Victoria 3 Review (PC)

excellent
key review info
  • Game: Victoria 3
  • Platform: PC
  • Show system requirements
  • Gamepad support: No
  • Reviewed on:
Victoria 3 key art

Austria needs more money to fund both rapid industrialization and the constant interventions it is making on behalf of German states threatened by Prussia. I can raise taxes and reduce wages, but that would create more radicals in an empire that already has problems with their rapid increase. I can enact taxes on the consumption of certain goods or try to find good export options for them. I can push for technologies that increase tax revenue and build up my government.

Or maybe I should push for a bigger customs union and even more puppet states. While I’m pondering the best course of action, I also have to deal with an aristocracy that doesn’t much like my attempts to create a more equal society. Prussia is the constant foreign threat.

Victoria 3 is developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. I played on the PC via Steam. The title offers a grand strategy experience for the XIX and early XX centuries, with pops as the main focus of gameplay.

As with other experiences in the genre, the premise is deceivingly simple: choose a nation, make decisions, and lead it to glory. The year is 1836 and the nations of the world are preparing, without necessarily knowing it, for a difficult and exhilarating short century. The 1848 revolutions, the American Civil War, the long reign of Victoria, the rise of a new Prussia powered Germany, and the first World War are all on the horizon. The game allows players to choose from both the major and minor powers of the era and guide their fortunes. It features a lot of events and plenty of good writing, with tooltips that deliver a ton of information and quick info on mechanics.

Victoria 3
Victoria 3
Victoria 3
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Victoria 3 doesn’t aim to recreate real-world history but wants to replicate the reasons and processes that led to events. Gameplay is centered around pops, the series’ term for the people who live in the lands of each nation. Each pop has a variety of characteristics, including a job that determines social class and political interests, as well as culture, religion, place of employment, and needs. Every decision made at the national level, from laws to build industries, affects them.

And players will be making a lot of decisions, managing everything from politics, including laws and institutions, to province-level development, tech progress, and, critically, diplomacy and war. Victoria 3 introduces the idea of a Diplomatic Play to manage international affairs and conflict. Nations with interests in an area can start their efforts to capture territory or enact a change that benefits them. Other powers who are interested can intervene and support one of the sides. When the power differential is clear, it’s a good idea to back down (something the computer knows to do), but escalation often drives everyone involved to armed conflict.

Victoria 3 no longer features individual units moving around the map under the player’s control. In keeping with the economics and pop focus, gamers will supply what the army and navy need, decide when they are required for action, and then delegate actual combat to generals and admirals, assigning fronts. In many ways, fighting another nation is a sort of failure, because it costs a lot of pops, resources, and money, even in success.

Even when at peace, players need to deal with a ton of potential threats. Internal political movements will push for laws that are detrimental to progress, while radicals can push for secession or revolution. Economic swings can quickly create money problems. A scandal event might force a rebuilding of the armed forces' command.

The biggest issue I’ve had so far is related to the computer’s willingness to back down in diplomatic plays (a rule can be used to increase its aggression). There are also weird wars that can’t be won because it’s impossible to create a front. Given the complexity of the experience, players will soon discover more bugs and exploits, but nothing fundamental seems broken on launch.

Victoria 3 is a very good-looking grand strategy game, focused on delivering a ton of information to players without overwhelming them. Click on a number and there’s more detail to absorb, click on an important detail and the game will try to offer more info. The nested tooltips help a lot, as do the ton of map modes. And, once you know what you’re doing, the game is also stylish and beautiful, although some of the characters have moments of fun weirdness. The soundtrack evokes the era and works well with the rest of the presentation.

Victoria 3
Victoria 3
Victoria 3
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The Good

  • Pop-focused gameplay
  • Diplomatic Play system
  • Economic system

The Bad

  • Needs more internal politics
  • Some weird computer decisions
  • Time required to understand all mechanics

Conclusion

Victoria 3 is a video game that existed as a hope and a meme for so long that it’s hard for any real-world product to satisfy every fan. But the game as it stands on launch, with its focus on pops, its economic model, and its diplomatic plays concept, should satisfy most newcomers and long-term fans.

Some mechanics feel a little undercooked but will surely be built upon via expansions. I really want to see more depth for internal politics and diplomacy. The launch version of Victoria 3 still delivers a great grand strategy experience that allows players to engage with an exciting historical period, as long as they invest time and energy.

Review code provided by the publisher.

story 9
gameplay 9
concept 10
graphics 9
audio 9
multiplayer 9
final rating 9.5
Editor's review
excellent
 

Victoria 3 screenshots (31 Images)

Victoria 3 key art
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