Developer League of Geeks has revealed its Grand Strategy game Solium Infernum will be released on February 14. In Solium Infernum, players attempt to ascend the Dark Throne of Hell via strategy, intrigue, and betrayal. Solium Infernum is a reimaging of the cult-classic strategy game from 2009. We also got a look a??t exactly just how we'll be able to achieve that goal in a gameplay trailer.

A bit of betrayal

In Solium Inferum, players choose one of eight great Archfiends of Hell as they outwit and outmaneuver their opponents to claim the Infernal Throne. Political and Military strategy ?will both be required as players bluff, backstab, and sow betrayal to climb the ranks of Hell.

Our very own Eric "The Tactician" Van Allen got a hands-on look at Solium Infernum last month and feels the multiplayer is ??where the real grand strategy elements will shine.

Solium Infernum features 2-4 hour single-player matches as well as weeklong six-player multiplayer matches for those who only have a few minutes to play every day. The asynchrous multiplayer is popular among vast grand strategy titles like Solium Infernum, so I'm excited to see how well it ??works. A multiplayer playtest will kickoff early next year before rel?ease.

Solium Infernum launches on PC via Steam on February 14, 2024.

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Paradox Interactive has announced the next Stellaris expansion, titled Astral Planes. The new narrative-f??ocused expansion will allow players to wield reality-breaking technologies to explore alternate d??imensions. In these parallel universes, players will encounter new creatures and phenomena as they journey into the true unknown. There was no specific release date given for Astral Planes, but the release does say it is coming to PC later this year.

The story-centric expansion will feature branching narratives, a first for Stellaris. Players can na??vigate a branching narrative built specifically to make choices matter. According to Paradox, Astral Planes will be full of surprises and hard choices. Decisions will not only affect the narrative but also shape the player's empire to fit? their playstyle.

In terms of gameplay features, Astral Planes will feature new Technologies,?? Actions, and Relics, which is pretty par for the course for this type of expansion. It also appears there is a new Origin called Riftworld.

Stellaris is my favorite Grand Strategy game, so any new content looks ?good to me. But depending on how the Astral Planes actually works, this could set the 4X title up for even more content avenues in the future.

Stellaris: Astral Planes will be released on PC later this year.

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That's right, it's a Tournament arc

Crusader Kings III is setting out for some new festivities in May. The next Crusader Kings III expansion, dubbed Tours and Tournaments, debuts on May 11, 2023.

While Crusader Kings has had plenty of courtroom drama, this particular expansion looks to add some pageantry to all of it. Host a royal wedding! It's never gone poorly for anyone, ever. ?Head out on tour, or yes, even hold your own tournament. I'm sure leaving your kingdom in the hands of a cu??nning and ambitious seat-warmer will certainly turn out fine.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATwJhpy_FQw

It's not all just events planning, though. The new travel system w?ill include route planning, which means determining how fast you want to travel versus how safe your charted course will be.

Additionally, Knightly Acc?olades are getting a spotlight, as are some new armor designs and clothing. Fashi?on is crucial, even at a sometimes bloody tournament.

Expanding your borders

The Tours and Tournaments expansion for Crusader Kings III will go for $29.99, and will launch alongside a "major" free update for all CKIII players. Or, if you prefer a more deluxe route, you can also pick up the Chapter II pack.

The Chapter Packs for Crusader Kings III tie in a few extra updates, big and small, for $34.99. Picking that up now will immediately garner the Elegance of the Empire Pack, with historic regalia inspired by real-life rulers. Further on down the road, alongside Tours and Tournaments, Chapter II pack-owners will get the Wards and Ward?ens Pack as well as the Legacy of Persia pack.

Basically, a lot more grand strategy is on the way for a pretty solid grand strategy game, from what I've heard. Tours and Tournaments arrive for Crusader Kings III on May 11.

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And also Anthony Marzano

Paradox Interactive has proudly announced that the grand strategy sequel Victoria 3 has sold over half a million copies sinc?e its release back in October on PC and Mac platforms.

"We want to thank all Victoria 3 players!" exclaimed Paradox Interactive in a celebratory tweet. "With 500k games sold since it?s release a little over a month ago, this is one of the most successful Paradox launches ever!??"

//twitter.com/PDXVictoria/?status/1597636507107348480?s=20&t=s3mDK2_UKNTFHrcAjPAwGA

Launched on October 25, Victoria 3 is the latest entry in the incredibly deep world history simulation series. The new sequel follows the path forged by its celebrated predecessor Victoria 2, which was released way back in 2010, and thus it has been quite some wait for mouse-clickers everywhere. In fact, much like Half-Life 3, Victoria 3 had become something of an in-joke to ?the dedicated community, constantly referenced as a title that was wanted, but seemed unlikely to come into existence.

Spanning a century between 1836 and 1936, Victoria 3 offers players the opportunity to pick up the role of one of 100 countries, shaping the people, politics, and technological and economical growth of this era-defining period in human history. As you might expect, matters do not always transpire smoothly, and while the new sequel angles on the side of diplomacy, sometimes matters must be settled on the battlefield. Victoria 3 received high praise from critics and fans, including our own strategy fiend Anthony Marzano, who awarded the title a hefty 9.5 out of 10. Check out his review right here.

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And... PARTY ON, DUDES!

Following on from this weekend's leak, developer Firaxis has officially announced the Civilization VI Leader Pass, which will see the coming months roll?? out a who's who of famed leaders, dictators,?? and visionaries to the grand strategy sequel.

The first DLC drop, "The Great Negotiators" will launch on N??ovember 21 and will bring with it diplomatic masters Abraham Lincoln (??United States) Queen Nzinga Mbande (Kongo), and Sultan Saladin (Arabia). Each leader brings to the table bespoke skills and abilities to help players grow and expand their presence within their home territories as well as in the global political picture.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=luWyFMwgQoc

The remaining five packs??, wh??ich are yet to be dated, contain the following DLC leaders. All packs will be released by spring 2023.

• Great Commanders Pack: Tokugawa (Japan), Nader Shah (Persia), and Suleiman the Magnificent (Ottoman Empire).
• Rulers of China Pack: Yongle, Qin Shi Huang the Unifier, and Wu Zetian (All China).
• Rulers of the Sahara Pack: King Ramses (Egypt), Ptolemaic Cleopatra (Egypt), King Sundiata Keita (Mali).
• Great Builders Pack: Theodora (Byzantine Empire), Sejong (Korea), and Ludwig II (Germany).
• Ruler of England Pack: Elizabeth I (England), Varangian Harald Hardrada (Norway), and Victoria: Age of Steam (England).

Note that some of the included leaders will require their respecti??ve scenarios and expansions in order to play. (For example: Nader Shah requires the previously releases Persia & Macedon Scenario Pack).

The Civilization VI: Leader Pass is included as part of the Civilization VI Anthology. It will also be available to purchase separately on Steam and Epic Game Store. A price was not revealed.

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Become a politician; without selling your soul

Ever since Paradox Interactive announced Victoria 3, I've been in a state of semi-disbelief. It was a strategy game? in-joke for so long that I couldn't believe it was really happening. I was provided a preview build of the upcoming socio-economic grand strategy game thanks to Paradox. To quote Sidra Holland and Jackie Chiles, it's "real, and it's fantastic." An??d soon, you too can politick to your heart's content when the game releases on October 25, 2022.

For those of you present who aren't cool enough to know what the Victoria series is all about, an introduction is in order. Victoria is a grand strategy game series aptly set during the Victorian era. Whereas other entries in the Paradox family of grand strategy games focus on war or lineage, Victoria's focus lies in economics and the changing political landscape of the dawning Modern age. Starting in 1836, you control a country and all of its economy and laws while trying to improve the lives of your citizenry. You know how you always scream at your screen that you "can do better" whenever some talking head politician messes everything up? Victoria allows you to put your money (or national cred?it) where your m??outh is.

The problem with the Victoria series is that we've been devoid of a new entry since 2010 and the last entry is a notoriously hard nut to crack for various reasons. From the Version 0.1 build that I played, I can safely say that Victoria 3 is well on its ?way to addressing many of t??he barriers to entry that its previous entries had.

Bringing the Modern Age into the Digital Age

The first improvement that stood out to me was the UI/UX design, even compared to games as recent as Imperator: Rome. At a closed-door press demo, game director Martin Anward emphasized that while Victoria 3 would be easier for new players to get into, it would not come at the expense of c??omplexity but through streamlining how information is presented. Your basic menus where you take the various temperatures of your nation are all still present, but sorters and filters have been given big buttons to help you get to what you need quickly.

On top of menus, important overlays of the m?ap have also been given big buttons at the bottom of the screen to show you the big picture of how your empire (and anyone else on the map) are doing in re??gards to metrics such as production and consumption, quality of life, what have you.

Additionally, nearly every term, metric, item, and country has been given what is called a nested tooltip. Those who have played Crusader Kings III will recognize the feature as it is used in the base release of that game as well. By hovering over a color-coded word in a menu, you will get both a breakdown of what it means, as well as a look at how well you are doing in terms of said metric. After a few seconds of hovering over the term, the tooltip window will soft lock on your screen and you can then navigate to a nested ?tooltip within your nested tooltip. I think I maxed out at three tooltip windows as I was delving deep into my economy. It did start to get a bit crowded for simple mouse movement, but I had all the information I needed, and it didn't require going to the Official Victoria wiki.

I know what you're thinking, "menu design, what a place to start for a preview" �but all of your decisions and action?s will be made through menus, so it's nice to see that a concerted effort has been made to streamline the intake of information for a topic as complex as economics and how that affects your populace. But fine, if you want something juicier than menu improvements, how about an actual developer-made tutorial mode?

Ooooh, teach me, Amadeus.

With nearly every previous Paradox grand strategy game, you were given a very base tutorial that mostly entailed how to navigate menus and complete actions. Past that point, you were left to your own devices to figure out how to succeed which at the time meant digging into double-digit hours of YouTube videos. Victoria 3 has not only a tutorial mode but also an objective mode that guides you with completing nations such as a hegemonic ruler or an egalitarian uto?pia.

In said tutorial mode, you are given a breadcrumb trail that acts as an interactive Econ and Poly Sci 101. Various objectives such as "grow your GDP" or "make a political party that doesn't like you happier" are presented to you and you are given the option of being shown why you should do that, and if you want to be truly handheld, how you can go about it. However, sometimes the objectives were a bit redundant. It got annoying when they were trying to make me placate a social group that stood in staunch opposition to the policies I was trying to enact. But the game never yelled at me for ignoring it. Even with the redundancy of one or two objectives, I was able to get my economy into working order thanks to training mode. Before this in Victoria 2, I had considerable trouble achieving it.

It could be easy to handwave away something as simple as an objective or tutorial mode, but when it comes to the Victoria series, it's incredibly welcoming to players who don't have an established knowledge of something as complex as statesmanship (i.e., most people). This addition is not only huge for the Victoria series, but also for the greater Paradox grand strategy library. Is a tutor??ial also not doi??ng it for you? How about a map improvement?

The map is alive with the sound of social upheaval

Also new to the Paradox grand strategy library as a?? whole i??s a new "living map."

Previous entries of the map interface were pretty much just colors and lines akin to political maps. In Victoria 3, the map has received a major update to show how your country is evolving through visual cues. You can now see new cities and factories popping up along with infrastructural changes such as trains run?ning in your ?states. The neat thing about this new feature is that it isn't just arbitrary additions on the map �you can see that new building you built on the map. It's a little touch but it helps in helping drive home the connection between you and your populace.

While the addition of the living map is nice, it did adversely affect performance on my Ryzen 7 3700/RTX 2070 Super build. The development team did assure us at the confer??ence that it was a preview build of the game and improvements would be implemented before launch, but it was still noticeable enough to lead to brief slowdowns and even a crash ??once.

War, (HUH), what is it good for?

One of the main concerns that arose since the announcement of Victoria 3 was the perceived absence of autonomy for war and how it is waged. Whereas every other Paradox game allowed you to wage war as you saw fit, Victoria 3 has done away? with direct control of your armies and is instead leaving this task up to generals and admirals that you assign to your armed forces and waging war based on their characteristics. While the loss of autonomy in warfare is felt, you have other ways of interacting with foreign nations through the use of hostile diplomacy in what is being referred to as diplomatic plays.

In a diplomatic play, you can attempt to force a foreign government to change one of its policies to something that you deem more fit for your liking. At this point, a battle of the wills pops up between the two nations. Demands and possible concessions are laid out by both sides, with the opportunity for allies and even regional neighbors to get involved in the diplomatic battle. Anyone who gets involved can do anything from simply getting their toes wet with economic support, all the way up to committing troops to a potential conflict (with demands of their own to be met by the main player they are siding with). If something can be worked out, great, all par??ties walk away (mostly) unscathed. But if talks fail to reach a compromise, then the two sides will escalate to war. War is then conducted through the use of high-level strategic choices that you dictate such as assigning generals to armies and placing said armies along fronts.

The developers have essentially taken the war goal/casus belli mechanic from every other game in their repertoire and expanded it for the purposes of diplomacy. I will admit that the only action I saw in diplomatic plays was sitting on the bench waiting to be called up by a larger country as repayment fo?r a good deed they did for me earlier. I did come close to forcing a change from an isolationist trade policy to an open market, but peace won.

Fun with finance (and flags)

I've been waiting for Victoria 3 for what seems like forever. By the time I returned to PC gaming in the mid-2010s, Victoria 2 was already falling out of date as Paradox refined its craft and had begun to make its games more easily palatable to the uninitiated. I've always been a closet political junkie, and I'm a big enough nerd to love the concept of economics and international trade. So it was ??all about waiting for my turn in the sun. After a week and a half with the preview build, I can tell that my turn is coming.

The entire time I had with the preview, I was having a blast. The game sucked me in, grabbed hold of my attention, and refused to let go. I couldn't stop thinking about my long-term goals and would frequently boot up the game to implement a policy change I thought of while doing real-world stuff. One evening, my poor partner came rushing into our computer room thinking something was gravely wrong with me because I was muttering curses at length. America had cut off my supply of small arms, and my economy took a turn for the worst because of it. I wanted America's head, and I was ready to back anyone who felt the?? same way but was limited by my size. I was promptly called a ??loser and left to smolder in my rage.

Victoria 3 is, without a doubt, not for everyone. It also has some ways to go before it is street-ready. But for a preview build, it ran pretty well most of the time. Even with the times where it stumbled, Victoria 3 was the most fun I've had with a grand strategy game ev??er. There is no greater joy than growing your economy while also increasing your infrastructure. I can't w??ait to get back into the big chair and bring my nation into a prosperous new era of social equality.

Victoria 3 will release for PC on October 25, 2022.

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Write the annals of history yourself

Historical strategy is getting a new contender. Ara: History Untold is the new grand strategy title from Oxide Games.

Revealed during today's Xbox and Bethesda showcase, Ara: History Untold is a turn-based grand strategy title from the team behind Ashes of the Singularity. You'll take control of your own historical civilization and de??velop its progress, eventually shaping the future of the world.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_ebBkL14Cg

Ara is being built in Oxide's proprietary Nitrous Engine, where c??hoices and decisions will shape the future of civilization. No pressure.

For those who want to get around to shaping history early, Ara: History Untold will be holding a technical alpha. The preview will kick off later this summer. You can sign up for the Insider program and a chance to play Ara early here.

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Drama and intrigue arrive on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5

Paradox Interactive is bringing its medieval strategy to consoles. Crusader Kings III will launch on M??arch 29, 2022 for Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.

The port comes in partnership with the team at Lab42, and adapts the grand strategy planning and intrigue of Crusader Kings III to console play. The traditionally PC-focused series will have an interface and control scheme adapted for controllers and large screens. Triggers and analog sticks will be your go-to tools for flicking?? betwee??n menus.

Crusader Kings III will also make use of next-gen hardware tech, including fast loading times, Quick Resume swapping, and Adaptive Trigger feedback. Yes, as your character gets more stressed, more resistance will be applied to the DualSense's tri??ggers. It's a very relatable feature.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxGzfPoHQN8

The console version of Crusader Kings III was revealed last year, bringing the series onto TV-attached boxes. Considering the reputation Crusader Kings has held as a fascinating, sometimes-bizarre representation of medieval lineage and intrigue, this is pretty ??exciting news for strategy fans who haven't picked up a PC yet.

At least now, console owners can experience the true distress of trying to manage a dynasty while dealing with threats both inside and outside your kingdom's borders. And with some nice console features, like an adapted interface and tools like the PlayStation 5's Activities and Game Help, it could be a pretty approachable way of getting to know what Crusader Kings III is all about.

Crusader Kings III hits Xbox Series X|S and?? PlayStation 5 on March 29, 2??022.

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Bringing the consoles close to parity with PC

Ever since Stellaris released on consoles in 2019 it has been in a hyperdrive lane, barreling through updates and versions that released since Stellaris first launched on PC. As an older PC player, it has been interesting watching my friends on console get to different stages of the release and remembering all the changes the game has gone through over the game's five-year stint on PC. Console players might not have to live in the past for very long as the next update pack for Stellaris: Console Edition will bring the gam?e mu?ch closer in parity to the PC release.

Featuring the Federations expansion as well as the Necroids and Ancient ??Relic packs, this will bring the console edition up to 2.8, leaving ?only the Nemesis expansion pack unreleased for consoles, which only released for PC a month ago.

While the Necroids and Ancient Relic packs aren't much to get excited about, the Federations expansion was a huge leap forward for the diplomacy side of the game, expanding not just on intergalactic relations but also expanding on your own society. Having just gotten back into Stellaris after two years away, grappling? with the changes from even Federations' free update was enough to make me have to take a step back and readjust how I approached the game.

While no price was announced, previous expansion packs of this size were $24.99 at? launch.

Along with the announcement of the expansion, it was revealed in the press release that optimization tweaks had been made for the Xbox Series X/S release of the game with the PlayStation ??5 version "still playing great."

The Stellaris: Console Edition Fourth Expansion Pass will release on June 17.

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No news on a release window

After years of memes and jokes and wondering if the world would ever see a sequel to Victoria II, it seems that our collective waiting now has a hypothetical end as Paradox Interactive announced Victoria 3 during PDXCON Remixed today.

Victoria 3 will send grand strategy fans back to the industrial revolution with all of its mechanical wonder and societal upheaval. The sequel to Victoria II looks to lean on the population mechanic that allowed the game to endure in fan communities for over a decade, despite using a very out-of-date engine. The population mechanic or pops hopes to create a political puzzle for players to solve by making sure that your citizens stay happy, lest they want revolution to foment in their lands. On top of the returning population mechanic, Victoria 3 aims to expand the trade with its deepest economic simulation yet as well as an emphas??is on politic??????????????????????????al negotiation in the last age of imperialism.

While the a?nnouncement was met with a wave of excitement from me, the fact that there was no talk of a release date or even a window is a bit worrying. Although whenever the game does come out it will be on Game Pass day one, so any subscribers can immediately dive into the 19th??-century simulation.

Victoria 3 will release when it's done on Steam, Xbox Game Pass, and the Paradox Store.

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Still available for purchase piecemeal

Even though Crusader Kings III is already out and available for all your nepotistic megalomaniacal fantasies, Paradox is continuing to push its Crusader Kings II candy on strategy fans at large. The base grand strategy game was previously made free for all just before the announcement of the sequel in late 2018, and it's currently free-to-play on Steam.

The problem is that the Crusader Kings II base game is simply that, a base – and Paradox used th?at base to build and sell six years' worth of DLC and expansions, some of which vastly changed how the game was played. If you wanted to buy the entire catalog of expansions, DLC, and soundtrack additions, it would run you around $300. That's a lot of dosh.

To give new players the option of trying all the DLC at a reduced rate, Paradox has now implemented a subscription service where $5 a month grants you access to the entire collection. You'll still be able to buy any and all of the DLC that tickles your fancy to own for??ever, which is nice as there's a lot of fluff in the form of art and music packs. To me, those seem a bit frivolous when compared to the mechanic and gameplay expansion ??sets.

In the forum release announcing the start of this new venture, Paradox stated that it is exploring the option to? bring a subscription service to o?ther games. Ominous.

The real question I have is what does this tell us about Victoria III? Nothing? I reject your answer.

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Alter history even more than Marty McFly

The main appeal of historical grand strategy games is to answer those gnawing questions that keep history buffs awake at night. What if the Germans had continued their full march towards Stalingrad instead of splitting off for Leningrad in an attempt for a moral victory? What if France and England, disregarding all human emotion enforced the Treaty of Versailles in the 1930s instead?? of following a policy of appeasement?

Hearts of Iron IV developers Paradox Development Studio understand these niche nerd desires and continue to develop DLC to help my people get some sleep at night. Their latest DLC, titled Battle for the Bosporus will focus its eye on the Ae??gean and Black sea powers of T??urkey, Greece, and Bulgaria.

With a focus tree for each of the three powers, Battle for the Bosporus will give you the choice of following history, or carving your own path. Along with new focus trees, there will be new voice-overs for the three powers, along with new unit art for the Balkan and Turkis??h armies.

Knowing full well that the Battle for the Bosporus is a small??er DLC, Paradox has priced it at $9.99/£7.19/€9.99 with plans for it to be released on October 15. As is the case with these smaller packs, there are no plans for any new features to be brought to the base game, so if you want to bring back the Ottoman Empire then you're going to have to pay up!

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Humankind now bound for 2021

Humankind is a 4X grand strategy game about forging out a path for civilization. OpenDev is an Early Access concept so you can forge a path for Humankind.

As part of this afternoon's PC Gaming Show, Sega announced that Humankind is coming to limited-access OpenDev so that the community can play early chunks of the game and give feedback. That feedback will be used by developer Amplitude Studios to ensure Humankind is taking the approach its players want.

OpenDev will have three time-limited scenarios, one for each core pillar of Humankind: Exploration, tactical battles, and city management. All together, the scenarios are estimated to be about three hours' worth of conte??nt. Then, ??there's a survey that Amplitude asks players to fill out.

This OpenDev reveal comes with a quiet delay of sorts. Humankind was due out sometime in 2020 (not with a firm date but just sometime within the year), but it's now set for 2021. That's not an official announcement, it's just the new window on the Humankind Steam page.

Anyway, if you want in on helping determine the direction of Humankind -- or if you just want to play some early content ahead of launch for free -- sign up for OpenDev. Here's where you can find all the details.

Register for ??OpenDev and Leave Your Mark on H?umankind [Games2Gether]

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With a focus on 'classic grand strategies'

As Paradox Interactive continues to grow as a publisher, it has started making moves to open studios to focus on the properties that got it to the dance. In a press release ??today, Paradox Tinto was introduced to the public as a standalone studio in Barcelona. Johan Andersson, a Paradox Development Studio veteran, was assigned as the head of the new studio.

??In the release, Paradox COO Charlotta Nilsson expanded on the new studio:

People love our games and we love the fact that we? are growing to create more for them, we’re particularly pleased to expand for the first time with a new studio focusing on the core game genre we're famous for: grand strategy. The success of our studios over the last few years has allowed us to continually add more capabilities and new ideas, with more games going into active development and more ambitious plans every day...

Paradox Tinto's first task will be the continued development and updating of the now-classic Europa Universalis IV, which Andersson was the lead designer on. The long-term goal will be the development of ne?w grand strategy games. That begs the question: what will Paradox Development Studio be doing?

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King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime?

Grand strategy fans will be pleased to hear that Paradox Interactive has announced a release date for the third mainline entry in its legendary series Crusader Kings. Coming to PC on September 1, Crusader Kings III will fe?ature all of the intense, cerebral, and Machiavellian gameplay that is a franchise trademark.

Alongside the release date, Paradox has released not one, but two videos for the upcoming sequel. The first preview focuses on Crusader Kings III's campaign mode and, while not quite as dark as the previous trailer, still demonstrates how a thirst for? power and conquest often begins in the crib and ultimately ends on?? the blood-stained battlefield.

The second video gives players a very brief look at Crusader Kings III in action. Through a combination of smart management, careful planning, forward-thinking, and more than just a fistful of ruthlessness, you can transform your kingdom from a modest piece of land to a c?ountry-spanning empire. But beware, the Middle Ages are not renown for their loyalty. So keep your friends close, your enemies closer... and perhaps a sheet of steel rested snugly between your shoulder blades might not go amiss.

Crusader Kings III launches September 1 on PC via Steam, Microsoft ?Store?, and Paradox Store.

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The renaissance at bargain pricing

With the delay of Cyberpunk 2077 announced last week, I made a vow to not buy any new games for my PC until it comes out. I need to put some diligent work into my backlog in the lead-up to what is my most anticipated release of the year. Humble heard my plans and mocked me where I stood by announcing the Humble Europa Universalis IV bundle today.

They aren't even watering this bundle down with lesser-known games; no, this deal is all EUIV, all the time. If you pay at least a dollar, you'll get the base Europa Universalis IV, as well as six of the early DLC packs, including the pre-order bonus packs. For the pay-more-than-average tier (currently sitting around $9), you get the middle-year releases including the lauded Rights of Man and El Dorado DLC packs. Finally, if you pay $17, you get even the late-release packs, some of which only came out a little ov??er a year ??ago.

As Paradox shifts focus back to the Crusader Kings franchise in preparation for its highly anticipated sequel, it's nice to see them offer up this aging but still much-beloved rena??issance simulator for cheap.

Humble Europa Universalis IV Bundle [Humble]

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Viva La Résistance

While air strikes and naval embargoes are the bread that hold a war effort together, wars are won with boots on the ground. But what do you do when the only boots allowed in an area are that of your enemy? That is where spies and resistance movements step up to the plate. Soon, fans of the World War II simulator Hearts of Iron IV will be?? able to employ a spy network of their own??.

The new expansion La Résistance will bring a hefty amount of specialized mechanics and content to Hearts of Iron IV. Along with an expanded focus tree for France and both Nationalist and Republican Spain, there will be a more in-depth campaign for the Spanish? civil war that threatens to spill over into neighboring states. Mechanics wise, the expansion will bring in spies that help you uncover your enemies secrets, as well as the ability to collaborate with resistance networks. The m??ost interesting new mechanic for me is the ability to crack enemy codes in battle, giving you a tactical boost on the battlefield.

No date or price has been announced for La Résistance but sometime Q2 2020 would be my best guess as of now. Hearts of Iron IV is available now for PC.

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Deus vult!

I think I'd be well within my rights to say that Crusader Kings II is Paradox's most popular grand strategy. While it wasn't the first game to use the Clausewitz engine, it was decidedly less complex than Victoria II for new players. Also, Crusader Kings II's blending of gra??nd? strategy with cutthroat character role playing was an intoxicating blend for budding megalomaniacs.

So it's no real surprise that for their next grand strategy game, Paradox Development Studio is going back to the well and bringing Crusader Kings III to PC in 2020.

Initial details are sparse but rest assured young heirs that all your diabolical desires that you've come to love in the previous entry are here. My concern rests with the fact that the second game had DLC released for seven years post-launch, so I'm interested to see how much content is included with the base game. Recent releases such as Imperator: Rome have? been releasing with a much heftier base game but still, seven years is a lot of DLC.

I had a feeling this was going to be the announced game at this year's PDXcon after Crusader Kings II went free to play on Steam this week, with no indication of how long it would stay free. With this news, it seems that Crusader Kings II is fr??ee to play for good. R?IP to new crusaders' productivity.

Crusader Kings III will release fo?r PC via Steam and the Xbox Games Pass for PC in 2020.

Maybe next time Victoria fans...

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Hail! Destructoid

This review will be pretty simple if you fit a certain niche criteria. Did you enjoy past Paradox grand strategy game?s? Do you enjoy an??cient history? Is the only thing holding you back from becoming a dictator a lack of power?

If you answered yes to at least two of the three questions then go ahead and buy it as it is a definitive Paradox grand strategy set in the ancient era. Those who don't have a love of the time period though might be a tad overwhelmed by the scope of the world that awaits them in Imperator: Rome, but will still walk away happy.

Imperator: Rome (PC)
Developer: Paradox Development Studio
Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Released: April 25, 2019
MSRP: $39.99

If you've played a Paradox Grand Strategy before then you have a good idea of how things are going to work in Imperator: Rome. You assume the role of a nation that existed around 304 BCE ??and have complete control over their economy, military, government, forei?gn diplomacy, and to an extent their religion. Accumulate power based on what types of actions you perform and what type of government you run, spend it on actions: then the cycle continues until you either quit the game or weep like Alexander for the lack of new worlds to conquer.

As with every Paradox Grand Strategy, there are no static game-ending victory conditions in Imperator: Rome. You decide what you want to do, and are given the means to do it. There are still specific objectives that you can attempt to achieve if you play as one of the bigger nations but they won't end the game. For example: as Macedon you can strive to reunite Alexander's fallen empire, or as Rome you can enable a dictatorship through manipulation of the Senate and populace. As far as newer players go, Imperator has what I would ?say is the best Paradox tutorial to date. Yes it's still only skin deep and you'll be far from an expert when you're done, but it was nice t?o see a well thought out tutorial that went over the basics of playing a Paradox grand strategy instead of throwing you into the fray and forcing you to resort to YouTube tutorials.

While you can play as even the smallest nation that existed at t?he time, there is a lot more attention to detail put into a select few nations from the time period and as such you are steered in the direction of those nations for a better experience. The featured nations are Rome, Egypt, Carthage, Macedon, the Seleucid Empire, and Phrygia.  While there are a massive amount of other nations to choose from, I found playing as the smaller ones less encouraging as there was little in the way of objectives. Admittedly though, I'm not the biggest fan of ancient history, so those of you with a predilection for that time period might get more mileage out of playing as a smaller nation than I did.

That being said, the map is incredibly detailed and the fact that I can choose to play as one of the numerous nomadic tribes in pre-conquest Europe is really neat to see. I fully assume that down the line we will see smaller nations get embellished at least a little bit, given Paradox's habit of supporting games post-launch ??with DLC.

I'm a gigantic loser so the government and diplomacy mechanics was where I had the most fun with Imperator: Rome. As the head of government, you can select what type of international stance you will take and that affects how much your actions will cost and how other nations will see you. For a brief example, Rome starts out in a bellicose stance which means that they are consistently working towards expanding their territory and anything they do politically in support of that is cheaper. Contrast that with the economic stance that I pivoted Macedon to at the start of my game. I did this so I could gain an extra trade route and accumulate more wealth in preparation for a long war of conquest while having to pay more than I could have for aggressive war actions. You can also take a neutral, or apo?logetic stance depending on what you want to accomplish.

Through diplomacy you can forge alliances, defensive pacts, improve relation, insult a nation, arm rebels, the list goes on and on. Many of the actions have been found in previous Paradox games and are all different means of moving a multitude of resource sliders across your nation and?? those that inhabit the world around you. Thankfully everything that an action will do is laid out in a pop-up box that comes up when you hover over the action, so you aren't forced to remember what is exactly needed for a defensive pact to be formed. The lack of an in-game encyclopedia or note function is felt though, especially with h?ow complicated some of the actions and names can get.

Surprisingly, the war options are some of the best I've seen since I picked up the grand strategy genre. It's still menu based and completely out of your control once the battle starts but you can raise the effectiveness of your troops by building garrisons of synergistic troop types then placing them into different roles and tactical stances. It's not nearly as complex as Hearts of Iron IV has turned out to be, but the ability to choose tactics and stances is a great starting ground for future impr?ovements on war.

There's also a great siege mechanic that has you occupying regions where forts exist and sett??ing up camp. Each month you siege, you randomly roll a number from 1 to 14, you also get a bonus based on how long you've been sieging. The higher the number, the more damage you do to those in the fort. Eventually, you will break them and take over the castle. I don't know why I loved this mechanic so much, especially since it is so rooted in rng but it felt so right for t??he era that I couldn't help but watch every month's roll with eager anticipation.

The population concept from Victoria II returns in Imperator but in a more easily digestible fashion. Each province on the map has a number of people living in it, these populations are split into four classes, and depending on how many of each class you have in areas you contr??ol, your production and unrest go up and down. Each populace also has a culture and religion attached to it which can cause headaches if you are a foreign leader taking over their land, or if people start to immigrate into your area from a neighboring region. You can manipulate the populace by using political or religious power depending on what you are trying to accomplish, which I found fun in a maniacal way.

Character interaction is back from Crusader Kings II but in a subdued role. You will always play as the leader of the nation you are controlling, but characters in your country can disrupt or even dismantle your rule. In order to stay on everyone's good side, you must employ strategic manipulation through bribery and friendship and if that doesn't work you can jail them or have them killed. There are always consequences for your actions though,?? and you must make sure you are prepared to deal with them down the line.

Religion also plays a role in the game but as more of a silent hand that guides you in the shadows. As stated earlier, your populace will have a specific religion attached to it, as will all of your surrounding nations. Depending on which religion you follow, certain actions between nations will be easier or harder. As ruler, you can invoke religious omens to different gods that will bring about different stat bonuses over a certain period. I have to admit though, after Civilization VI introduced religious warfare I was hoping for a bit more from Paradox with this ??release but the utilization of this mechanic has left me unimpressed.

Imperator: Rome feels like it's yet another step in Paradox's attempts to make the perfect grand strategy game. It pulls bits from Paradox's storied past in the genre and adopts it for the ancient era. Because of this, it doesn't feel like past releases where the game does one thing fantastically and falters in the rest of the mechanics but instead refines past mechanics into a marble bust of megalomaniacal fun. Ave Imperator: Rome!

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher]}

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Switch port when?

Stellaris is one of those games that although I don't play it every day, I think about it a lot. The races and ??societies I take control of end up making their own little stories in my head and it turns into a wholly different experience than just a 4X grand strategy. Starting today, and for the first time in Paradox history, console players can get in on the grand strategy action, which is admittedly a lot of menu navigation but that's sorta my bag...baby.

The appropriately titled Stellaris: Console Edition is now available on the PS4 and Xbox One storefronts in a standard edition for $39.99, or the deluxe edition for $59.99 that contains the Leviathans story pack, Plantoids species pack, and Utopia expansion. For those who play on PC and ??are considering the double dip, be cautious as the console edition is rolled all the way back to version 1.7. If you've gotten used to newer versions, this might be a shock -- or maybe a pleasant trip down memory lane?

Multiplayer is in the works and is expected to arrive in the console edition of Stellaris this spring, which doesn't say muc??h since spring starts in either a month or two days, depending on how you count it.

I do hope this does well. I genuinely love grand strategy games and it's part of the reason I migrated back to being a PC gamer because there hasn't been anything like this before on a console. So to see one of my favorite genres come to a new group of players warms my cold, calculat??ing heart.

All hail Blorg!

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Operation Bagration is a go

Last year I was given the opportunity to see a behind-closed-doors demo of Eugen Systems' World War II tactical strategy game Steel Division II. What I ??saw there left m??e wanting and waiting for more. At the time, the only thing close to a release date that I could pry out of them was "2019." Today I can officially begin my countdown clock because Steel Division II launches on April 4.

I have to say, this doesn't have the same gravity as when Steel Division: Normandy '44 launched on June 6, the same day that Operation Overlord, the mission you undertook in-game, launched. There's a silver lining though as we get it earlier than if they waited for Operation Bagration's launch date in late June. The game's release will come with some incentives both for pre-orders as well as returning strategists from Normandy '44.

Taking a page from recent strategy game releases, there are four different tiers of pre-orders for generalissimos to choose from. With prices ranging from $39.99 to $79.99, all pre-orders come with 10 free post-launch DLC packs, exclusive units, as well as access to the beta. For those who want to shell out the extra cash, there are various season passes that give extras catering to both the behind-the-scenes fan and history buff alike. Here's a full breakdown on each package.

What is more exciting to me is the fact that anyone who owns Steel Division: Normandy '44 before launch will be able to deploy select units from the first game in Steel Division II's multiplayer. There will be more than 350 units from four nations that were used in Operation Overlord available for deployment. The best part about this pack is that it's completely free for returning users. Sure, it's completely history-b??reaking to see American troops in Soviet territory, but it's bound to create some interesting multiplayer battles.

Steel Division II will be available April 4 for Windows PC.

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Finally trade routes

I love Paradox Interactive games because they allow me to indulge my inner megalomaniac, but even I have to admit that sometime??s they ship sans some key elements. I can look past these shortcomings as their games are usually always 40 bucks at launch and supported through long-term expansions as well as free updates to the base game.

When Stellaris released in 2016, it was an amazing mix of the 4X and grand strategy genres with a great science-fiction skin over it. But one problem that has always persisted is the lack of economic interaction between the interstellar factions. Thankfully the free "Le Guin" update for Stellaris that will release alongside the Megacorp expansion will ??finally address a few of my qualms with the game, especia??lly in the economic category.

The above video details some more of the features of the Megacorp expansion that were hinted at in my announcement piece from a few months ago. While the new units and factions are interesting, it's more of the mechanic additions that interest me.? Megacorps can place "branch offices" on planets that connect their trade value to the megacorp's value, benefiting both parties. Also included in the expansion is a galactic trading market where you can buy and sell goods, if you've got the coin. Slave trading is also making its debut and will be available to any faction so long as they are a part of the galactic market (more on that next). All of these features will be included in the paid expansion but like my mother before me, it's the free stuff that has me most excited.

To start things off, the grid-based system for structures on inhabited planets is gone. Good riddance. The grid system is now replaced with districts, buildings, and jobs. Fro??m the brief look in the trailer, the planet mechanics now look to be more about upgrading your districts to put buildings in that will then in turn create jobs and ultimately resources. Whereas the previous grid format felt constraining, this feels more in tune with the futuristic setting.

As previously mentioned there will be a new galactic market, and while you'll have to pay for the ability to become a slaver, buying and selling goods will be included in the free update. This market will?? be bolstered by the addition of new resource types that will further strain y??our supply/demand balances.

Finally, the addition that has me quivering with excitement is trade routes and trade values. Factions and their production ??units will now generate a new resource called "trade value." As well, each faction will assign a trade capital in their empire, and all of their trade value must flow through there with trade routes. These routes can then be connected to other factions creating trade networks. You don't need to call me a dork for loving this stuff, I already know what I am.

The Megacorp expansion will run you $19.99 and will release alongside the "Le Guin" update on December 6. Who needs Smash Bros. anyway?

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Tim Curry cannot catch a break

It's nice to have constants in this world. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, tides come in and go back out again, and Paradox releases post-launch DLC for all of their games. This expansion for Stellaris is for all you corpo-wannabes.

MegaCorp will bri?ng CEOs to the final frontier that will be able to conduct business, possibly across governmental lines.

CE?Os will be able to set up offices on planets that are within their trade network and? then, using those offices, will be able to present solutions to population problems on planet. These offices will take a bit off the top of the trade value of the planet they are situated on in order to grow their wealth.

The biggest change for already existing mechanics look?s to be the ability to make a megacity that covers an entire planet, thus vastly increasing population capacity. There are other new buildings that can be built on planets, but details on them are pretty scarce right now. New encounters will also be added, with drifting corporate trader fleets looking to score deals across the galaxy.

As is always the case with these things, there's a dark underbelly that can be exploited by space governm??ents that don't mind getting their hands and conscience dirty. Through ??the wonders of space capitalism you will be able to buy and sell slave labor, isn't space dandy? Fear not though, for you will also be able to do the right thing and free the slaves you buy, so your government can turn into an intergalactic underground railroad if you so choose.

It feels appropriate that MegaCorp doesn't have a release date set yet but can be pre-ordered over at Paradox's main website. The expansion will run you $19.??99 and will release alongside the usual free expansion, bringing updates and changes to the base game??.

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Live your best Generalissimo life

This week I was able to get a behind the scenes look at the work Eugen Systems has been putting into their upcoming World War II strategy game Steel Division II. From the onset of the demo, when game director Alexis Le Dressay said that they were looking to make the sequel more historically focused, I knew I was in for a treat. What was revealed makes me think Eugen Systems heard every issue I had with the first Steel Division and addressed it perfectly.

The demo (which was hosted by Le?? Dressay and Pierre-Yves Navetat, marketing and communications manager for Eugen) mostly focused on the new features that are coming to the game. The core tactical gameplay will stick around, but it's being bolstered and supported by a new dynamic strategic campaign that will help players get a better feel for what it was like in the war rooms of Eastern Europe in the summer of 1944.

Taking place along the Eastern front, Steel Division II will bring the military triumph of the Sov??iet Union's Operation Bagration to a western audience that hasn't seen many praises of the Soviet offensive. The campaign starts on June 22nd, 1944, the day Operation Bagration started. The operation was the Soviet contribution to the Allied effort, in the summer of 1944, to bring about the end of the war by Christmas by closing in on all fronts.

At the onset of the operation, you are stretched along a 1000km front a??nd pushing west towards Germany. The demo started four days after the beginning of the operation as the Soviet Union moved towards Minsk. Le Dressay, who was playing the demo, had control of four Soviet divisions that were assaulting two German divisions.

Unlike the first game, where you just got told where you were going and a briefing along the way to your tactical battle, Steel Division II allows you to step into the boots of a Four-Star General and move units around a map in a turn-based strategic mode. The units can all move different lengths depending on how mobile they are and the terrain they are attempting to traverse. Turns take half of your available daylight, leaving you with two turns before a new day dawns. Since speed is the key, it helps to move along roads where travel is fastest, but that can leave you open to stretching your armies, unable to re??inforce each other should? one encounter the enemy.

In the Dynamic Strategic Campaign mode, all units are labeled using NATO joint military symbology. Because I lack a life, I know how to read these icons, but for others it might be a tad overwhelming. ?To make it easier for people who value social interaction above understanding historical tactics maps, each of the units are given a value in assault, armored, and artillery. With these values, you can know which units to keep near the front and those you want to lag behind a bit. The best thing is that the choice is all yours.

At the end of each of your turns, the enemy is allowed to move in response to your actions. A fog of war exists, so there may be some enemies hiding just out of your eyesight that could come in an ambush you if you aren't careful. You can send scout units out, but in my demo Le Dressay accidentally sent his scouts too far and they were left stranded from possible reinforcements for half a day. As I watched this mode unfold, it reminded me a lot of tabletop wargaming and the popular World War II strategy game Burden of Command.

As you move your units towards your objectives you will encounter enemies defending key points such as smaller towns and bridges. You can resolve these encounters by eithe?r going into the tactical mode and playing out the battle like you could in the first game, or you can choose to have the battle auto-resolved. Whichever method you decide, you can only choose five units to bring into the battle, and when you can deploy them all depends on how far they are from the battleground.

Battles still move in phases but unlike the first game where they tiered phases based on unit strength, in Steel Division II you are able to pull any unit you want at any time of the battle, so long as they can reach the?? battle in time. So you could hypothetically lead with your strongest unit in the first phase to give the Germans a taste of their own Blitzkrieg, but it leaves them open to getting overrun without reinforcement to back them up. If you are overrun in the first or second phase, the battle is considered a complete loss and you can't receive your second or third reinforcements appropriately. With all this choice you are given enough rope to hang yourself with and in the context of strategy gaming that's a beautiful thing.

Speaking on why he wanted to bring another strategic layer into the game, Le Dressay said: "it is impossible to do a very interesting tactical game if you don't have a ??good idea of what is happening at a strategic decision level." A fellow fan of the grand strategy genre, Le Dressay spoke on how he found it frustrating that the genre had abstract battle mechanics and wanted to bring some of the genre into Eugen's proven tactical strategy track record. With this new implementation, it seems that Le Dressay and his team are on the warpath to creating the ultimate strategy game by allowing you to?????????????????????????? apply your military knowledge to every level of Operation Bagration.

As stated earlier, not many c??hanges were made to the tactical battles as of the current demo, but one big change is that you can now zoom in on your units to get a ground-level view of the battlefield. This includes being able to see the historically accurate terrain and get a better feel for enemy sightlines as well as giving off a very tabletop miniature feel. As we watched the Soviet tanks roll down towards Minsk from a vantage point on? top of a hill, I had visions of screaming at the enemy AI about how I'd read their book.

Another cosmetic change that was made to the game is that there was much more detail put into the character and vehicle models. Pulling from historic designs on both sides of the?? war, painstaking detail has been put into the models to make even the savviest miniature fan a little bit jealous.

To conclude the demo, Le Dressay reiterated that the number one goal of this game was to make a game for military history fans. From the dynamic strategic campaign map using actual German military intelligence maps to making every unit that was available along the eastern front usable in multiplayer, Steel Division II is meant to revive hi??story in a way only gaming can.

When pressed about a possible release date, Eugen gave a vague release window of 2019, but made sure to mention that this wasn't concrete. While you wait, you can sign up for the newsletter. How will I pass the time? Oh, you know just listening to this on repeat while breaking in my ushanka, wistfully dr??eaming of when I can actually get my hands on the game. Until then, dasvidaniya comrades!

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Colony drop not included

For everyone who thought they had an excuse when I asked them why they don't play grand strategies, think again! This morning ahead of Gamescom, Paradox Interactive announced that its runaway hit Stellaris would be the first grand strategy game to grace home consoles. Soon PlayStation 4 and Xbox One users will be able to feel uneasy when a Xenophobic war-mongering species shows up at one of their border planets, an??d the glory of the Blorg. All praise the Blorg!

Paradox is once again trusting the folks at Tantalus Media to port its game from the complexity of the keyboard and mouse setup down to the simplicity of a controller. Tantalus previously worked with Paradox in bringing its better than Sim City city-builder Cities: Skylines to consoles.

There is little information about how Tantalus will handle this task but if the studio is going to try to bring a grand strategy game to the console audience, then Stellaris is a great place to start. While the core gameplay of complete management of everything about your empire is there, it's simple enough where you can see it easily getting ported ??to the console without losing much or any of the grand strategy genre's integrity. The only conc?ern I can see gameplay-wise is selecting multiple units at once to attack/defend but I'm sure Tantalus is on the case.

My biggest concern overall is how the modding scene will be implemented if it is even implemented at all. Stellaris is a great game and a nice stepping stone into grand strategy, but mods are a huge part of the PC community. I hope Paradox has some plans in place to bring them to console as well. The Star Wars: A Galaxy Divided mod on PC fills my need for a deep strategic Star Wars?? game and it would be a shame if others weren't able to experience it.

Stellaris: Console Edition will come in two editions, standard and deluxe. The standard edition includes the base game, while the deluxe edition will come out with the Leviathans Story Pack, Plantoid Species Pack, and Utopia Expansion. The game will also release at version 1.7 with plans to roll out newer versions as?? more DLC is made avail??able.

No release date is set as of no??w but the game will be playable at Gamescom this week, specifically Hall 9.1 A-060 for any readers who will be at the conferenc??e.

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Questions of morality

Crusader Kings II is a fantastic strategy game that combines the best of real-world geographical loca??tions, history, and unique player-driven stories. That said, when I'm not playing Crusader Kings II, one of my favorite pastimes is browsing the? community ??page on Steam or the various subreddits.

Why? It's simpl?e: without the lens of context, it becomes one of the most h?ilarious (and disturbing) communities out there.

Truly, one of the most troubling things a father can ?go through is trying to stop his son from banging his own mother. Thankfully, it would seem Reddit user AlphaCodeNumerial found a solut?ion. Sadly, though, their son won't be entering the priesthood anytime soon.

Reddit user sta6 asks a simple query, and in return, receives ?an answer that will result in attractive, genius, and inbred weaponized superhuman children. Now all they have to do is convince their cousin!

Reddit user Tutorele went down a very dark path. Now it would seem they're paying the consequences. Here's hoping their plea for help is answered. My advice: maybe do some soul searching (if?? you still have one)?

You'?ve gotta hate when that happens. Thankfully for Reddit user A_Sentient_Top_Hat, if their husband isn't in heav??en now, he certainly was beforehand.

On the plus side, perhaps he'll be an inbred su??perhuman that can be weaponized?

For those of you interested in more out-of-context hilarity from the Crusader Kings II community, I highly recommend you check out the ShitCrusaderKingsSay subreddit for more! You can als??????????????????????????o check out some more images I whipped up in the gallery below. E??njoy!

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Paradox gonna Paradox

Today at PDXcon's announcement show, among the game reveals, news of more DLC packs for Crusader Kings II, Europa Universalis IV, and Stellaris were all announced to be coming in 2018.

The first pack to be released will be the Stellaris story pack, Distant Stars. The pack will a?dd new solar systems and "a mysterious sealed off constellation entirely removed from our galaxy." The main focus of this pack will be returning the thrill of exploring the galaxy by adding in mor??e anomalies when traveling through space.

The free update that accompanies the game will introduce new types of stars to the base game, and to help keep all the new anomalies organized, the anomaly menu system has also been reworked. Distant Stars will be available for purc??hase on May 22,?? and will sell for $9.99.

The Crusader Kings II expansion, titled Holy Fury, introduces two new warring factions: the Northern Crusaders of Catholic Europe, and their Pagan neighbors just to the north. Holy Fury will add bloodlines into ??the mechanics where characters that are descendants of great leaders such as Charlemagne will have compara??ble skills to their ancestors.

New crusade events, succession laws, and changes to the way religion works will also accompany the expansion as well as the ability to have your character be canonized or even coronated as ruler because a higher power demands it. Holy Fury only has a release window of 2018 so far but when it does release, it w??ill run you $19.99, as well as be joined by a free update for those unwilling to buy it.

Finally the Europa Universalis IV expansion, Dharma, will retool and expand the country of India and how the outside world will attempt to utilize and exploit the East Asian countries that surround it. Focusing mostly on peacetime interactions, the government mechanics for many of the nations will be customized and reworked so that they feel more appropriate. Indian mission trees will be introduced as well as a special new government for those players that already own the Cossack expansion.

As well as the government mechanics, the trade system will be reworked to allow European nations to "interact" more with Asia??n and African nations. This includes adding in a charter company that will allow rich nations to buy their way into trading so long as you can find a ruler that trusts you. Trade centers will also be able to be upgraded, further expanding your means of making money.

The accompanying free update will rework the maps of India, Tibet, and Burma as well as spruce up the look of the policy system. Like Holy Fury, Dharma doesn't have a set release date and instead is only listed as coming by the end of the year. Dharma, like Fury, will also run you $19.99.

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Deus Vult!

Paradox Development Studio is known for its grand strategy games that have largely the same gameplay but are spread about different eras of human history. Six years ago though it released Crusader Kings II and while you could still move about Europe expanding your empire and spreading your influence like most other grand strategy games, there was an expanded diplomacy and her??itage system that perfectly brought in the best elements of the role-playing genre.

Ever since the game released, Paradox has been supporting the game through DLC and expansions that range from small things like unlocking new kingdoms to play as all the way up to the latest expansion which added an unplayable but still influential Chinese kingdom that changed how you played in Eastern Asia. Some people think the DLC plan is bad but for a chunk of Crusader Kings players, it is the only game they pl??ay so tossing another 15 bucks to the developers every six months isn't the worst thing in the world for something you love.

Today, Steam announced that if you simply click the install button on the Crusader Kings II store page before Saturday at 10:00 AM Pac?ific, the game will be permanently linked to your account for free. You don't even need to install it at the time, just click it and it's yours forever.

While the base game is paltry compared to what the game has become over the years, it's suggested that you learn the basics of Crusader Kings II with the base state so as to not be overwhelmed by every piece of DLC and ??expansion that has come out. If you are feeling bold or already own the game, the entire DLC catalog is on sale.

I do wonder why they are giving this away. Victoria and Crusader Kings are the two oldest series in the Paradox rotation that haven't received a sequel in recent years and the usual turn around on sequels is seven years. Could this be Paradox's way of gathering hype for the next release in the Crusader Kings series? Only time will tell. Until then, go forth and conquer for the Glory of the King, ??and if my words aren't enough to con??vince you then why not listen to Paradox Interactive CEO Fredrik Wester?

As if you needed another reason to play Crusader Kings II, here is a classic. "Crusader Kings II forum out of context" pic.twitter.com/eNxCZyka5f

— Fredrik Wester (@TheWesterFront) April 5, 2018

Crusader Kings II [Steam]

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Perfect time to jump onto the genre that will suck your life away

Well well well, what have we here? A new Humble Bundle from the good people at Paradox Interactive? Don't mind if I do, and I hope you will too. Granted you will have to be a strategy fan to appreciate this bundle as the majority of games in it are in the grand strategy genre. But, if you are curious about the genre then now is a great time to jump on. Pa??radox is also known for pumping its games full of DLC post-release so this is a good time to get some of its base games on the cheap then decide later if you want the DLC.

The pay-what-you-want tier has the most wide-appealing mix of games with the magic based co-op-centric game Magica 2, the hands-off real-time strategy Majesty 2, and the city-sim Cities in Motion 2.

The beat-the-average tier is where it starts to get into what Paradox is known for, grand strategies. Crusader Kings II with The Old Gods DLC, Hearts of Iron III Complete, and Europa Universalis III Complete will fill your life with all the strategy you could ever want. There's also quite a few mods around for these games, especially Crusader Kings II if that type of thing is your bag. The critically acclaimed CRPG Pillars of Eternity is also in this tier which has been on my watch list for a while, and ultimately sealed me g??etting the bundle.

Finally in the $12 tier is what I would consider to be the most accessible grand strategy that Paradox has ever put out. Stellaris is a science fiction grand strat that has an actual tutorial in it as opposed to every other Paradox release that just throws you into the deep end and expects you to float. It's also the only grand strat that they have released that isn't based on history so you don't f??eel obligated to cross over into Poland as Nazi Ger?many on September 1st, 1939.

Humble Paradox Bundle 2018 [Humble Bundle]

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You get a beard, you get a beard, everyone gets a beard!

Paradox Interactive is good people. While they inexplicably increased the prices of the majority of their titles and DLC in multiple regions, much to the chagrin of their fanbase, they quickly changed their minds in the face of criticism and decided to make things right. The price increase was a move made to level out regional pricing of their g?ames, but made a lot of their fanbase pretty miffed, especially in Russia and Western Europe, two regions which were hit the hardest by the move.

The deal is, if you bought a Paradox product from between May 17 up until now, you can opt in for a free game or two DLC as compensation for the difference. Those who pre-ordered Steel Division: Normandy 44 in any currency except the mighty US Dollar can also opt in to take advantage of this deal. There is a lengthy forum post up explainin?g the process of how to take advantage of the offer.

But what I am really here to talk about...is beards. Crusader Kings II is a game I wanted to love. It was just a little to dry for my taste; one of those "theoretical games" that sounds absolutely wonderful, but which I probably won't ever be able to enjoy, similar to titles like Dwarf Fortress.

But the trailer for their Crusader Kings II expansion, The Old Gods, still has to be the best thing I ??have ever seen. I will take any opportunity I can as an excuse to repost it.

BEARD

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