Hearts of Iron IV

Hearts Of Iron 4 manages to surpass its only rival in this sector, Hearts of Iron III, delivering the best strategy experience available, from your armchair.

The best grand strategy game out there. The setting is added an excellent level of authenticity with the battle-plan feature, excellent Ai and a world map that is absolutely splendid to look at and watch the war unfold. Combined with a well developed political and infrastructure system, there is so much that can be done in the game, one that will absorb your time and leave you with lost time.

Hearts of Iron IV is a no-nonsense strategy game. Its steep learning curve will challenge you from the start, but will reward you with one of the most satisfying experiences in the genre. Invest on it and prepare for a lot of sleepless nights.

Hearts of Iron 4 is a wonderful grand strategy experience capable of giving the player many interesting levers while explaining them properly and efficiently; also it comes with top notch production values.

Hearts of Iron IV has learned from its past and, thanks to his experience in strategy games, Paradox Interactive has created one of the best wargames set in the World War II.

Hearts of Iron IV goes further than any other Paradox game. One of the best war simulators games ever made.

Hearts of Iron IV is an easy recommendation for grand strategy fans of all ages and encourages them to take the time to figure everything out.

Sandbox possibilities and endless ‘what-if’ questions bump up what is already an impressive level of replayability. Paradox Interactive have created a game that strategy gamers and history buffs should get on their shelves as soon as possible.

Hearts of Iron 4 wields complexity like a swift armor division during the blitzkrieg, allowing it to serve the idea of layered, cerebral, strategic warfare instead of letting it needlessly bog down the experience.

The best 2016 wargame, a great sequel to Hearts Of Iron III, endless possibilities of tactics personalization; worst thing is its technical performance on some PCs

Hearts of Iron 4 in one word is "optimization". There is now proper gameplay mechanics instead of duct-taped hacks and artificial restrictions seen in previous installments; the AI, freed from dozens of scripts, now thinks and acts on its own, while the game itself is more accessible and comprehensible, but still offers the same depth.

The game does a fantastic job at delivering accurate content and historical events. It does all this while allowing the player to go in any direction during a campaign.

It captivates me because—imperfectly, impressionistically, and perhaps a little amorally—it lets me orchestrate the most titanic armed struggles in history, from the fussy economic details to the cut-and-thrust of mechanized warfare. There are other great strategic-level wargames out there. But I have never played anything like Hearts of Iron 4.

Hearts of Iron IV improve the interface and some features of the third chapter, without sacrificing the typical complexity of the series.

Hearts of Iron 4 successfully streamlines a complex strategy game while still retaining the feel of total industrial warfare. AI difficulties persist, however, and some revamped mechanics still need a bit of polishing. [Aug 2016]

Hearts of Iron IV is one of the best war simulators games that you can play right now.

Hearts of Iron IV has some not especially well-done economical solutions but at the same time has such a great combat system, wide scope and a very complex gameplay that it's a perfect game for seasoned strategy fans. All of this is also quite pretty and much more approachable for newbies (without sacrificing anything along the way).

A great game with a couple of fatal flaws, mainly in the AI department.

Hearts of Iron IV throws the player in the midst of the WWII, offering a deep gameplay and a spectacular freedom. There are still some things than can be polished and improved (AI above all), but Paradox laid the foundation for one of the greatest strategic titles ever produced.

Hearts of Iron 4 is extremely complex with love for details - a nightmare for beginners, but maybe still too easy for veterans of the series.

Excellent revival of a rusty brand with improved accessibility to a wider audience. Paradox studio has rocked in recent years and proof of this is the best episode of the series Hearts of Iron. [Issue#266]

A brilliant, deep strategy game that offers a lot and at the same time leaves much room for growth, which probable means it will ripen over the years. [08/2016, p.62]

For now, after many dozens of hours, I'm taking a break from Hearts of Iron 4. Not because I'm sick of it; quite the contrary, in fact. What I need to do is some serious reading, some careful planning on what my vision for the United States should be in 1936. And when I've done that planning — when I've formulated my character sheet, as it were — I have the utmost confidence that Hearts of Iron 4 will be ready for me to play a role in world affairs.

Amazingly sophisticated and despite its complexity surprisingly accessible strategy for all enthusiasts of the Second World War. It’s easier than the previous game, it has flaws, but it still rocks.

Hearts of Iron 4 makes it hard to sometimes register what's happening on all the fronts, but gameplay is extremely engaging - and exciting, when watching the frontlines move. Paradox Interactive managed to create an atmosphere of overwhelming conflict, making it very hard to quit.

Hearts of Iron IV proves why it’s the king of grand strategy games once more. With a plethora of improvements, this game is a must-have for every grand strategy and history buff.

Hearts of Iron IV mixes in a very accurate way political and military management, although its graphic interface is meant to be understood by experts of the genre.

For the dedicated, Hearts of Iron IV could end up being the best grand strategy game in some time. It’s many disparate pieces harmonize, and your decisions, and the responses of foes and allies, are different each and every time. While human drama might get lost in the spreadsheets and figures, there’s nothing quite like seeing the culmination of a strategy you’ve invested in since 1936 pay its dividends in 1945.

Quotation forthcoming.

What makes Heart of Iron IV work is the fact that although it’s moulded around just ten years of history, it offers so much historical background and variable outcomes, and as such packs a mightier punch than might be at first expected. It’s complicated - overly so at times - and may not offer the same amount of replayability as other genre similars, but one thing is certain: there is rarely a dull moment.

The game has good economics system, interface shortcomings will probably get patched and DLCs will add stuff that’s missing right now (like spying mechanics or ability to play in early Cold War period). But that bloody mandatory AI assistance is obviously here to stay, so there’s only two options – either learn to accept it, or wait for a total conversion. [Issue#211, p.70]

Hearts of Iron 4 is a strategy game with a nice flow. The many aspects of war are realistically embedded in the game, thought the AI unfortunately fails very often.

It demands dedication (unless you’re a series vet) and neither AI nor UI are exactly flawless, but once you’re entrenched Hearts of Iron IV reveals itself as a capable and absorbing alt-history WW2 generator.

Hearts of Iron IV is an ambitious grand strategy game. The different components work well, but nothing in the game really stands out as impressive or entertaining.

The complexity and slow speed of how things evolve take the fun down notches lower than it otherwise would deserve. Endless clicking through menus, and a glacial speed, ruin what could have been a pretty slick overall experience.