On October 25, the new strategy game Victoria 3 by cult developer Paradox was released on Steam. However, the author of a negative review on Steam noticed historical inaccuracies: especially in the Germany map. Overall, the Steam reviews seem somewhat restrained.
What kind of game is this? Victoria 3 is one of the famous historical “Grand Strategy” games by the strategy experts at Paradox Interactive. With the three major game series of the Swedish history nerds, you can replay over 1000 years of what is generally referred to as civilization:
- In Crusader Kings 3, it’s into the dark Middle Ages from 866 to 1453 – There are Crusades, poison murders, Viking raids, and lots of incest
- Europa Universalis 4 begins with the Renaissance and the discovery of America in 1492 and lasts until 1792: Here, you colonize the world, Christianize everything that isn’t nailed down, plunder Africa and steal treasures from the Incas
- Victoria 3 takes place from 1836 to 1936: Factories open, borders shift, social issues are discussed, and empires break apart
There are also other strategy game series by Paradox before and after these times, but these are the three essential ones – the big three.
History or: The world has always had serious problems, not just today
This is what you do in Victoria 3: You take control of a nation and direct the fate of its people. Along the way, you experience the historical crises and decisions of the respective countries.
If you play as the USA:
- you deal with the expulsion of Native Americans
- decide how you stand on the slavery issue
- consider whether to annex Texas
- steer confidently towards a civil war with the South
Other nations face completely different challenges.
Victoria 3 starts in the 19th century: It’s about leading your nation into modern times, building an industry, creating infrastructure, implementing things like social systems or health insurance, giving women the right to vote, or freeing slaves – while always keeping an eye on the budget.
Or you can simply do none of that and then see what you get for it.
Paradox games are known for being complex and representing political or historical events with abstract mechanics in the game: Crises are marked, among other things, by certain percentages rising, the “unrest factor” in a province being increased.
The advancing technology over the decades is mirrored by toggling a switch in one of the many menus; then the railroads run not on steam, but on electricity – and the complete demands of the economy shift again.
Players have three major expectations of Paradox games:
- They should be as complex and deep as possible: They should give players the feeling that they can decide everything and – within historical boundaries – enjoy a lot of freedom
- They should become better over the years through numerous DLCs and expansions
- They should be historically accurate – but that’s exactly where Victoria 3 apparently has a problem:
Steam reviews are at a moderate 71% for Victoria 3
This is the criticism of the game: The first reaction to Victoria 3 on Steam has been rather cautious – mostly positive, with 71% positive reviews alongside the criticism. Crusader Kings 3 and Europa Universalis stand at 88% and 89%.
Particularly disappointed is the user: “gero.assion”. He writes within minutes in a review on Steam (via steam):
Why are Cologne, Mainz, and Bonn located east of the Rhine? Paradox is literally the producer of the most authentic historical strategy games, and this is unbelievably embarrassing.
He then lists further problems in the game:
- For example, Frankfurt is too far east of the Main.
- Oldenburg is not in Oldenburg.
- Bielefeld is in Hanover, but should be in Westphalia.
- Augusta is east of the Lech, but should be exactly on it.
- Then there are cities like Rosenheim or Wernigerode in the game, but Kassel is missing – that’s just ridiculous.
Is that really so?? Yes, it is indeed the case that Victoria 3 clearly places the cities of Cologne, Bonn, and Mainz east of the Rhine. In reality, the city centers are located west of the Rhine; the cities encompass the rivers: As Wikipedia notes, Cologne extends to about 230 square kilometers left of the Rhine and “only” to 175 square kilometers right of the Rhine.
In the game, it is thus represented somewhat differently. Apparently, it’s serious enough that a friend of historical authenticity finds it “unbelievably embarrassing”.
Difficult interface and overly abstract combat system are the main points of criticism
What else bothers people about the game?? Reviews thus far mainly criticize the interface – which is indeed unusual and not intuitive at all.
Moreover, the combat system is extremely abstract: You give your generals only rough orders – it’s not really comprehensible how exactly the war works. Especially if you know the other major titles from Paradox like Crusader Kings 3 or Europa Universalis, in which you can intuitively send your troops across the world map.
However, Victoria has always been an unusual series with concepts that are not found in other games.
Metacritic sees Victoria 3 at 83%
On Metacritic, Victoria 3 receives a notably more positive score of 83% from 23 reviews. The German GameStar has also tested the game (via GameStar).
In earlier parts, the crux lay in managing the individual population groups, their needs and interests.
After the first hours with Victoria 3, the new installment seems to revolve even more around the supply and demand of raw materials and products and social issues, such as how to lead a society from poverty to prosperity without it falling apart. Left of the Rhine or right, no matter.
For some German players like MeinMMO author Benedikt Schlotmann, a native of Bonn, it is now a joy that Bonn actually appears in a game. As Schlotmann states: he has never seen Bonn in a game before. In Empire: Total War or Knights of Honor, there was always only Cologne, never Bonn.
More about games from Paradox:
In my game of the year, I have 14 children, 4 wives, and am emperor of Ireland
