Victoria 3 Reviews
Victoria 3 is a remarkable, if a bit janky, nation-builder with ocean-deep political and economic systems that suck you in and don't let go.
Victoria 3's attractive historical sandbox is filled with potential, but it's on you to unlock it.
An extraordinarily detailed economy and range of interlinking systems make Victoria 3 a grand strategy to rival some of Paradox's best.
Victoria 3 is a grand strategy game with perhaps too much depth and complexity for genre newbies, and genre veterans might find the simplified warfare a turn-off. That said, I am wholly invested. It’s the most sandboxy of the Paradox lineup so far and I’ve been enjoying my time with it immensely. It is gorgeous, impressive, and absolutely worth the time it takes to learn. Now onto my fourth playthrough. The World Welsh Order will rise, mark my words.
Even the world itself is a bummer. Victoria 3's map is beautiful, even more than Crusader King 3's, a globe bristling with colour and variety and an ever-changing landscape as cities and railroads expand over the decades. But you rarely, if ever, actually use it. This enormous 3D recreation of the entire planet is sitting in the middle of your screen for almost the entire time you play the game, taking up huge amounts of real estate, and you almost never (there are a few exceptions) have to click on it, since the game’s primary interactions are all more quickly and easily handled via sidebars and buttons. It’s a real shame!
A warts and all take on a tumultuous period in history results in a surprisingly thought-provoking experience.
Victoria 3 is an incredibly detailed strategy game that's as laborious as it is rewarding. You'll need to put in the work and be prepared to spend a lot of time busying yourself while waiting for things to complete.
This game should be used as a training tool for politicians worldwide. A harsh, uncompromising simulation of global socioeconomic power struggle.
Review in Italian | Read full review
A hallmark of excellence. There may be flaws, but they are negligible and won't cause massive damage.
So will Victoria 3 end up like Stellaris, which released to middling reviews but received years of updates that transformed it into a sublime experience? Or will it suffer the fate of Imperator: Rome, which launched in 2019 but had its support cut last year, leaving the game functional but tantalizingly unfinished? There are no shortage of directions for Victoria 3 to go in, but whether it fulfills its own economic goals remains unknown. I wasn’t always satisfied with it, but I am rooting for it.
Does that mean Victoria 3 is bad? By no means. If you are a grand strategy fan, and you are one of those people who avoids war whenever possible (I know you’re out there), Victoria 3 is the game for you. What it lacks in breadth it makes up for in depth. There isn’t a more sophisticated nation simulator around, and the game will only grow in time. Much like The Sims before, Paradox games tend to have dozens of expansion packs. I will probably leave Victoria 3 installed in anticipation of those. This is a gigantic, excellent strategy game and for some people (nerds), it’s going to be a fave.
Victoria 3 is a complex and deep global strategy game that can pull you in for hundreds of hours. But attempt to make it accessible to beginners isn't successful.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Victoria 3 is a complex grand strategy game, however Paradox Development Studio went above and beyond to make it accessible to anyone with enough patience to learn the basics of how it works.
Review in Italian | Read full review
And for me, that is high praise. As someone for who it takes quite a bit to really hook me, Victoria 3 certainly has in a big way. In fact, I think I’ll start my next campaign right now.
Victoria 3 finally arrives after years of incessant requests from the Paradox community and grand strategy, and it does it in style.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Victoria 3 is an excellent game. Despite its complexity and intransigence, it is a real pleasure to play. A game that we can only recommend to history lovers.
Review in French | Read full review
An ambitious, beautiful, and obsessively detailed society simulation that still needs to iron out a few rough edges.
Victoria 3 is, without a doubt, grand in scale and scope, and it's downright gorgeous, too. Sadly, the countless mechanics mean that there are too many moving parts, which lead to more questions than answers. The automation and streamlining of battle is, likewise, a baffling change. Even as a veteran of Paradox Interactive's games, this is still one series that I can't get behind.
Victoria 3 deserves high praise as a very good title. Building and changing a society becomes really engaging. The only worrying part is the plans to expand the game through small, but potentially expensive DLCs.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Victoria 3 is a well-done, amazing, deep and potentially infinite grande strategy, exactly what we expected from Paradox.
Review in Italian | Read full review