Victoria 3 (2022)

The main problem with Victoria 3 is that while on the surface it appears to have depth, if the player digs deep they discover a monotony and repetition in the gameplay, which kills the replayability of the title.

If you are searching for an authentic Grand Strategy experience with a Victorian flavour, then Victoria 3 has a lot to offer, but I felt it was still a flawed experience which needs some more polishing and fine-tuning.

Does that mean Victoria 3 is bad? By no means. If you are a grand strategy fan, and you are one of those people who avoids war whenever possible (I know you’re out there), Victoria 3 is the game for you. What it lacks in breadth it makes up for in depth. There isn’t a more sophisticated nation simulator around, and the game will only grow in time. Much like The Sims before, Paradox games tend to have dozens of expansion packs. I will probably leave Victoria 3 installed in anticipation of those. This is a gigantic, excellent strategy game and for some people (nerds), it’s going to be a fave.

I think the real appeal of Victoria 3 and the series overall is it’s very self-directed. Picking one game can result in a completely different experience. Managing the diplomacy and economy of the British Empire at its peak is absolutely insane, then during the next run, you are trying to do things like “figure out how to even have diplomatic relations” and “wtf how do i economy???” in some backwater nation you are gracing with your benevolent rulership.

Victoria 3 is rich, vast and above all captivating. While its shallow combat system is at odds with the rest of the work, shaping entire nations is fun enough to entertain for quite a while. Whether you're a grand strategy game veteran or newcomer, know that Paradox's newest feat doesn't disappoint in its core mission of granting the player the freedom to rewrite a sizable portion of world history as they see fit.