It has been over 2 months since the release of Paradox‘s most recent DLC for Hearts Of Iron IV, the much-maligned Graveyard Of Empires. Even those with a casual connection to the game series will be aware that the DLC wasn’t well received. Fan response to the DLC has been harsh. And as you will be aware, my review of it is the lowest-scoring piece of media I have reviewed on this platform. Frankly, I was sorely disappointed and rather annoyed by much of it. So when I learned that Paradox was going to do an update to this, I was interested to see what would happen.
Before we get too far into the article, I think it would be best to define what I mean by “Fixed” in the title, Has Paradox Fixed Hearts Of Iron IV: Graveyard Of Empires? When I say “Fixed”, I mean “Do the updates make the DLC more enjoyable?” or “Do the updates make it worth buying?”. And in that regard, well, I have issues…
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What has been changed/added?
- Shared Focus Tree for all Saabad Pact members
- Reworked the Communist tree for the British Raj. As well as changing how you unlock it, there are now Agrarian and Industrial-focused branches of it.
- A loyal Dominion of Raj tree allows you to remain a Dominion for the duration of the game or become independent via a new method.
- Kurdistan’s tree has been expanded to functionally make it a Communist path for Iraq.
- Iran now gains an alternative to the Islamic Revolution path, offering a more “Westernised” republic as well as a new flavour in the event you become a puppet of the United Kingdom.
The only nation that doesn’t get major changes is Afghanistan.
I shall point out there are a handful of other additions, balances and changes. However, these are either too niche or aren’t really worthwhile talking about for the sake of this discussion. Don’t get me wrong, it is good to see them. But listing things like the national spirit, “Growing Hindu Nationalism”, going from +1% weekly war support to +0.7% isn’t really what you’re here to see. If you want the full patch notes, follow this link.
Initial Thoughts
When it came to writing this article and answering the question of “Has Paradox Fixed Hearts Of Iron IV: Graveyard Of Empires?” I had hoped that I’d have more to write about. And I don’t mean that from a personal or professional level. I mean that on a material level, a content level. You see, whilst the additions aren’t insignificant, they aren’t numerous either. Every new set of focus trees gets at least a new branch. As well as a few tweaks to the gameplay here and there. And don’t get me wrong. Some of these changes are good. And I find each of the new Focus Tree paths fun enough on their own.
Kurdistan can set up for a very interesting game.
I don’t want this article to be one that rags on Paradox and the team that worked on this. As in fairness, they could have gotten away with doing nothing; sure, the fans would have been upset, but most would buy it just so they can keep using their favourite mods. Much like the original version of the DLC, this update is fun. And it doesn’t make the experience worse at all. And in some cases, it makes it feel far better. But the rest of this article isn’t going to be a beat-for-beat review of all the additions and changes. As I said earlier, this is a look at whether these changes are for the better. And if these changes have “Fixed” Graveyard Of Empires.
Are the changes Good?
So, let’s just grasp the thistle here, the new content and the changes made are good, in and of themselves. They are good, they are welcome additions, they are fun! And they make the experience a little more enjoyable. I mean, goodness, it makes Kurdistan feel like a whole new nation. And the changes to Democratic Iran help to continue the trend of Paradox making Democratic nations active and present in the game rather than sitting around doing nothing.
In fairness, the changes to Graveyard of Empires are good in themselves.
However, are they good enough to consider the DLC “fixed”? Frankly? No. Without preemting the next section, I don’t think that these additions on their own are strong enough to consider Graveyard Of Empires “fixed”. I don’t want to get too far away from the fact that the additions are fun. And if you are basing the strength of the update only on that factor, then this update is a success. If you are hoping these updates justify the cost of the DLC itself or justify money already spent on it, then no. I don’t think so. But these are minor updates to something that needs more than just extra content.
Is the DLC any better?
Is the DLC any better? Yes, and no. The new material is welcome, as I have detailed previously. But I still feel that this isn’t quite the full-scale root and branch reworking that I think the DLC needed. As there are still fundamental problems that haven’t been addressed. And I don’t think that just adding a few short focus trees was going to change things. This is still an update that can be profoundly dull even at the best of times. With long seventy-day focuses. And a lack of Events and pop-ups to at least give you historical context for what is happening in your part of the world and what is happening as a result of your actions.
Despite working up to a revolt, there isn’t much flavour here or anywhere in the DLC.
I mean, is Paradox seriously trying to tell me that NOTHING of historical significance happened during the timespan that the game takes place in? Nothing that could be mentioned? Even for the sake of fluff!? I know that some of the mods take pop-ups and ingame text a tad too far. With them popping up every few seconds at times. But this is barely up to the low standards set by the previous “Country pack”. And still, far too much time is spent sitting around and waiting for things to happen. And when they do, it can set you up for a long slog that can often be times more frustrating than fun. In a way that “Get Good” cannot overcome.
Closing Thoughts
I don’t like ragging on game developers. Big or small. It makes me feel uncomfortable; I am someone who has been part of the wider creative industry now for almost twenty years. Yes, in different areas, but still part of it. And I know the level of work and crunch that goes into the media, culture, and entertainment that we enjoy. Especially in the video game industry. But even with this said, Graveyard Of Empires frankly wasn’t good enough for a developer of Paradox’s pedigree. And this update, whilst welcome, really doesn’t raise this up to a better standard.
At best, this update is fun, no lying, no spin, it can be damn fun. But at worst? This is an update that adds a small amount of material that should have been part of the initial release. And material that doesn’t make up for all the sitting around and waiting that you need to do. And given how much of a task that some trees can be, even at the best of times. All you are doing is sitting around and waiting for a quick flash of entertainment, and then you’re done. Has Paradox Fixed Hearts Of Iron IV: Graveyard Of Empires? Sadly, no, if you go into this raw, maybe you’ll get something out of this. But for me, it is a shame.
