Europa Universalis V

A new bar for complexity in the historical grand strategy genre that sometimes buckles under the weight of its ambition.

Europa Universalis V ushers in what will likely be a new golden age for this grand strategy franchise, even if it currently needs some fine-tuning.

Europa Universalis 5 is a fantastic addition to the franchise that will likely only improve over time as bugs and UI issues are addressed. There are so many different possibilities for replayability, not only from the selection of nations, but even playing the same nation over again will result in a different game.

Part of me yearned to finish this playthrough before giving my final verdict, but considering it took Naples a full century just to discover there is a "south" of the globe (omg), I'll just tell you now: it's confusing as heck and I like it. Even though I'm playing at the second-fastest speed with judicious pausing, I would likely need to play for another 40-50 hours to make it through the full span of history. This statement is both horrifying and exciting - a game that disrespects my time? ...

Despite small nitpicks such as recycled events and an at-times rough user interface, Europa Universalis 5 is a fantastic grand strategy game. Extremely complex but well worth the effort it takes to learn, this game feels like developer Paradox has learned the lessons of the last 15 years of its games.

EU5 is a strategic titan that synthesises Paradox's best ideas.

Europa Universalis V starts as it means to go on, dropping you into its recreation of the late Middle Ages just as England and France embark on their Hundred Years’ War and then as the Black Death washes through Europe. To that backdrop, whatever nation you choose to play as is going to have a pretty rough time of it early on, but that just breeds opportunity through the 500 years of human history this ambitious game looks to portray.

Europa Universalis V is a triumph of clever game design, carefully crafted interface, and best-in-class, engrossing strategy.

Europa Universalis 5 marks a bold step forward for the series, managing to lets its tangle of initially intimidating systems breathe and interact with each other in an outright impressive manner that also feels less limiting than the Monarch Power of its predecessor. The sheer amount of detail and granularity on display feeds into a complex gameplay loop that, with enough patience and help from its integrated automation, reveals itself as surprisingly approachable while allowing you to claim ...

I was obsessed with real-time strategy games as a kid, and when I hit my teens I gained an intense love for tabletop wargames and Civilization. I find myself firmly in the back-half of my 30s now, which feels just about bang on time for a foray into the world of historical grand strategy games.

Europa Universalis 5 is definitely hurting for some balance tuning at the moment, but its depth of simulation and ultra detailed map might make it the most on-paper impressive historical strategy game of all time.

Europa Universalis V is the thrilling next iteration of Paradox's long-running grand strategy series. If you're still playing EU IV and wondering whether the upgrade is worth it, I'm here to tell you that you absolutely need to play this game. It takes everything about the last entry from 2013 and improves on it. If you're a newcomer with an interest in complex, deeply involved grand strategy games, then now is the perfect time to jump in.