Hearts of Iron IV

 PC
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 968 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 688 out of 968
  2. Mixed: 149 out of 968
  3. Negative: 131 out of 968

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  1. erfunfazli
    Jul 21, 2023
    4
    A real bad game like all Paradox Interactive other game.
    Full of bad and useless and confusing mechanism.
  2. BadIdeas
    May 11, 2023
    2
    A grand strategy game for idiots. If you are brain dead you will fully appreciate how this game operates on your level. The tech tree is so simplified, that it is nonsensical. 1 upgrade doubles the power of your unit. This kind of scaling is really bad, because a single tech advance makes your troops go from parity to overwhelmingly powerful. I actually wanted to play the game because IA grand strategy game for idiots. If you are brain dead you will fully appreciate how this game operates on your level. The tech tree is so simplified, that it is nonsensical. 1 upgrade doubles the power of your unit. This kind of scaling is really bad, because a single tech advance makes your troops go from parity to overwhelmingly powerful. I actually wanted to play the game because I saw the ship customization, and thought it was really cool. Only that is not in the base game, that is an expansion you have to pay for and without it the navel upgrade system is non-existent. Literally, you can not upgrade existing ships without purchasing the naval expansion. So you have tech upgrades where a single tech upgrade makes everything before it obsolete, and then you can't upgrade your existing naval units, so every time you get one tech upgrade you have to build a whole new set of warships.

    I can't speak about the AI, because I did not play the game enough to find out how bad it was. I played enough to realize the tech tree had been "streamlined" into completely broken, and gave up on the game when i realized I had to rebuild my Navy with every upgrade, which was incredibly impractical, or buy the DLC that made it work. At that point I realized the whole game would be like that, where it is completely broken in the base game, with a paid for DLC that fixes it.

    It is incredibly greedy to sell a broken shell of a game, and then sell the fixes as DLC. In the past Paradox at least had a good base game, that they updated, and then sold options and increased complexity as DLC. That no longer seems to be the case.    … Expand
  3. SirFlankBoring
    Feb 4, 2023
    3
    I understand that some games are necessarily difficult to beat. Dark Souls is a game franchise where you use your head and prepare for each scenario or battle. And, even though it was extremely difficult to finish Dark Souls, the whole time the game pushed me to finish it; I feel none of that with Hearts of Iron IV.

    The way things work just doesn't match anything. You can't declare war,    I understand that some games are necessarily difficult to beat. Dark Souls is a game franchise where you use your head and prepare for each scenario or battle. And, even though it was extremely difficult to finish Dark Souls, the whole time the game pushed me to finish it; I feel none of that with Hearts of Iron IV.

    The way things work just doesn't match anything. You can't declare war, you have to wait an insane amount of time for things to happen. The tutorial is so long that I spent almost two hours on it alone. As I said before: I understand that some games are like that complicated, the original Deus EX franchise is extremely difficult for me for example, but it's not boring. I really dedicate myself to some games, but even if I put in the time and effort, I will never be able to enjoy this game.

    Regardless of what happens, I hope you understand that this is a niche game, which limits all your actions, but which could be much better if it were less complex or at least explained things well in the tutorial.    … Expand
  4. nurii29
    Dec 29, 2022
    0
    36 divisions with **** ton of air support againts 6 divisions in a fort if that much force cant kill them this "game" is even worst then league of legends and that bar is like very very very low
  5. Crescent_Star
    Aug 25, 2022
    4
    The game is honestly such a dumbed down version of the gold paradox makes it's sad. It has great concepts and does keep me coming back but I feel it's just because we're in a desert of good grand strategy content. The devs have a skeleton crew working on balancing and fixing it which falls hardcore behind on content with each patch. Moders do more with a small group of free developmentThe game is honestly such a dumbed down version of the gold paradox makes it's sad. It has great concepts and does keep me coming back but I feel it's just because we're in a desert of good grand strategy content. The devs have a skeleton crew working on balancing and fixing it which falls hardcore behind on content with each patch. Moders do more with a small group of free development then the core team can. Even still it can be fun at times even if pdx hates players with the random rolls.

    Do not buy this game! I say this simply because it costs over $200 to get the full experience.    … Expand
  6. Dsznyd
    Apr 9, 2022
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. 6uuuhhhh-hhhhbhgggtttttttttttttjrjhrjrjrjdjdjdjdjdjdjdjdjdhdhdhdhdjdjdjdjdjdjdjd… Expand
  7. Valitherambler
    Dec 4, 2021
    2
    The good:

    - Better graphics then other paradox games, The bad: - Performance (it's unplayable past 1943-44 thanks to the engine only using 1 CPU core) - No partisan activity, no revolts - Diplomacy dumbed down for 4 year olds - Peace-conferences after the war are plain broken (pick Luxemburg, dont do anything in the war, get half of Germany after it in the peace conference) -    The good:

    - Better graphics then other paradox games,

    The bad:

    - Performance (it's unplayable past 1943-44 thanks to the engine only using 1 CPU core)
    - No partisan activity, no revolts
    - Diplomacy dumbed down for 4 year olds
    - Peace-conferences after the war are plain broken (pick Luxemburg, dont do anything in the war, get half of Germany after it in the peace conference)
    - Soundtrack is very mediocre
    - AI can't handle the scope of the game, braindead retarded AI
    - Interface overcomplicated with too many important buttons hidden
    - trade??? wtf is this?
    - Price, this is not worth 40€, wait for a 90% sale and 2 years of patchfixing the game before getting it    … Expand
  8. creepnu
    Nov 18, 2021
    1
    Tutorial was bad. It didn't have enough steps in it and it didn't prepare you enough. It also has bad graphics and i couldnt see anything but pixels..
  9. vzugjhhj
    Sep 15, 2021
    0
    you're buying only 10% of the content with the base game as paradox is a greedy **** company.
    even now in 2021 ive encountered so many bugs that destroycomplete playthroughs;ie my frontline suddenly deciding to abandon half of it; units being trapped on enemy ground etc. if you want many hours of precious time this is the game for you
  10. NAYKEN
    Jun 28, 2021
    3
    The most disgraceful strategy game ever, don't spend your money on a game without geological, tactical intervention and gameplay mechanics, especially if you are a user who loves strategy games.
  11. dikii_hohol
    Jun 6, 2021
    0
    дота 2 крекер дота 2 крекер дота 2 крекер дота 2 крекер дота 2 крекер дота 2 крекер
  12. Cioby
    Jan 13, 2021
    0
    utter garbage
    I had enough fuel for my tanks and I managed to rush panzer 4, tiger, panther and leopard ahead of their time, only to lose against some **** ass netherlands british forces. Like you send 200 heavy tanks and they do nothing. Do these people even know how tanks work or do they do math like Blizzard does nowadays? Got bored after a while and just left. Normally when I played    utter garbage
    I had enough fuel for my tanks and I managed to rush panzer 4, tiger, panther and leopard ahead of their time, only to lose against some **** ass netherlands british forces. Like you send 200 heavy tanks and they do nothing. Do these people even know how tanks work or do they do math like Blizzard does nowadays? Got bored after a while and just left. Normally when I played this long I'd be enjoying myself, conquer half of Europe, instead Italy did more damage than me and I still have to fight over netherlands after they capitulated. Attack them from 3 sides lol still don't matter. **** off.    … Expand
  13. Hitler_Nevinova
    Jul 26, 2020
    0
    В bf стрельба лудше!!!!! ы
  14. Artok1488
    Jul 18, 2020
    0
    Игра классная , но если купили игру нужны длс 100% (можно спиратить проблем нету).
    Так же если игра вам наскучили есть кучу модов, хотите играйте в мире майлител пони, можете воевать в нашем времени или сделать весь мир Люксенбургом)
    Так же комьюнити игры очень не плохое и доброе. Вообщем советую всем.    Игра классная , но если купили игру нужны длс 100% (можно спиратить проблем нету).
    Так же если игра вам наскучили есть кучу модов, хотите играйте в мире майлител пони, можете воевать в нашем времени или сделать весь мир Люксенбургом)
    Так же комьюнити игры очень не плохое и доброе.
    Вообщем советую всем.
  15. kastch
    May 27, 2020
    0
    I've played both HOI3 and HOI4 and this game is a total failure even after all these years and DLCs - it's still feels like an oversimplified game. With all the new mechanics it's still unplayable, has poor army structure, poor army control, poor diplomacy, poor unit construction mechanics. Even with one of the most awaited features - alternative history, after all these years it still hasI've played both HOI3 and HOI4 and this game is a total failure even after all these years and DLCs - it's still feels like an oversimplified game. With all the new mechanics it's still unplayable, has poor army structure, poor army control, poor diplomacy, poor unit construction mechanics. Even with one of the most awaited features - alternative history, after all these years it still has stupid issues with leaders when changing ideologies for countries on puppeting (Hey Paradox, guys you're thinking everyone does not give a sh**t to history at all?).
    I don't even mention ships, and air mechanics that are using HUGE territories in it (anyway, Paradox, why not to give a single continent a single region for air? It would've been even more simplified, or as Critics tend to say Streamlined)
    Balance for units remains broken - rockets, air units (it is fixed for naval units after man the guns).
    Supplies mechanics is the only ray of light in this swamp of darkness...
    So to summarize things - it is Not a good strategy game in any way and I would Not recommend to buy it. Even after all these years in developments and fixes.    … Expand
  16. I_love_ps4
    Apr 9, 2020
    4
    my god...... paradox what are you doing. the worst, easy and boring game of this studio. In eu 4 you can play 5 years (real time) because all countries are interesting. Here only 2 - 5 party...
  17. paradoxfail
    Mar 6, 2020
    0
    Genuinely the worst dev team in the business.

    Outright stopped Mac support in 2019, despite selling MILLIONS of games they are LEGALLY REQUIRED to support MacOS for. EVERY SINGLE parafail title has been pulled from MacOS, because the devs couldn't be bothered maintaining their stupid redundant launcher that literally not one single person ever wanted. These devs SUCK. 0/10    Genuinely the worst dev team in the business.

    Outright stopped Mac support in 2019, despite selling MILLIONS of games they are LEGALLY REQUIRED to support MacOS for.

    EVERY SINGLE parafail title has been pulled from MacOS, because the devs couldn't be bothered maintaining their stupid redundant launcher that literally not one single person ever wanted.

    These devs SUCK.

    0/10 outright f**king stole my money    … Expand
  18. petertel123
    Jun 23, 2018
    4
    This game has a lot of potential, but at the moment it's a bit of a mess.
    The most fun part is the period leading up to the war. This is the time in which you can decide the side you will fight on and you have time to find allies and build up your country. once the war starts the game just becomes a mess though. Countries join weird alliances, countries declare war when they're already    This game has a lot of potential, but at the moment it's a bit of a mess.
    The most fun part is the period leading up to the war. This is the time in which you can decide the side you will fight on and you have time to find allies and build up your country. once the war starts the game just becomes a mess though. Countries join weird alliances, countries declare war when they're already losing etc. If you actually manage to ignore this and get to the peace conference you're in for a treat, because you've never seen a map that looks more ridiculous. Add to this some dumb shenanigans related to the focus tree (for example; America declaring war on communist Germany to "destroy the fascist threat") and what you get is a bad experience every single time.
    The game has so much potential that you keep coming back after every patch, hoping it's good now, but it continues to be a mess to this day. I've never played a game of HoI 4 that I actually enjoyed in hindsight.
    The great tragedy is that paradox will inevitable create so much DLC that by the time this game is any good it will cost more than a 100 dollars to get a full experience, by which time it's too expensive to recommend.    … Expand
  19. akahw
    Mar 8, 2018
    0
    dlc ...................sndhabjhbdjhbhabhbh/......................................................................................................................................................................................././/../............................
  20. Palomer
    Sep 15, 2017
    0
    Hearts of Iron 4 has made some improvements over the already very good Hearts of Iron 3, but there are 2 fatal flaws that make it unplayable for me., First, the AI is just artificial, not intelligent. It is like playing against a cat that is walking across a keyboard. Second, they removed the message settings so you have no control over what information the game gives you about what isHearts of Iron 4 has made some improvements over the already very good Hearts of Iron 3, but there are 2 fatal flaws that make it unplayable for me., First, the AI is just artificial, not intelligent. It is like playing against a cat that is walking across a keyboard. Second, they removed the message settings so you have no control over what information the game gives you about what is happening during the game. Unless you want to play at the exact pace and level of micromanagement Paradox tuned the game for, you will be annoyed to no end.… Expand
  21. deathmachinept
    Aug 2, 2017
    4
    A very hit and miss game some steps forward but many backwards, been a fan of HoI series since HoI 2 got everything from there, contrary to HoI III that had a very strong foundation design wise allowing for great DLC and mods, in tank terms HoI III is a Panzer IV Chassis while HoI IV is a PZ III Chassis.

    The worst offender is national focus/event trees this makes the game extremely    A very hit and miss game some steps forward but many backwards, been a fan of HoI series since HoI 2 got everything from there, contrary to HoI III that had a very strong foundation design wise allowing for great DLC and mods, in tank terms HoI III is a Panzer IV Chassis while HoI IV is a PZ III Chassis.

    The worst offender is national focus/event trees this makes the game extremely arcade, dumb, detach from reality, bland and makes it harder to play historical because each of this "events" requires researching for 70 days ?? xD
    The HoI 3 Events especially on BlackIce mod were refreshing, taught history and immerse you in WW2

    Pros
    - Easier to plan paradrops, invasions for your own AI to execute and enemy AI is more capable as well.
    - Production of equipment offers a cool feature although it should had more depth
    - More manageable and impactful air war especially on ground support.
    - Generals can finally be generated and gain traits and experiences according to battles
    - 2D Art is great in most parts of the game but some icons are a miss like rocket engine and night equipment.
    - Naval and carrier Combat seems improved

    Cons
    - No way to know where there are battle going on or if the enemy nearly surrounded your units or if you lost a battle. ( The battle list on the top right screen has been completely removed)
    - Trade (or lack of anything)
    - Economy
    - Removal of resources and their stockpile, a big design mistake making the game very arcade
    - Airplanes can't attack ground units if these are not in a ground battle
    - no Faction cooperation like sharing technologies and blueprints
    - UI interface is not a evolution of HoI 3 so you will have to relearn how to interact with the game
    - No detail information or data , you can't know how much equipment you loose per battle or the enemy is losing, how many convoys did you destroy or how planes or tank are performing against the enemy
    - No air Supply
    - You can't no longer quickly understand the values of attack and defense of your units in battles
    - No way to see weather data and plan to avoid it.. it also seems not to affect the game.
    ...

    Point is what was lacking on HoI was a more a immersive game with more meaningful events, seeing the impact of battles, conquer territories maybe even listen to radio segments or have a way to see or command units like in Total War, HoI III was going towards and ideal HoI just need some more polish and redesign of some of it's features this is more of a reinterpretation of a Hearts of Iron game.    … Expand
  22. Crimson
    Jul 11, 2017
    0
    Even a year after release this is an abysmal game. The patches that were released fixed almost none of the bugs or issues. UI is still a horrendously obtuse mess, the AI still utterly retarded. What's even more impressive is that each system that you learn, as you learn more about the game, is just as buggy and poorly designed as the last. I could write pages on every little bug andEven a year after release this is an abysmal game. The patches that were released fixed almost none of the bugs or issues. UI is still a horrendously obtuse mess, the AI still utterly retarded. What's even more impressive is that each system that you learn, as you learn more about the game, is just as buggy and poorly designed as the last. I could write pages on every little bug and problem, but at this point I don't think anyone cares... I'm just amazed at how bad this game is, and yet how many good reviews it has. I cannot think of a single redeeming quality to this game, not one single system was done well. Everything, from the engine, to the graphics, to the absolutely terribly designed gameplay, this game fails on every level.
    Is not your money you need to save, its your sanity.    … Expand
  23. Enter
    Feb 25, 2017
    0
    The game suffers from loads of bugs and a broken AI in both tactics and overall strategy. Criticin their forums will attract hordes of shills defending the game 24/7 and calling names.

    Easy and boring.
  24. LockeJohn
    Feb 4, 2017
    4
    I love Paradox Studio and respect their work. That being said, the Hearts of Iron IV is a step in the wrong direction. The interface is horrific, especially when you have to use HORIZONTAL scroll to go through national focuses. Some aspects of the game are unnecessarily complicated (production lines and separation of military and civilian factories), while other parts are overly simplifiedI love Paradox Studio and respect their work. That being said, the Hearts of Iron IV is a step in the wrong direction. The interface is horrific, especially when you have to use HORIZONTAL scroll to go through national focuses. Some aspects of the game are unnecessarily complicated (production lines and separation of military and civilian factories), while other parts are overly simplified (diplomacy, intelligence).

    The graphics are nicer, but it's almost in every way inferior to its predecessor.    … Expand
  25. JakaNastran
    Aug 8, 2016
    1
    Shameful release...this game is not even in beta phase, it can be barely called alpha. Numerous flaws, AI is braindead, some design decisions ruined the game (lack of supply, NF), minors are waaaay OP (italy can field 300+ divisions and conquer the whole world easily...as can Luxembourg), completely unrealistic - even with histrorical focus turned on you won't get a single ww2 game whenShameful release...this game is not even in beta phase, it can be barely called alpha. Numerous flaws, AI is braindead, some design decisions ruined the game (lack of supply, NF), minors are waaaay OP (italy can field 300+ divisions and conquer the whole world easily...as can Luxembourg), completely unrealistic - even with histrorical focus turned on you won't get a single ww2 game when the outcome will be close to reailty. Instead you will end up building up your prewar economy as USA and preparing for war only to discover that in 1941 Germany didn't even conquer Denmark yet and is getting overrun by Belgium, that SU doesn't guard their borders at all (so German divisions are slowly moving toward Moscow, while Berlin is occupied by 4 Belgium divisions and that Japan just sits on their island after conquering China in 6 months.

    Unistalled    … Expand
  26. Mikimax
    Aug 8, 2016
    4
    I Loved HOI 2 and 3 but this! I can't even find out how to play this crap. Spent whole day trying to ''play'' it just to end up in huge mess.
    Disappointing.
  27. berylekmotylek
    Jul 28, 2016
    0
    To be honest, maybe I am a devoted fan of the series and a bit of a hardcore player, but I am profoundly disappointed by this part of the series not only because of the game mechanics reasons.

    Although it really pissed me off that you cannot really control your troops manually without grouping them into many really small armies and assigning them really limited orders (which was stupid    To be honest, maybe I am a devoted fan of the series and a bit of a hardcore player, but I am profoundly disappointed by this part of the series not only because of the game mechanics reasons.

    Although it really pissed me off that you cannot really control your troops manually without grouping them into many really small armies and assigning them really limited orders (which was stupid to me) or without losing massive planning bonuses, or that when you go and try to position your divisions on your own, the moment they reach their destination, AI will move them wherever it thinks it suits its plan best, but I was thoroughly shocked how many details were omitted, and to be honest, if you are not huge a fan of multiplayer, those were the things that kept you playing and enjoying the game for long weeks.

    I could write about many things that have stricken me at various moments during my gameplay, but I'm too tired of being upset while playing to go into these details once again. I'm going to restrict myself only to mention the very thing that made me stop playing this game. It was provinces, from naming to layout.

    I mean how come that although you have tons of tiny provinces on the map, the only thing that really matters are larger regions? And how come when you click at the biggest cities in your country, you cannot even see a picture of them and some brief description, rather than a vague terrain type name plus some combat modifiers' descriptions? Did Paradox really think it would be enjoyable to conquer some unidentified, unnamed swaths of land? What for? The same stuff with the divisions. It is possible to assign an army leader, but what was wrong with the corps leaders? In HoI3 or (my favorite) HoI2 you had a chance to really get attached even to your single corps (German mechanized and panzer ones were my favorites), led by one of your favorite generals. Now? In such a big and historically rich country as III Reich or Japan you have merely 20 - 30 commanders to chose from, and I don't even want to bring up such nonsenses as Erwin Rommel being able to command 24 divisions in the beginning of war... I'm sorry Paradox but you really **** this one up bad guys. You had ALL THE DAMN DATABASES with the names, photos and such, you could have made it easier, I don't care, but why making something so rich so shallow and dull?

    This game has really lost the feeling of reality and richness which ever EU4 or CK2 have (even though there is far less history in them). After what I have experienced with HoI4 I am really hoping someone someday will just make a remake of HoI2 with better graphics and maybe some modifications and not throw all the legacy straight to the trash can.

    I still think this game is playable, and comparing to other parodies of real games you can find on the market it is decent and somewhat enjoyable product, but I feel so disappointed that I can't force myself to rate HoI4 higher than 0, or in a word description: a huge misunderstanding. If I could wish for something right now, I would hope that somebody from Paradox sees this short lament and thinks about at least some of the things I've mentioned here.    … Expand
  28. 91killer
    Jul 17, 2016
    2
    This game pales in comparison to HOI3. Everything is changed, and it is worse. I have been a fan since the first HOI and I am not sure how Paradox messed HOI4 up so badly. They took everything that was great and replaced it with a watered down version or just removed it all together. Long story short, if you like grand strategy games or any of the previous HOI games, then don't buy this one.
  29. Auldsoldier
    Jun 27, 2016
    2
    Released as a WW2 App - Super Mario does Barbarossa. Played the tutorial - gave up. Poor graphics, cluttered screen, no NATO counters, brain dead AI - the list goes on. Should have dome what I did with EU4 - wait 4 years and get from the bargain bucket.
  30. Babinski
    Jun 25, 2016
    4
    Paradox has been recently traveling one-way road. Don't shoot your own feet Paradox. If you mess Victoria III like you did with these 2 last releases your fanbase is not going to forgive you.
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Awards & Rankings

47
#47 Best PC Game of 2016
22
#22 Most Discussed PC Game of 2016
66
#66 Most Shared PC Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 37 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 37
  3. Negative: 0 out of 37
  1. Cubed3
    Mar 20, 2018
    50
    The complexity and slow speed of how things evolve take the fun down notches lower than it otherwise would deserve. Endless clicking through menus, and a glacial speed, ruin what could have been a pretty slick overall experience.
    Read full review
  2. Pelit (Finland)
    Sep 28, 2016
    85
    Hearts of Iron 4 successfully streamlines a complex strategy game while still retaining the feel of total industrial warfare. AI difficulties persist, however, and some revamped mechanics still need a bit of polishing. [Aug 2016]
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Sep 14, 2016
    80
    Excellent revival of a rusty brand with improved accessibility to a wider audience. Paradox studio has rocked in recent years and proof of this is the best episode of the series Hearts of Iron. [Issue#266]
See all critic reviews »