I know pirating is always an option, and I used to play EU4 completely pirated.
But I got some credit remaining on Steam and they’re on sale right now, so lads, which should I go for?
Background info being I only played EU4 before, and enjoyed the nation-building side more rather than the military strategy. Although I was able to do some WCs back in the day and I do like micromanaging and extending a 20hr campaign into a 100hr one.
It depends what you’re after.
CK3 is pretty well polished. It’s surprisingly accessible this time around, and it’s actually a really fun eugenics simulator. Recommended for fans of medieval royalty.
Stellaris is also well polished at this point. It’s easily the least weird Paradox game. It plays like a traditional 4x game in space. There’s a little something in the game for everyone and you can’t go wrong. Especially for sci fi fans.
Victoria 3 is my pick of the bunch. It’s rough. Rough enough that I wouldn’t argue if you called it broken. But the core is solid. I’ve spent a stupid amount of time with this game already. It’s a nation builder with an economic model that was designed by Marx himself. I’m already pretty much resigned to buying all the DLC for this game on day one. I’ve always waited for sales in other PDS games. Strongly recommended for people with an interest in macro economics and 19th century politics.