Europa Universalis V Review: Grand Strategy, Beautifully Executed
Europa Universalis V is the next evolution in Paradox Interactive’s now well-established grand strategy series that takes us from the end of the Middle Ages all the way through to the start of the early-modern period, part way through the 19th century. It has always been a franchise that’s pretty massive in scope, and that’s absolutely the case in this latest sequel, which arrives more than 12 years after the release of the last game in the series.
Paradox Interactive has a number of series of the same ilk on the go at the same time. Between Crusader Kings, Hearts of Iron and Victoria, they cover over 1000 years of history between them, and there’s a little something there for everyone. That said, the Europa Universalis series was always the most approachable for new players, and it’s an important stepping stone into the genre, so a big part of Europa Universalis V’s success is dependent on whether it can continue to do that.
Unusually for myself when heading into a new review, I went into it with a set of pretty firm expectations, perhaps unfairly on the developer. But it’s important for this storied series to retain the hallmarks that make it such an effective grand strategy. So, did it manage to do so?
Well, there’s plenty to get into, so read on for a full breakdown of what you can expect from Europa Universalis V.
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The first thing to say is that this is a game that picks up where the last one left off, offering an immediately familiar early experience if you’re a regular player of Europa Universalis IV. What that experience boils down to, at its essence, is selecting or creating a ruler to run your duchy/county/country, in the hope that it will thrive and you’ll be able to expand. Depending on what you prefer, you can either start as the mighty King of England, or a relatively lowly Duke or Doge, and the experience is markedly different depending on what you do.
Starting as an incredibly powerful ruler is fun in Europa Universalis V, there’s no doubt about it, but the game comes into its own much more quickly if you start with a more regional leader. Doing that allows you to build up your logistical and managerial skills over time, adding more strings to your bow as you expand your fledgling kingdom. It’s a much more rewarding way to play, and it’s the early to middle game that’s particularly standout in that regard. As you slowly make your way towards the later game, you end up spending a lot of time dealing with big picture stuff that doesn’t feel quite as rewarding, certainly not over those early, major steps in any new game.
The core concept of developing your nation and turning it into a major global power can be approached in just about any way you see fit. Generally speaking, you’ll be relying on some combination of military might, careful diplomacy and the ability to accrue money, and therefore influence, on your path to greatness. The cool thing about that is you can generally use as much or as little of the above as you please, depending on what kind of person you want your leader to be.
In my 40+ hours with the game so far, I’ve mostly been leaning towards plotting and subterfuge as my initial key to success, allowing me to bamboozle enemies with sneaky nonsense while I quietly build up my armies ready to invade. The brilliant thing about this latest addition to the series is, if you want to play as some kind of moral paragon who converses peacefully and trades with your neighbours, that’s just as viable a long-term path as any other strategy.
Sure, sometimes some approaches simply don’t suit some starting areas and leaders, but that attention to detail is kind of the point, and finding the right approach for each scenario in the game is a big part of what makes it immensely fun to play.
Arguably the biggest change in this edition of the game is the way populations work, with the introduction of “pops,” a considerably more intricate system than anything we’ve seen previously in the series. It aims to simulate the lives of individuals in your world, rather than the more amorphous approach of the last game, with each pop having an assigned culture and religion. This leads to each location on the map having a richly detailed and diverse population, each of which needs to be carefully managed if you want to have access to certain advances, or improve cultural prestige or literacy.
Whilst the system is considerably more detailed this time around, it doesn’t take things too far. These pops can be managed relatively easily in the early game, so by the time it gets more difficult later on, you already have all the skills you need to keep your population happy. It’s very clever in its execution, with considerable depth hidden underneath the initial foray into the concept.
Trading is also better this time around, removing the often clunky approach of merchants and trade nodes, replacing them with an elegant series of regional markets. All of that is then logistically expanded by the ability to set up trade routes between nations and the selling of surplus goods.
Both of those tie in to the wider economic systems in the game, with the overall financial systems tied much more closely to how you manage your populations, trading relationships and the general development of your kingdom.
At the same time, the “mana” system (in which you accumulate points to spend on actions) is gone forever, and the game feels all the better for it. That old approach felt like it placed arbitrary restrictions on the player that didn’t really make a ton of sense in the historical context Paradox Interactive worked so hard to create. In EUV, your monarchs and advisors have skill ratingEs that apply to Administrative, Diplomatic and Military skills, with that deciding how quickly and efficiently they can complete actions.
The last big thing to talk about is the automation potential of the game. Essentially, Europa Universalis V allows players to effectively automate certain elements of the economic, diplomatic or military experience. I have slightly mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, it’s a great tool if a player is finding the full experience intimidating, but on the other, it can strip things back to the point where you’re missing out on big elements of the game.
In reality, it’s a fantastic learning opportunity that allows you to gradually lower your dependence on the AI until you have full control over your kingdom, without getting smashed to pieces by enemies in the meantime.
To wrap things up, if you liked any of the previous games in the series, then it’s difficult to see how you won’t love this one. It takes some big steps forward and improves on all of the big systems that have been carried across from the previous entry. The map is beautiful and more detailed than ever, with the new population systems informing how it takes shape, something it does very naturally as the game progresses. It’s absolutely the standout in the genre for the time period it covers, and if we have to go another twelve years before we get another one, then at the very least we’ve got a great strategy game to play in the meantime.
Pros: Streamlined systems, beautiful adaptive maps, immense replayability
Cons: Slightly weaker during the end game
For fans of: Grand Strategy, Paradox Interactive, history
9/10: Exceptional
Europa Universalis V is out on 4 November, 2025, releasing for Windows PC. A review code was provided by the publisher and the game was tested on PC. Read a guide to our review scores here.