Paradox’s grand strategy ‘society simulator’ Victoria 3 is releasing for PC in just a couple of months, on October 25. Pre-orders have opened up, and there’s a brand new trailer that shows off some lovely visuals and quotes Charles Dickens at us. The sequel to 2010’s Victoria 2, in Victoria 3 you’ll pilot a nation between 1837 and 1937, rewriting history during the Victorian era and guiding the country of your choice through a time that featured incredible industrialisation, exploitation, and reform.
According to a Paradox press release, Victoria 3 boasts a deep societal simulation, infinite replayability, challenging economic gameplay, and a living world. Does it live up to all those bright promises? Well, you can check out our Victoria 3 preview writeup to get our first impressions.
During a presentation with gaming press, a Paradox dev explained that “accessibility has been a watchword” with Victoria 3. Crusader Kings 3 “raised the bar for accessibility,” says game director Martin Anward, adding that in Victoria 3 “we want to create a really deep, complicated economic simulator, but we also want people to be able to play our deep economic simulator, instead of getting confused and quitting”. This gels with what we’ve previously heard from Paradox about Victoria 3 catering to new players.
One way Victoria 3 sets itself apart from prior Paradox strategy titles is that war is not the focus, and “anything you can win through war can also be achieved at the negotiating table”. This not only means you can seize control of weaker neighbours through bullying and threats, Anward says there’s plenty of ways to succeed without simply ‘map painting’.
“There are a variety of ways to the top. You can generally use diplomatic pressure, you can conquer, or you can just focus on being such an economic powerhouse. Being the leading producer of certain types of goods will also give you a lot of prestige.”
Victoria 3 arrives on October 25, 2022, retailing at $49.99/£41.99/€49.99.
Source: Wargamer
