- Publisher: Paradox Interactive
- Release Date: Oct 25, 2022
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
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Oct 24, 2022Victoria 3 does a brilliant job of bringing this era of global politics alive. Its brilliant law systems create a truly enigmatic power struggle that will keep us playing for many hours to come. While there is a lack of flavour for some of the smaller nations and a handful of other problems that stop Victoria 3 being as good as it could be, there’s a vast myriad of strategies available to players, and many ways to plot out a successful campaign. And ultimately, that’s all that we want from a strategy game: the freedom to make credible choices.
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Oct 24, 2022So will Victoria 3 end up like Stellaris, which released to middling reviews but received years of updates that transformed it into a sublime experience? Or will it suffer the fate of Imperator: Rome, which launched in 2019 but had its support cut last year, leaving the game functional but tantalizingly unfinished? There are no shortage of directions for Victoria 3 to go in, but whether it fulfills its own economic goals remains unknown. I wasn’t always satisfied with it, but I am rooting for it.
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Oct 24, 2022Victoria 3 is, without a doubt, grand in scale and scope, and it's downright gorgeous, too. Sadly, the countless mechanics mean that there are too many moving parts, which lead to more questions than answers. The automation and streamlining of battle is, likewise, a baffling change. Even as a veteran of Paradox Interactive's games, this is still one series that I can't get behind.
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LEVEL (Czech Republic)Jan 25, 2024Victoria gives players a glimpse of the changing world of the nineteenth century. The player forms nations, oversees ethnic groups, colonizes a world untouched by Western civilization, and most importantly, manages trade and industry. The game itself has shortcomings that disappoint. Prussia doesn't always succeed in unifying Germany, and in 20 hours of play I have yet to see a war between the US and Mexico, or even an attempted civil war in the US. [Issue#323]
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Jan 23, 2023Overall, Victoria 3 offers a lot of play for those interested in grand strategy, with a number of detailed and complex systems to learn over time. It’s also a solid entry point for people newer to the famously complicated genre, but experienced vets looking for engaging wars or more historically-focused titles should either keep an eye on future updates or look elsewhere.
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| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
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Oct 24, 2022An extraordinarily detailed economy and range of interlinking systems make Victoria 3 a grand strategy to rival some of Paradox's best. [Eurogamer Recommended]
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Oct 24, 2022Even the world itself is a bummer. Victoria 3's map is beautiful, even more than Crusader King 3's, a globe bristling with colour and variety and an ever-changing landscape as cities and railroads expand over the decades. But you rarely, if ever, actually use it. This enormous 3D recreation of the entire planet is sitting in the middle of your screen for almost the entire time you play the game, taking up huge amounts of real estate, and you almost never (there are a few exceptions) have to click on it, since the game’s primary interactions are all more quickly and easily handled via sidebars and buttons. It’s a real shame!
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Oct 24, 2022Making entertainment media rooted in the recent past is never easy. The interactive nature of games makes that even trickier, and Paradox is no stranger to certain groups deciding that presenting historical reality is equal to endorsement. Victoria 3 succeeds at rendering a tumultuous chapter in world history with a straightforward grace that educates as much as it entertains, encouraging reflection and empathy in the process.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 43 out of 115
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Mixed: 21 out of 115
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Negative: 51 out of 115
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Oct 29, 20222/10 likely to be another Imperator. Even if you look beyond the RNG mess of Warfare its not that "good" a game.
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Oct 26, 2022
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Oct 28, 2022