Combining these is often central to your chances of success, since taking out a group of enemies from the air can pave the way for your ground troops to move into a strategically important spot. Hearts of Iron IV gives you, especially when playing as a superpower, the option to wage war on land, sea and in the air. And those are just the big goals to strive for, since there are numerous ways to reach them. Your goal might be conquest, or it could be to get through the war through smart negotiations and decisions that keep your country away from conflict. This is a highly impactful choice, because choosing a superpower will result in a very different type of game than choosing a small country will. In Hearts of Iron IV, you’re free to choose and command any nation that played a part in the Second World War. Where real time strategy usually focuses on resource management, base building and troop movements, grand strategy has a bigger emphasis on things like politics and negotiations as well. It plays out in real time, but it’s different from real time strategy games in that your typical real time strategy title revolves around missions that take place in a limited area whereas the scope of a game like Hearts of Iron is global. Hearts of Iron IV is a so-called ‘grand strategy’ game that focuses on the period around the Second World War. It’s that type of dedication that shines through in Hearts of Iron IV as well, and it pays off. This isn’t just because of a new game every couple of years, it’s also because extra content and game updates are regularly released.

Just look at Europa Universalis and Hearts of Iron, which both have been going strong for about 15 years now. When looking at Paradox, it’s easy to conclude that they stick by their strategy franchises and keep improving them. Hearts of Iron IV is the latest entry in Paradox’s long-running strategy franchise.

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