It feels very different from the old Paradox strategy of releasing a base game to be expanded on later. As it stands now, it feels complete, with a strong foundation. The gameplay is good, and the (much) earlier startdate as compared to EU4 is a fresh take. Expansion hurts, and new territories are hard to control, and militaries still rely heavily on levees instead of professional troops. Diplomacy hasn't received a lot of love since EU4, which is unfortunate - it's the same formula pretty much - although the diplomats change is nice.
Now, for the elephant in the room. The UI is awful. I hated it when I saw it in the previews, and it's not better in game. It feels childish - and it seems to focus on the wrong things. Aside from the economy panel, tooltips are huge, panels cover the screen, and dear god, managing the new formations mechanic is bad. I can't tell the difference between my units, and the many icons of the economy or other features at a glance.
At the end of the day. the management side of the game is much more in depth than its predecescer, and the military and external affairs have been passed up. That is to say, if you liked EU4, and wish it was more like Victoria 3, or Stellaris you'll probably like this. If you liked EU4, and wish it was more like HOI4, you'll probably dislike this.

It feels very different from the old Paradox strategy of releasing a base game to be expanded on later. As it stands now, it feels complete, with a strong foundation. The gameplay is good, and the (much) earlier startdate as compared to EU4 is a fresh take. Expansion hurts, and new territories are hard to control, and militaries still rely heavily on levees instead of professional troops. Diplomacy hasn't received a lot of love since EU4, which is unfortunate - it's the same formula pretty much - although the diplomats change is nice. Now, for the elephant in the room. The UI is awful. I hated it when I saw it in the previews, and it's not better in game. It feels childish - and it seems to focus on the wrong things. Aside from the economy panel, tooltips are huge, panels cover the screen, and dear god, managing the new formations mechanic is bad. I can't tell the difference between my units, and the many icons of the economy or other features at a glance. At the end of the day. the management side of the game is much more in depth than its predecescer, and the military and external affairs have been passed up. That is to say, if you liked EU4, and wish it was more like Victoria 3, or Stellaris you'll probably like this. If you liked EU4, and wish it was more like HOI4, you'll probably dislike this.