This is probably the best game I've ever played in my entire life.
The game takes a while to be learned completely, but once you begin understanding the basics, you'll never want to stop playing. You can play as any country, allowing for a lot of replaybility. You can choose different ideas to customize your game as much as you want, you basically write history in this game.

Therefore, it hurts me a lot to put "thumbs down" for this game, but let's explain why I reviewed negatively my favourite game of all time.

You are a newcomer who wants to get into Europa Universalis 4? Forget it, unless you have a lot of money to spend, to get a full experience of the game

Besides the price of the game without DLCs, which got increased in many parts of the world recently (not here in Italy), the DLCs are needed to correctly play this game. Their base price is half of the game price, isn't in a bit ridicolous?. Apparently, it isn't in Sweden. You want to change occupations of provinces during war, pay 20€. You want to develop your lands, pay 20€. Of course the costs get toned down a little during sales, but it's not enough to justify for a 4 years old game being more expansive than some AAA games that came out last year.
Furthermore, the Third Rome DLC which is coming out the 14th of June, will add something that a modder could do in some days of work, which is for example clicking a button that reduces autonomy in your lands, or clicking another button that colonizes provinces without colonists, all of this for 10€.

It's time that Paradox stops scraping the barrel, and changes this. Old DLCs that add something which is at the base of the game now should get their prices lowered, and new DLCs that add nothing really important shouldn't cost a ridicolous amount of money. Will this change, my review will change as well.

TL;DR Great game, best strategy game in the entire world, but don't get into it if you don't have a crapton of money to spend on it.

This is probably the best game I've ever played in my entire life. The game takes a while to be learned completely, but once you begin understanding the basics, you'll never want to stop playing. You can play as any country, allowing for a lot of replaybility. You can choose different ideas to customize your game as much as you want, you basically write history in this game. Therefore, it hurts me a lot to put "thumbs down" for this game, but let's explain why I reviewed negatively my favourite game of all time. [b]You are a newcomer who wants to get into Europa Universalis 4? Forget it, unless you have a lot of money to spend, to get a full experience of the game[/b] Besides the price of the game without DLCs, which got increased in many parts of the world recently (not here in Italy), the DLCs are [b]needed[/b] to correctly play this game. [b]Their base price is half of the game price, isn't in a bit ridicolous?[/b]. Apparently, it isn't in Sweden. You want to change occupations of provinces during war, pay 20€. You want to develop your lands, pay 20€. Of course the costs get toned down a little during sales, but it's not enough to justify for a 4 years old game being more expansive than some AAA games that came out last year. Furthermore, the Third Rome DLC which is coming out the 14th of June, will add something that a modder could do in some days of work, which is for example clicking a button that reduces autonomy in your lands, or clicking another button that colonizes provinces without colonists, all of this for 10€. [b]It's time that Paradox stops scraping the barrel, and changes this[/b]. Old DLCs that add something which is at the base of the game now should get their prices lowered, and new DLCs that add nothing really important shouldn't cost a ridicolous amount of money. Will this change, my review will change as well. [b]TL;DR[/b] Great game, best strategy game in the entire world, but don't get into it if you don't have a crapton of money to spend on it.