A user plays Hearts of Iron 4 for 8,000 hours. His warning to interested players: The first 1,000 hours are needed to understand the entire game. Not without reason are Paradox strategy games considered complex and extensive.
What game are we talking about? Hearts of Iron 4 is a strategy game from Paradox and is considered extremely complex and extensive. Players take control of a state between 1936 and 1948 and must lead the country through World War II. Many alternative scenarios are also possible.
For many players, such alternative scenarios are particularly exciting, and they spend hundreds or thousands of hours with Hearts of Iron. One player now explains in his review on Steam that he has now played 8,000 hours, but he also has a warning: The first 1,000 hours were only to understand the basics.
This is what the player writes: The user MLG_Aleks wrote his review on Steam after 7,911 hours, and he has since crossed the 8,000-hour mark. He himself states that he loves the game and will not stop until he reaches 10,000 hours. At least he would think about it then. More important, however, is his “warning” that he expresses:
If you want to play [Hearts of Iron 4], keep in mind that it takes 100 hours to understand the basics and 1,000 hours to understand the rest.
Paradox games are considered complex, but hundreds of DLCs often deter beginners
Paradox games are considered extensive and complex because they offer many different ways to win the game and build on dozens of game mechanics. In addition to Hearts of Iron, other games such as Europa Universalis, Crusader Kings, or Stellaris also provide plenty of content to keep players engaged.
However, particularly the large influx of DLCs can deter beginners. Criticism that one must also read from long-time fans: If you really want to “enjoy” games like Crusader Kings or Stellaris, you first have to buy dozens of DLCs for hundreds of euros.
As the German user Konterangriff explains in his Steam review of Crusader Kings 3, the game would not feel complete without DLCs: “Without DLCs, CK3 feels unbalanced and incomplete. If you really want to dive deep, you can’t avoid the major expansions.”
You want to play a strategy game but don’t want to invest hundreds of hours just to learn the game? MeinMMO presents you with a dozen strategy games, including genres like real-time strategy, turn-based strategy, and 4X. Which ones are particularly worth it, you can read directly on MeinMMO: The 15 best strategy games you can play on PC in 2025
