Europa Universalis IV: Winds of Change

If you are a fan of Paradox Interactive games, then it is likely that you have tried out Europa Universalis at one stage. This is one of their flagship series and has attracted fans from across the video gaming spectrum to try out this unique style of game. As is the case with all Paradox games, though, expansions are commonplace and new features, factions, and functions are added to the games as time goes on. The latest example of this is with Europa Universalis IV: Winds of Change. This latest expansion looks to build on the game's original content, improving as many as twenty of the game's factions with some pretty major reforms. This includes a whole host of new missions, government reforms, and events that you can take on. The result is a highly enjoyable addition to an already excellent game.

Like most Paradox add-ons, though, does Europa Universalis IV: Winds of Change add enough to make it worth the cost that you will be paying?

An Exciting New Expansion Of The World

The first thing to note about this expansion pack for Europa Universalis 4 is that it simply looks to build on major regions that were somewhat untouched before. Three parts of the world are going to be given major focus: the Americas, the Reformation-impacted areas of Europe, and Central Asia. The transformations here look to add far more detail to parts of the world previously left rather generic.

The result is that some twenty factions are getting either a complete rework or key features added. Stretching from the Andean highlands to the steppes of Mongolia, there is a major change afoot in this expansion pack. You could compare it to most of the major expansions released by Paradox in that the primary focus here is to build out more detail and unicity to some of the key factions of the era.

This game focuses on what happened in the post-Mongol era in that part of the world, with various nations looking to gnaw on the carcass of the decaying Mongol Empire. This will see major changes arrive, too, such as the introduction of new game-changing options such as being able to revert the Timurid Empire to its rather nomadic status of the past.

You could even, as the game advertises, lead an indigenous invasion of Europe by the American populations – swapping history around completely.

Standard Paradox Fare (7/10)

What Europa Universalis IV: Winds of Change brings to the table is nice, and something that most EUIV fans are going to enjoy seeing. With the release of the expansion just a few weeks away now, there is palpable excitement for fans who feel like the areas that Europa Universalis IV: Winds of Change focuses on will be revolutionary. Others, though, feel like this is a standard Paradox expansion.

Pros

• Adds some important changes to factions that have otherwise felt underused
• Good, high standard of content changes to events that help to make games more diverse
• Interesting features that can help change the course of history with interesting settings

Cons

• Hard to determine just how much value these changes will have on the game as a whole