanics, and completely reworked the population system.

While all this is for the better the game still suffers from a lack of core tension: maybe it’s that conquest is too easy, or that no other state seems to be able to match your rate of expansion, or that the internal politics don’t have the same bite as Crusader Kings.

March of Eagles

March of the Eagles is a Paradox Grand Strategy game released in early 2013.

It is the greater focus on Warfare, something that’s been fairly static in most Paradox games. To help with this, Paradox had AGEOD come in to help consult for the game. 

The core combat system remains the same as Europa Universalis, there are quality of life features here that I’m surprised haven’t shown up in the later Paradox titles. “March to the Guns” allows nearby armies to automatically go to the aid of each other when one gets into a battle. 

This eliminates the often tedious micromanagement of armies in later Paradox games. The way that victory is now achieved is through Dominance. Which is a modifier that awards points to the most powerful nation in either Army or Naval power.

The game has a smaller historical scope like Hearts of Iron IV and executes on it reasonably well. 

If you like Europa Universalis 4 but are disappointed in the way the game reflects the Napoleonic era then this game is right up your alley. It’s not as polished as more recent Paradox releases but is fun nonetheless.

Hearts of Iron III

Hearts of Iron III was released in 2009.  The game is set during World War 2 from 1936 to 1947.

Whereas its sequel is a good game, Hearts of Iron III is more of a simulation of World War 2. The game is extremely complex, which provides a huge amount of possibilities for your decisions to have an impact. 

The game does have a problem where being an Allied country means you’ll be sitting around for the first few years waiting for the Axis nations to start being bad. 

You can cut down on the micromanagement by giving a single order to your HQ, which is less efficient but more time effective. The game is good if difficult to get into, the interface isn’t great and neither is the tutorial. 

The game is often derided for being overly micro intensive, which it certainly can be, but the depth of gameplay available and the overall simulation of the war is something every World War 2 fan should at least experience once.

Europa Universalis III

Europa Universalis III was released in 2007.  The game begins in 1453, right after the Fall of Constantinople, and continues to 1789, just past the beginning of the French Revolution.

The expansion of Napoleon’s Ambition extends the end game year forward to 1821.

Once you choose your nation you’ll have control over all the forces of your nation, as well as how the government is run, which is influenced by sliders. 

You’ll be conducting diplomacy, warfare, and exploration throughout your time playing, seeking to expand through any means necessary. You can set up a merchant hegemony, colonial empire, or anything you’d like your nation to be.

While the game is now considerably older and the graphics have not aged gracefully, there are still some interesting ideas here that didn’t show up in the sequel, Europa Universalis IV.

Things like the population, spies, the way monarch points and ideas worked are all interesting counterpoints to the current design featured in the sequel.

Victoria II

Victoria II was released in 2010. It gives you control of a 19th-century nation. You’ll lead your nation from 1836-1936, through the heart of the industrial revolution.

You can participate in the scramble for Africa, the Great War, and the rise of communism. 

Victoria II focuses on internal management, tasking you with keeping your country on the cutting edge of industrialization and political upheavals happening during this period.

The most important system by far is the economy, which is simulated with thousands of independent Pops each with their own needs, who will purchase goods. This creates a dynamic market system where the cost of goods is entirely based on demand. 

Pops will automatically change their profession based on societal changes or government programs, such as encouraging more clergymen to increase the overall literacy rate. You’ll also be tasked with either passing or opposing societal reforms like Minimum wages, and allowing for political parties. 

The game really shines when playing as one of the eight Great Powers. You’ll now be able to influence other nations and add them to your sphere of influence, essentially opening up their markets to you first. You’ll also be tasked with participating in crises, which arise when two great powers back different sides in a dispute and can lead to an all-out war. 

Victoria’s economic simulation is astounding on its own, but when paired with a great Grand strategy game it just gets even better. 

I’d recommend this game to anyone who’s tired of just having warfare and would rather see their country prosper under their enlightened leadership.

Favorite: Crusader Kings II

Crusader Kings II is a grand strategy game set in the Middle Ages that was released in 2012. 

The game takes place from 769 to 1452. Throughout the entire medieval period up until a year before the fall of Constantinople. 

Where in most Paradox games you choose a nation to rule, in Crusader Kings II you’ll be choosing a character, one of the medieval lords of Europe. And, instead of warfare and diplomacy, the game focuses on dynastic management and character relationships. 

You can take the role of anyone from Ghenghis Khan to William the Conqueror, or design your own custom character. The game only ends when your last dynastic character dies or you lose all your fiefdoms. 

Diplomacy is conducted personally, mostly through marriages. You will have to balance marrying for an advantageous political alliance with the genetic traits of the spouse since those can be passed to your offspring and affect your dynasty in the future. 

Crusader Kings II is my favorite Paradox game due to the amount of roleplaying options at your disposal, no strategy game is better at creating interesting emergent stories. Where CK2 does fall down is in some of its mechanics being easily exploitable, leading to the best Grand Strategy game being…

BEST: Europa Universalis IV

Europa Universalis IV is a grand strategy released in 2013.

You will take your nation from the late medieval period through the Revolutionary era from 1444 to 1821. You’ll manage everything from administration, trade, warfare, and diplomacy. Like most Paradox grand strategy games you can choose any nation in the world to start as.

The greatest draw of Europa is its detailed diplomacy system. You can create alliances, form coalitions, and conduct espionage against rival nations. Once you’ve had enough of talking then you can take your nation to war.

Combat requires strategic forethought, too choose the best terrain, army composition, and generals to lead your troops.  

You’ll also have to lead your nation through world-changing events like the reformation, colonization, and the birth of the printing press. Gameplay gets harder when not playing as a European nation, as the European powers will be looking to exploit any weaknesses they find to take your land. 

The great thing about Europa Universalis 4 is the freedom with which you can determine the path your nation takes. You can become a colonial superpower, establish trade monopolies, and conquer the world. 

Europa Universalis is the best grand strategy game Paradox has released, if only for the breadth of its features. The game also covers a huge period of time and has gotten a lot of love with DLCs and patches over the years. 

Conclusion

I absolutely love Paradox games, they provide an unheard of level of depth and decision making unmatched by almost any other game company.

Their Strategy games are truly strategic, requiring you to plan and execute on complex problems.

With the coming release of Crusader Kings III, I can’t wait to see what Paradox brings next.

This was my list of the Best Paradox Grand Strategy Games in 2020. Let me know what you think down in the comments.