I have 1,700 hours in EU4—now I don’t feel like I can go back, but EU5 has to change if I’m going to play it again.
Paradox hit a real sweet spot with the Clauswitz engine era, EU3-HOI3-Vic2-CK2-EU4.
All the games since then have done a much better job at on-boarding new players but they’re all lacking something for anyone who played those previous games. That’s not to say that HOI4 or Stellaris or CK3 or EU5 don’t have good features but I haven’t really gelled with any of them apart from perhaps Stellaris.
That was similar to my experience with Crusader Kings II and III. III is a better game, but at the same time, it’s lacking something that II had. It’s not so much that each culture/title feels the same, but more that each character feels the same. Your character dies, your new one takes over and it feels the same




