Victoria II: Heart of Darkness

 PC
Victoria II: Heart of Darkness Image
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81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 78 Ratings

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  • Summary: Victoria II: Heart of Darkness, the second expansion for the grand strategy/ political simulator focuses on the Scramble for Africa as you compete with other colonial powers and experience international crises which require Great Power mediation if the world is to avoid war.
    Become a truly    Victoria II: Heart of Darkness, the second expansion for the grand strategy/ political simulator focuses on the Scramble for Africa as you compete with other colonial powers and experience international crises which require Great Power mediation if the world is to avoid war.
    Become a truly great power by the dawn of the 20th century in Victoria II, an experience crafted by Paradox Development Studio, the masters of Grand Strategy.    … Expand

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Victoria II: Heart of Darkness - Developer Diary

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Gaming Nexus
    Jun 11, 2013
    85
    After some patching and a couple of expansions, Victoria 2 is rounding into shape. It is still deep with a killer learning curve, but it is starting to feel like a fun game rather than a buggy spreadsheet.
  2. Destructoid
    May 10, 2013
    85
    It's still huge and uncompromising, but there's no better way to experience Victoria II. The improved combat and naval mechanics were oft-requested, and Paradox followed through, while the new features make the studio's vision of Victorian war, politics, and economics all the more believable and grand.
  3. Impulsegamer
    May 15, 2013
    85
    For the more casual gamer they may feel over whelmed with the depth of control to be had, the game does a fair enough job automating some of the tasks for you. So if your bold enough jump into Victoria II and its latest add on Heart of Darkness.
  4. Eurogamer Italy
    May 8, 2013
    80
    Heart of Darkness takes Victoria II to the colonialism age, giving a deeper strategy vision and more engaging gameplay; the crisis system is a very good implementation and the feelings of grand strategy were never so good.
  5. Riot Pixels
    Sep 19, 2013
    80
    Just like Victoria 2: A House Divided, Heart of Darkness is a well-done expansion pack. Its improvements are focused on some very specific gameplay aspects, but they’re really deep.
  6. Quarter to Three
    May 20, 2013
    80
    The revised naval combat turns battles into more than just bags of hitpoints slamming into each other at sea. At a time when naval power was so important, the added detail is welcome. And that’s pretty much what Heart of Darkness does for Victoria II: a new level of detail to encourage you to get out and see a bit more of the world.
  7. PC Gamer UK
    Jun 19, 2013
    75
    Once the dominion diarrhea is sorted out, an essential purchase for owners of Victoria II: A House Divided. [July 2013, p.96]
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User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 12
  3. Negative: 1 out of 12
  1. Affiliatorz
    Sep 17, 2013
    10
    Immersive grand strategy game, improving on the earlier versions. It is awesome especially with POP Demand Mod. Give it a try to see how itImmersive grand strategy game, improving on the earlier versions. It is awesome especially with POP Demand Mod. Give it a try to see how it polishes an already good game … Expand
  2. karimov
    Jun 11, 2013
    10
    A nice feature I was waiting for was a larger African and colonial factor. Now you can have competing colonization on a larger scale, naviesA nice feature I was waiting for was a larger African and colonial factor. Now you can have competing colonization on a larger scale, navies are much more important, and African states can be released into act… Expand
  4. djswope94
    Aug 20, 2013
    10
    The expansion was a great one. First it opened Africa up to more than the normal maybe 4 to 5 countries making the competition for Africa moreThe expansion was a great one. First it opened Africa up to more than the normal maybe 4 to 5 countries making the competition for Africa more interesting. Also The crisis feature adds a nice touch of new diplomacy to the creating a sense of war possibly popping up all due to empire building. So overall i enjoyed it a lot.… Expand
  5. TheGamer31
    Aug 2, 2015
    9
    If you have HoD I strongly recommend you download and play the Ultimate mod. This is one of the greatest DLCs for any game, it add a lot ofIf you have HoD I strongly recommend you download and play the Ultimate mod. This is one of the greatest DLCs for any game, it add a lot of content, fixes bugs and makes the game more fun and playable as a whole.… Expand
  6. CBH
    Oct 17, 2017
    9
    Victoria 2 on its own was pretty bad. Yellow Prussia was one thing, but its general lack of depth, huge amount of glitches and overhype gaveVictoria 2 on its own was pretty bad. Yellow Prussia was one thing, but its general lack of depth, huge amount of glitches and overhype gave the impression that it needed a hell of a lot longer in the oven. Heart of Darkness is what made Victoria 2 turn from an embarrassment into one of the grand strategy games of all time. Do not buy Victoria 2 without it and its predecessor, but don't buy them at full price, either. As good as they are, nothing that old deserves to cost so much.… Expand
  7. theirrelephants
    Sep 20, 2016
    8
    The game that got me into the grand strategy genre, I still find it the most fun out of all the ones I've played. Even if I'll probably neverThe game that got me into the grand strategy genre, I still find it the most fun out of all the ones I've played. Even if I'll probably never understand the economics mechanics or factories (then again, neither do the developers after the genius who wrote that code quit).

    My one gripe is that like most Paradox games, once you figure out the best 'optimal stack' of army units to use, you can generally steamroll the AI despite having lesser numbers.

    Anyone can conquer the world as Germany, but it takes talent to reform Byzantium as Greece.    … Expand
  8. Damascus
    Mar 1, 2015
    3
    Five reasons this game is absolute s h i t e !

    1. I needed community support to even start the game. 2. Game-mechanics are somewhat    Five reasons this game is absolute s h i t e !

    1. I needed community support to even start the game.

    2. Game-mechanics are somewhat booring. Rather limited options for doing anything.

    3. Once you become a Great Power you must spend the rest of the game watching the influence interface, trying to jocky your sphere of influence into the AIs. About as fun as watching an intrument-panel on a random factory-machine.

    4. Every 5-20 seconds the game throws a splash-screen in your face, demanding you press "confirm" or make a choice that have a miniscule impact on your game. Until you do, it will either lock the game in pause or block your view while the game is still running.

    5. You have to go online to learn how to play the game.    … Expand

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48
#48 Best PC Game of 2013

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