Victoria II

 PC
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 224 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 177 out of 224
  2. Mixed: 34 out of 224
  3. Negative: 13 out of 224
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  1. GentlemanHunter
    Jul 16, 2023
    9
    Things I like:
    -Satisfying Economy Mechanic
    -Great modding community, especially considering how old this game is -Amazing Soundtrack -Good amount of countries that have content -Non-Linearity Things I dislike: -Army management -Constant revolts (seriously, **** Jacobin rebels all my homies ****ing loathe Jacobin rebels) -No real way to dramatically change the way your country    Things I like:
    -Satisfying Economy Mechanic
    -Great modding community, especially considering how old this game is
    -Amazing Soundtrack
    -Good amount of countries that have content
    -Non-Linearity
    Things I dislike:
    -Army management
    -Constant revolts (seriously, **** Jacobin rebels all my homies ****ing loathe Jacobin rebels)
    -No real way to dramatically change the way your country functions outside of relying on revolts (there is a mechanic that allows you to change the electorate vote but that's practically useless)
    -Clunky UI

    Conclusion: this game stands the test of time and is a must-have for anyone that is a fan of strategy games; however, I would recommend getting at least the "Hearts of Darkness" DLC (and waiting for a sale if you aren't a fan of grand strategy games).    … Expand
  2. g014n
    Apr 6, 2023
    8
    Offers a unique combo of features, economy sim and grand strategy elements mashed together with the flavour of the less explored 19th century (when it comes to video games, at least). But it's also buggy and certain features are difficult to grasp at first, even though not very complex per se - because of the UI and usability.
  3. HeitorCampos
    Mar 13, 2023
    9
    Needs both dlcs and a flavor mod to be enjoyable, but goddamn, with those things, this game is amazing. The fact that there are only 2 dlcs which are cheap makes the fact that the base game sucks not hige deal. It has issues but it is great.
  4. Crimson9
    Dec 13, 2022
    8
    The only real economic simulator game in existence. So despite its problems, you can't really knock it, as its one of a kind.

    Really though, its the political and demographic simulation that makes Victoria 2 such an impressive game.

    With a mod like HPM this becomes arguably the best Paradox experience out there.
  5. StarkAgentos
    Jul 22, 2022
    10
    Прошёл игру за 6 с лишним часов, играя за Россию (дошёл до временного лимита). Всю игру у меня были проблемы с армией, и со мной все пытались воевать, и даже одна революция прошла успешно, ко власти пришли либералы. Крутой аналог хойки в другой историческом диапазоне.Прошёл игру за 6 с лишним часов, играя за Россию (дошёл до временного лимита). Всю игру у меня были проблемы с армией, и со мной все пытались воевать, и даже одна революция прошла успешно, ко власти пришли либералы. Крутой аналог хойки в другой историческом диапазоне.
  6. Dco326
    Jun 19, 2022
    6
    Pa probao sam je i stv se trudio ali jednostavno mi nije to to, ja hocu da ratujem sa nekim da rasirim zemlju oni mi ne daju ili me nateraju na status quo kad sam skoro ih sve pokorio ili moram da postanem ally sa nekim a onda on uzme tu teritoriju -.- tako da ono nije mi zanimljiva igrica i ne bi je vise igrao
  7. cipkasvay
    May 24, 2021
    10
    Regardless of whatever these reviewers said 11 years ago; today (2021) Victoria 2 -with both DLCs that is- known as the best game Paradox made to date, and for good reason. This absolute masterpiece of a game shows how to make a grand strategy. Even with Victoria 3 getting announced, this game is still a must-play for any grand strategy fan.
  8. kitru
    May 23, 2021
    10
    Боже мой лучшая стратегия на планете земля, не хотят делать третью часть, прям как с Half-Life'ом, ну за что :((((((((((((
  9. HSTG
    Apr 19, 2021
    6
    Yes, this game is awesome... No. Let me put it this way, if you are a history fan , I am personally , and you thought that this game looks amazing and you plan to buy it, without knowing how to play , thinking that it will be enjoyable , IS NOT , you can smash your head to the walls for an hour and still it will be more enjoyable than playing this game is, the mechanics are difficult toYes, this game is awesome... No. Let me put it this way, if you are a history fan , I am personally , and you thought that this game looks amazing and you plan to buy it, without knowing how to play , thinking that it will be enjoyable , IS NOT , you can smash your head to the walls for an hour and still it will be more enjoyable than playing this game is, the mechanics are difficult to understand that it took me 16 hours to fully understand how they work , + you need to know how countries works , at least the major ones ( and by that I mean their focus trees and events) , and beside that you don't want to play single player , why? , because the AI in this game hate players so much that it will make alliances with all the nation in the world just to ruin your game, and that results in you unable to do nothing.Trust me this game is frustrating and if you don't have a lot of free time to put in a game
    ,this game is not for you.    … Expand
  10. Oreun
    Apr 15, 2021
    8
    Really good game if you play it with DLCs and mods like HPM or HFM. Without the mods its still good but without the DLCs it not that good.

    Still a really good game though, why wouldn't you play it? You can make Texas Russian
  11. Micek_Pro
    Apr 8, 2021
    10
    This is literally masterpiece, the best game from Paradox. The only bad thing about is that you have to get all dlcs, but they are cheap
  12. Wilson468
    Dec 30, 2020
    9
    Absolutly great to play now (with dlcs obviously), you get to manage a country's politics, economy, military and society and feel how hard it is. But, don't forget : its a Paradox Game
  13. MPGSpotter
    Dec 15, 2020
    9
    There's a reason people want Victoria 3. This is by far the best Paradox game, and maybe the best grand strategy game too. It's hilarious to see people trying to mod more modern Paradox games to add something Victoria 2 did flawlessly 10 years ago - interesting and intricate geopolitics and economy.
  14. Manuel258
    Nov 11, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Lets be honest, this is not a game for everyone, it can be over complex and sometimes it feels like artificial difficulty, that is 1 of 2 reasons why I think its not perfect, you can play as almost every country, the game obtains mantain loyalty to real life, and at the same time it obtains to mix them with the ficticius things, every single thing is important to keep you empire, and the battles are very simple, contrasting with the rest of the game… Expand
  15. Wivaz
    Jul 27, 2020
    10
    Хорошая игра,инетерсно играть особенно с друзьями
  16. woozstar
    May 16, 2020
    10
    **** just make vicky 3 ...........................................................................................................
  17. Hugaunda
    Oct 15, 2019
    10
    This game is so good, when I start to play I don't understand nothing of the game but playng I understend the game, with 300 hours of game I can say that is the best game I have played
  18. JoaleJG
    Jun 19, 2019
    8
    The game is not a "game for all" but if you like this type of game you have a lot of hours of fun.
    (I have more than 300 hours of this game on steam)
  19. LordMOrion
    Sep 17, 2017
    9
    Prior disclosure, I am a History graduate so I am little biased. This game is incredibly addictive, as many nations as you can imagine, a thousand different journeys to take in a world map that is largely 'alive' and changes without directly player involvement, an important feature in this type of game. Is this a historically accurate game? No, is this going to teach anyone about thePrior disclosure, I am a History graduate so I am little biased. This game is incredibly addictive, as many nations as you can imagine, a thousand different journeys to take in a world map that is largely 'alive' and changes without directly player involvement, an important feature in this type of game. Is this a historically accurate game? No, is this going to teach anyone about the history of the 19th century? No. Will you enjoy it? Yes… Expand
  20. Greywolf2001ca
    Jan 3, 2016
    8
    Good game. Everything is pretty much covered. You even have a little history.

    The only downside is more often than not, there ain't any World War I in the game unless you launch that scenario. WWI never happens for me.

    A good buy at 10$ or less.
  21. wasabiguy
    Aug 31, 2015
    10
    This game is still rough around the edges, but without doubt the best one made. The only thing Paradox should be ashamed of when it comes to this game is just compeletely abandoning it while going on the add tonnes of expansion and bug fixes to the inferior Europa Univeralis, and just completely dedicating all work to the RGP (not even real strategy) Crusader Kings. The company has aThis game is still rough around the edges, but without doubt the best one made. The only thing Paradox should be ashamed of when it comes to this game is just compeletely abandoning it while going on the add tonnes of expansion and bug fixes to the inferior Europa Univeralis, and just completely dedicating all work to the RGP (not even real strategy) Crusader Kings. The company has a backward investment policy. As naive as I sound, hopefully they can one day turn back and actually pay more attention to this title, and make the other titles more like this one. This game is like the misunderstood child at school, that one day grows up to become a genius. Unfortunately this day hasn't come yet.… Expand
  22. Damascus
    Mar 1, 2015
    3
    Five reasons this game is absolute s h i t e !

    1. I needed community support to even start the game. 2. Game-mechanics are somewhat booring. Rather limited options for doing anything. 3. Once you become a Great Power you must spend the rest of the game watching the influence interface, trying to jocky your sphere of influence into the AIs. About as fun as watching an    Five reasons this game is absolute s h i t e !

    1. I needed community support to even start the game.

    2. Game-mechanics are somewhat booring. Rather limited options for doing anything.

    3. Once you become a Great Power you must spend the rest of the game watching the influence interface, trying to jocky your sphere of influence into the AIs. About as fun as watching an intrument-panel on a random factory-machine.

    4. Every 5-20 seconds the game throws a splash-screen in your face, demanding you press "confirm" or make a choice that have a miniscule impact on your game. Until you do, it will either lock the game in pause or block your view while the game is still running.

    5. You have to go online to learn how to play the game.    … Expand
  23. Oberrill
    Jul 13, 2014
    3
    Cannot say much about the game. Could not get very far due to the usual Paradox crashes. What I did encounter seemed to be the makings of a good game.
  24. SteeHill
    Jun 24, 2014
    10
    With over 1000 hours on this game it dwarves my next favourite game. Best game ever In my opinion. That being said it is NOT for everyone this is a 'Grand' Strategy and so is quite hardcore.

    Its also worth noting that the 'POP Demand Mod' greatly improves this game and tackles almost everyone's complaints about game features.
  25. rubanzomi
    Apr 1, 2014
    5
    This game is a great strategy game except for the fact that it is totally broken. I have had to play a shattered game that crashes every 10 minutes, scrambles text and ruins the experience. Not to even mention the fact that if you buy it on steam it is outright unplayable until you go into the game files and delete files which if you mess up will ruin your game....
  26. maor4774
    Jan 23, 2014
    10
    if you like pardox games this is 10/10 rating for you, just like the rest of pardox games this is other pice of art, the game it a grand stratgey game, leading a nation in the 1800s and make it a super power, create you own massive colonial empire or take a exsisting one and expend it even more, the game have so many things to do and it is one of the best games i ever played, i recomemdedif you like pardox games this is 10/10 rating for you, just like the rest of pardox games this is other pice of art, the game it a grand stratgey game, leading a nation in the 1800s and make it a super power, create you own massive colonial empire or take a exsisting one and expend it even more, the game have so many things to do and it is one of the best games i ever played, i recomemded that you buy it i give it 10/10… Expand
  27. Qwanzar
    Sep 28, 2013
    9
    Is a great game if you are into history and alternative history. There are a Few AI bugs but no serious game-breaking bugs. The game can lead to some interesting scenarios without the player doing anything, an example is that Europe will look different at the end of the campaign than at the beginning even if the player didn't send over ships, troops, ect.
  28. Sirik_Matak
    Sep 8, 2013
    2
    Overcomplexed, broken and in fact straightward simplistic wannabe grand strategy. More than half of a micromanagement has absolutely no impact on the gameplay, economy is broken (small countries can easly hit thousands of cash being unable to purshase anything at the same time), combat is worse than Victoria I. In vanilla you can play only with 1st and 2nd powers, since playing the restOvercomplexed, broken and in fact straightward simplistic wannabe grand strategy. More than half of a micromanagement has absolutely no impact on the gameplay, economy is broken (small countries can easly hit thousands of cash being unable to purshase anything at the same time), combat is worse than Victoria I. In vanilla you can play only with 1st and 2nd powers, since playing the rest means you will be sitting there doing nothing, really. Or fastly be overpowered by the neighbouring 1st or 2nd power. One of the worst paradox titles.… Expand
  29. Orctownorc
    Aug 22, 2013
    5
    Under the new review system this game gets 5/10 which basically means that I still hate it. It's ugly, it's complicated, it's hard and it seems to have little point. The combat is too abstract to be interesting. The political dimensions act to remove player controls over economics. The economics are obscure (very hard to understand let alone master). And the bloody little notificationUnder the new review system this game gets 5/10 which basically means that I still hate it. It's ugly, it's complicated, it's hard and it seems to have little point. The combat is too abstract to be interesting. The political dimensions act to remove player controls over economics. The economics are obscure (very hard to understand let alone master). And the bloody little notification windows, telling you about in-game events never stop opening! Playing this game is a huge pain in the anus. I gather that there are actually people who like this game, and feel thankful that I don't know any of them. If you are in that camp please don't message me, I really don't want to know you.

    THE GROT REVIEW CRITERIA: After a long time writing reviews like an anus, think its time to set a few bad habits straight: Stop insulting designers. Show some respect for the design process and getting games in circulation. Hence (1) No Red scores. (2) Game scores as follows: Bad Game 5/10. Poor Game 6/10. Mediocre Game: 7/10. Good Game 8/10. Great game 9/10. Stella Game 10/10. To get 10/10 it must be a game that can be (theoretically) play-able for 1000+ hours. Not only great but near endless fun. Games may be bad or poor but making them should earn respect. Thus even the worst POS will still be a 5/10. 0/10 no longer exists in my vocabulary. Yellow is the new red. You cannot reply about this game! Go away!    … Expand
  30. vence
    Aug 7, 2013
    7
    everyone giving 10 is out of there mind, even 9 is too much, I'd say 8 or 7 and I'm being generous here, the game is too tedious and lack imagination, pride of nations did everything better, too bad it suffer from long turn processing problem
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Awards & Rankings

69
#69 Best PC Game of 2010
42
#42 Most Discussed PC Game of 2010
28
#28 Most Shared PC Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. PC PowerPlay
    Oct 27, 2010
    70
    Addictive, nerdy and totally epic strategy. [Dec 2010, p.56]
  2. GamingXP
    Oct 25, 2010
    85
    Victoria 2 is a very complex strategy-game, which offers you a very complex and exciting gameplay.
    Read full review
  3. CPUGamer
    95
    Saying that it stands head-and-shoulders above all of the scant competition for grand-strategy kingship almost goes without saying.
    Read full review
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