Mario Bautista
If there’s one thing Paradox Interactive is great at, it’s making grand strategy games. We’ve got Stellaris, Hearts of Iron 4, Crusader Kings 3, Victoria, and of course Europa Universalis 4. With over a decade of updates and DLC, EU4 is a Steam stalwart that’s easily the pre-eminent Middle Ages games out there. If you’ve never played it, then, you can grab it for the cheapest it’s ever been alongside a slate of free DLC right now. With Paradox continuing to tease Europa Universalis 5, there’s no better time to give its predecessor a try.
Europa Universalis 4 is a sweeping grand strategy game. Set at the tail end of the Middle Ages, you choose to control one of hundreds of cultures and countries. Then you’ve got centuries to steer the nation’s economy, trade, politics, and of course, military. While historical accuracy is the name of the game, EU4 is an easy recommendation if you’re a Total War, Civilization, or Age of Empires fan. After all, history and strategy go together like butter on toast.
It’s also worth buying the EU4 Starter Edition, as while this comes with some extras, it’s cheaper than just the base game alone right now. Paradox even made those expansions in the SE into Europa Universalis free DLC on Thursday October 10. So the Starter Edition is both the cheapest, and the DLC it comes with also free to all owners on Steam right now.
If you’re returning to EU4 as someone who’s already purchased it, there are four expansions you can redeem for free if you don’t currently own them: Rights of Man, Art of War, the Digital Extreme Upgrade, and Common Sense. If you purchased these individually at full price, it would have set you back $60, but now it’s all free to current and new owners of the game. There’s also loads more Europa Universalis 4 DLC to get stuck into, with all of it between 20-70% off right now.
When you’re done with the Steam sale, that’s not even the end of the story. There’s a growing collection of Europa Universalis 4 mods out there, with many creators still making them today. The Imperium Universalis mod came out mere months ago, allowing you to transpose the game all the way back to 612 BC. Between Aegean city-states, the Chinese Zhou dynasty, and the very early days of the Roman Empire, there’s a lot to get stuck into.
Paradox is selling the Europa Universalis 4 Starter Edition at 90% off, the cheapest it’s ever been, until Wednesday October 23. You can expect to pay $4.99 / £4.19 for the base game until then, with some of the DLC merging into the base game on Thursday, October 17. You’ll find the game on Steam right here.
If you want more than just EU4 there are plenty of incredible strategy games, and even turn-based strategy games to check out instead.
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