After a not-insignificant amount of time with this game, it is safe to say that Europa IV is perhaps the defining game of its genre and its generation. The game has near-endless replayability and requires thoughtful strategy every time. However, until Paradox does something about its predatory and exploitative DLC policy, the game can never be worth the price.

The current price of the game as of writing this review is $39.99. All of the DLC expansion packs that add actual game content (not just sprites or music) costs around $350. Fans of the game will justify this by arguing something along the lines of, "the game is 10 years old, so it's just equivalent to buying one $35 game per year to keep the Europa IV experience fresh and new--that's half of what a new AAA game costs, so it's a good deal." There are so many players who have not owned the game for 10 years. How can you expect a new player to pay $400 for a 10-year-old game and all of its content? Asking players to play a game for 10 years to make it worth it does not seem like a good value proposition. And Paradox's solution is to add an "expansion subscription" option. I do not have time in this review to rant about the subscription model's infiltration into gaming, but it is sad to see.

If there is a light at the end of the tunnel, it's that Paradox titles after Europa IV have adopted a "fewer-DLCs-more-content" approach. But I can never recommend a game that locks core game mechanics behind paid DLC. Players who love this game should not be force to hawk Steam Sales or constantly monitor Humble Bundle to find discounted DLCs to make the game playable at an attainable price. If you can get your hands on the DLC, congratulations--enjoy Europa IV as it is one of the defining games of its genre and its generation. But until Paradox does something about its predatory and exploitative DLC policy, it is a game that is not worth the price.

After a not-insignificant amount of time with this game, it is safe to say that Europa IV is perhaps the defining game of its genre and its generation. The game has near-endless replayability and requires thoughtful strategy every time. However, until Paradox does something about its predatory and exploitative DLC policy, the game can never be worth the price. The current price of the game as of writing this review is $39.99. All of the DLC expansion packs that add actual game content (not just sprites or music) costs around $350. Fans of the game will justify this by arguing something along the lines of, "the game is 10 years old, so it's just equivalent to buying one $35 game per year to keep the Europa IV experience fresh and new--that's half of what a new AAA game costs, so it's a good deal." There are so many players who have not owned the game for 10 years. How can you expect a new player to pay $400 for a 10-year-old game and all of its content? Asking players to play a game for 10 years to make it worth it does not seem like a good value proposition. And Paradox's solution is to add an "expansion subscription" option. I do not have time in this review to rant about the subscription model's infiltration into gaming, but it is sad to see. If there is a light at the end of the tunnel, it's that Paradox titles after Europa IV have adopted a "fewer-DLCs-more-content" approach. But I can never recommend a game that locks core game mechanics behind paid DLC. Players who love this game should not be force to hawk Steam Sales or constantly monitor Humble Bundle to find discounted DLCs to make the game playable at an attainable price. If you can get your hands on the DLC, congratulations--enjoy Europa IV as it is one of the defining games of its genre and its generation. But until Paradox does something about its predatory and exploitative DLC policy, it is a game that is not worth the price.