Europa Universalis IV: Conquest of Paradise

 PC
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Digitally Downloaded
    Mar 6, 2014
    100
    Europa Universalis IV is the finest strategy game on the market. And it just got better.
  2. Gaming Nexus
    Apr 2, 2014
    85
    A bit light in content, this expansion concentrates on adding features that enhance gameplay in the New World. The new features make Native American nations more rewarding to play, and add an interesting possibility wherein the Europeans could be kicked off the continent.
  3. Riot Pixels
    Mar 2, 2014
    85
    Conquest of Paradise is a solid, although somewhat narrowly-focused expansion.
  5. PC Gamer
    Jan 20, 2014
    84
    An ambitious and mostly successful—if a bit buggy—expansion about expansion.
  6. GameWatcher
    Feb 4, 2014
    75
    It’s a decent expansion, but the weak colonial nation AI brings it down – they are supposed to be able to start wars and stuff on their own, but I haven’t witnessed that much autonomy so far.

Awards & Rankings

60
#60 Best PC Game of 2014

User Reviews

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User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 57 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 39 out of 57
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 57
  3. Negative: 7 out of 57
  1. some_gamer
    Jan 16, 2014
    1
    This ''expansion'' adds nothing, NOTHING significant or interesting to the game. In fact it removes a lot of options and possibilities you hadThis ''expansion'' adds nothing, NOTHING significant or interesting to the game. In fact it removes a lot of options and possibilities you had before, like peaceful vassalization (you can't vassalize anyone who has basically more than 2 provinces through diplomatic means), you can't vassalize in any way anyone who's too far behind in tech (basically any non-European nation)- instead you can make them a ''protectorate'', which is sort of like a vassal but not really- they will become your ally and you are going to be their only ally, you get 50% of their Trading Power and they get to tech faster. Woo, what a fascinating concept. Except it makes no sense and is pointless if you play a no super trading nation, like Russia or any non-Spain / Portugal / England nation, really.

    You can no longer sell land to your vassals with a few exceptions, though no meaningful explanation is provided in game as for why said vassal wouldn't want a free province right next to them, other than "strategic interests". As a "compensation" for this the devs decided to basically nerf Aggresive Expansion to the point where no one will care if you grab a dozen provinces in a single swath, so coalitions are now extremely unlikely to form which coupled with the reduced impact of vassalization makes for a boring, repetitive, brainless cycle of "conquer whatever you want wherever you want from whomever you want, core, convert, conquer, core, convert" until you realize how boring the game feels now and just Alt + F4 without even bothering to save.

    In conclusion, this expansion (and patch 1.4) are a huge downgrade to what used to be a very engaging, entertaining, deep strategy game. Stick with the original and don't waste your money supporting decisions which impose a forced limit on the player's options instead of enhancing the game.    … Full Review »
  2. Ivar94
    Jan 17, 2014
    4
    I liked many of the new things but if you pay 10 euro you expect more than this.
    1. Natives
    There is almost no difference and the South    I liked many of the new things but if you pay 10 euro you expect more than this.
    1. Natives
    There is almost no difference and the South american natives are not effected by this DLC

    2.Random New World
    A fun idea but there some issues from my own experience it seems like the Missions (Colonize Brazil) etc does not work properly.
    It is very annoying when you have the same trade region names Brazil, California etc.
    It also seems that if you play Random New world every coast region in Brazil, Peru, Rio de plaza has Tropical environment witch makes colonization as slow as in Africa witch makes it very frustrating.

    Western Trade region i believe is a update and not part of the expansion but i like the idea but still it´s not fair if you are the only Colonization nation and you almost does not earn anything of the trade.

    Protectorate is a good idea but it´s needs more work,
    It does not seem worth it to have a Protectorate for the time, I tried to make the Mayans my Protectorate and now i can´t conquer them and it gives me no profits at all.

    I think people expected more of this expansion if you haven´t bought it yet don´t buy it.

    This Expansion needs a update to make the money we paid worth while.    … Full Review »
  3. Dr_Dan
    Feb 1, 2014
    5
    I will preface this by stating that I am a veteran of Paradox games and purchase nearly every one of their products (you might even call me aI will preface this by stating that I am a veteran of Paradox games and purchase nearly every one of their products (you might even call me a fanboi).

    This expansion adds a number of interesting features, including colonial nations, expanded native gameplay, protectorates, and a randomized new world (optional). I was mostly unimpressed in the implementation of most of these features.

    Prior to this expansion, you would directly control your colonial holdings. Post-expansion, once you have settled 5 provinces in a "colonial region" (the new world is split up into various set regions), the colonies turn into an AI-controlled colonial nation. This addition, as a whole, is a nice touch. It gives your colonies their own personalities and desires outside of your own, which is appropriate. However, if you were to play one of these colonial nations, you'll realize that they're all the same. There are no unique national ideas even if you form the USA (or Brazil or Haiti, etc.). As a recurring theme among this expansion, there is a lack of depth. For example, there is an extreme deficit in colonial nation specific events.

    Native gameplay has a few new features. However, after playing one of the natives, I find they are still quite boring. The migration feature is cute, allowing you to move your tribe from one province to another, but it has no real long-term value. Eventually, you realize that you can colonize adjacent provinces with your natives and then it becomes a game of just sitting around, colonizing, while you wait for the Europeans to arrive. There is truly little action in the New World, despite this expansion being devoted to it. Again, there is absolutely no Native American specific events (and in fact, they receive inappropriate European events) Furthermore, South American nations were not even touched.

    Protectorates are an absolute disaster. The AI does not know how to handle them properly. For example, Muscovy will often form a protectorate with surrounding hordes rather than conquering them, as would be optimal. This system needs a bit of an overhaul. Perhaps with some proper AI programming, as well, it might work.

    Finally, the randomized new world... It's quite simply ugly, unnatural, and repulsive. It follows a simple equation, it seems, in which the center of the continent is desert, followed by forests around the edge, with ugly coasts. The province borders look like the borders of Africa - straight lined, hard corners, etc.

    In total, I give this game a ~5. It still needs polishing. If, some day, they improve the randomization feature for the new world, they add a plethora of events for natives and colonial nations, they add unique nations ideas for these colonial nations (it's an expansion focused on these nations, why wouldn't they think it's worthwhile!?), make the prior released American Dream DLC work with this expansion, then they might have something great. Paradox is great at post-release fixes, so there is hope that this expansion might some day rise to the quality that we have come to expect.    … Full Review »
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