High learning curve, but once you learned the basics, the game starts getting more interesting. There are many options for diplomacy, and I'm happy that vassals actually do helpful work during the course of the game (looking at the Total War series for this). I've read this somewhere before, but it really is "Risk with more buttons".

Many will compare this to the Civilization series, but this game is different in many ways. In Civilization, everyone starts off relatively the same with an equal playing field, and there are clear objectives to win the game (domination, science, etc). Each civilization has unique bonuses and/or units that cater to certain playstyles. You also have to manage your resources more. I like to think of Civilization as a more arcadey game with historical aspects.

In EU4, there are no "turns" as everything is happening in real time, but you are free to control the speed at which the game plays and can even pause the game whenever you wish. In EU4, the game starts off as a roughly historically accurate map of the world during the ending months of 1444, though obviously as soon as you unpause, things can diverge from history quite a bit. Some countries are already huge empires, while many others are smaller kingdoms or duchies. You are free to choose any country in the world, and many have their own unique ideas/bonuses as well. However, most countries outside of Europe require DLC to play effectively. Instead of managing specific resources, its more like trying to control trade routes to make lots of money to fund your interests. Another thing to note is that EU4 has no game-winning objectives like in Civilization. Your campaign will end when you are satisfied with how you played and quit out (maybe go for specific achievements), or you reach the year 1821 (or maybe you lost a war and got majorly screwed up). You will never "lose" unless your country is completely wiped off the map.

Highly recommend buying all the expansions if possible, most of them really enhance military, diplomatic, and country affairs. The "must-buy" DLC is bundled with the Empire Founder Pack, and this will serve you well for most of Europe. If you want to play as countries in other regions of the world (Americas, Middle-East, India, East Asia) with the best experience, the DLC for those regions are recommended. At this point, the game is probably balanced with all the expansions enabled too. You don't need to buy content packs or music, and the series is on sale quite often so you don't need to pay full price on every expansion pack. The prices seem high at first glance, but honestly each campaign will last you hours and its easy to rack up hundreds of hours playing EU4.

High learning curve, but once you learned the basics, the game starts getting more interesting. There are many options for diplomacy, and I'm happy that vassals actually do helpful work during the course of the game (looking at the Total War series for this). I've read this somewhere before, but it really is "Risk with more buttons". Many will compare this to the Civilization series, but this game is different in many ways. In Civilization, everyone starts off relatively the same with an equal playing field, and there are clear objectives to win the game (domination, science, etc). Each civilization has unique bonuses and/or units that cater to certain playstyles. You also have to manage your resources more. I like to think of Civilization as a more arcadey game with historical aspects. In EU4, there are no "turns" as everything is happening in real time, but you are free to control the speed at which the game plays and can even pause the game whenever you wish. In EU4, the game starts off as a roughly historically accurate map of the world during the ending months of 1444, though obviously as soon as you unpause, things can diverge from history quite a bit. Some countries are already huge empires, while many others are smaller kingdoms or duchies. You are free to choose any country in the world, and many have their own unique ideas/bonuses as well. However, most countries outside of Europe require DLC to play effectively. Instead of managing specific resources, its more like trying to control trade routes to make lots of money to fund your interests. Another thing to note is that EU4 has no game-winning objectives like in Civilization. Your campaign will end when you are satisfied with how you played and quit out (maybe go for specific achievements), or you reach the year 1821 (or maybe you lost a war and got majorly screwed up). You will never "lose" unless your country is completely wiped off the map. Highly recommend buying all the expansions if possible, most of them really enhance military, diplomatic, and country affairs. The "must-buy" DLC is bundled with the Empire Founder Pack, and this will serve you well for most of Europe. If you want to play as countries in other regions of the world (Americas, Middle-East, India, East Asia) with the best experience, the DLC for those regions are recommended. At this point, the game is probably balanced with all the expansions enabled too. You don't need to buy content packs or music, and the series is on sale quite often so you don't need to pay full price on every expansion pack. The prices seem high at first glance, but honestly each campaign will last you hours and its easy to rack up hundreds of hours playing EU4.