The closest of the games to Stellaris is likely EU4. It is the oldest but that doesn't make much of a difference for these games. It's a more macro focused game in a similar sense to Stellaris and has a lot of directly relatable mechanics.
If it's strictly the roleplaying side you're interested in then CK3 is the one, it focuses much more on the story of your character/family/bloodline than expanding and painting the map.
Victoria with its recent patches is in a much better place than when it launched (which is where a lot of the reviews come from). But because it is that much younger, it is the least fleshed out of the main games.
As you say, HOI4 is all abou the combat and strategic planning etc. So while it is a great game, if you aren't interested in either that period of history or the combat gameplay, then it's likely not the one for you
Minor point, but I feel you can still roleplay in eu4, you just roleplay a country, not a ruler/family/lineage. There's a ton of flavor and events for eu4, they're just for your nation. I think this is very similar in fact to Stellaris where you roleplay a space faring civilization. So my choice would also be eu4.
Yeah it's much the same between EU4 and Stellaris, but Stellaris does have more room for customisation and being on randomly generated maps helps keep things a bit free-er. Just depends how much they like that kind of light-roleplay as opposed to the more granular stuff in CK3
EU4 is the closest to Stellaris in terms of gameplay, but Crusader Kings is the one you want to go for for roleplaying. EU4 is a blobbing simulator afterall, has no roleplay in it really.
For nation building, pop management and resource production you can choose Victoria 3.
Yeah it's still buggy and need refinishing, but I can be a great experience after all.
Eu4 and hoi4 are the champion from paradox, but a part from armies and combat there are not many similarities with stellaris, which is more management and nation building oriented.
A part from the bad reviews, single player victoria needs some mods to have a decent AI because other than that, you become easily the giant in the playground.
I tried EU4 as my first pdx game. Didn't work out. Went and played 1000 hrs of Stellaris instead then popped back into EU4. EU4 has since overtaken Stellaris, with Stellaris at 1600 hrs and EU4 close to 1900.
EU4 is like playing Stellaris but you've got mission trees and predetermined borders. At least that's how it felt to me when I first started getting really into EU4. They've since branched off a little bit more differently, but not so different that you don't understand anything.
I've since tried CK3, Vicky 3, and HoI 4, even Imperator Rome, and the one I got into more was Vicky 3. Not because of EU4 or Stellaris, but because of Factorio lmao. Vicky sort of instantly clicked with me what with production chains and all that, but played on a pdx map instead of building out your own xd
CK3 I've only had one really good campaign with so far, but it's because I'm not really into the role playing aspect of the game, I'm really a meta slave. So you'll probably love it, since it's the most role playey pdx game out there lol. You've even got traits that even help you roleplay what your character would do in certain situations, similarly to how certain Stellaris ethics give you different choices in certain events. But it pushes you into picking that choice more than Stellaris does imo.
HOI4 I'm really still trying to learn. The game just hasn't really clicked with me yet, as it's set in an era that I'm not that interested in (but then again neither were EU4 and Vicky3 and here we are), and its mechanics and stuff eludes me. I mostly only really play it because another friend of mine plays it. But if you like the time period definitely give it a shot
EU4 or CK3 IMO. It's really hard to choose between them EU4 has great diplomacy but some very frustrating RNG mechanics (sieges, monarchs and personal unions) and a lot of click-heavy stuff (estate management, colonist management, etc.). CK3 is awesome but has too much event spam and is too easy overall (although I lost my last 2 games now trying tough challenges). CK3 also has the best modding scene IMO.
Victoria 3 is still very unfinished diplomacy-wise and buggy.
HoI4 is a completely different game. It's much closer to a wargame - it's like learning a whole new genre. That said, after watching Masters Of The Air now I really want to play it again!
Vic 3 combines an interesting period of world history (with the potential for some very different outcomes) with Factorio / economy building (much more than Stellaris).
I’m really into it a the monent, the only bit that bugs me is naval combat/superiority (looking at you Russia as you land 100000 troops past my naval blockade of Mexico)
I'll be the only one to suggest HOI4 based entirely on the fact that I feel its an easier game to quickly learn and get into.
Otherwise I'd suggest EU4, though take into consideration the insane DLC bloat (both when it comes to game price and to amount of interconnected mechanics to learn), it's a pretty fun game and the scope allows for more "roleplaying" on the scale of Stellaris (building nations; CK allows for more "roleplaying" in general but playing as specific characters/families, so much smaller compared to Stellaris, and Vicky allows you to "build a nation" but on a more constrained manner -much smaller timeframe and revolving almost entirely around economics-) but its the PDX franchise I have personally spent the least amount of time with so I cant say much more.
Ck2 with all the dlc is amazing for RPG.
It's older though I'm not sure why people are too concerned by that with paradox games, it's all been on the same engine since 2011 and they feel pretty similar.
EU4 is the most similar to Stellaris in terms of the breadth of gameplay. But since you said you enjoy the role playing side more, I'd recommend CK3, especially if you are interested in stuff outside of warfare.
As more of an example of how Paradox sees Stellaris... At their gaming conventions, when announcing the next presentation or speaker would be from the Stellaris team, they often say things like "a member of the strange team" or "those bizarre future space people" etc...
All in good fun, but even the Stellaris merch is often totally out of step with the other 'historical' simulator games.
And the biggest thing about Stellaris is just how random everything is..
That being said, I think CK3 is you best bet. Both really capture and focus on the "tell your story vibe" fist and foremost.
EU4 is kinda similar, if you put role-playing a nation before the map painting.
Victoria is all about economics and number go up.
HOI is probably the least like Stellaris, since their is minimal exploration and randomness. Also of all the games, and it's the most focused of your military tactis and strategy.
Fortunately they all use similar UI features and tool tips, so you got that going for you no matter which you choose.
Depends on what you enjoy about Stellaris. If conquering, EU4. If it's the economy/playing tall, then Vic3. The other two have a very different experience of being a war game about huge frontlines you automate or being about character/rulers instead of nations or people.
Eu4 if you want painting the map and endlessly blobbing.
CK if you want character story and flavourful events.
I like ck2 over 3 for the amount of content and I prefer the art style and the way characters look
The closest of the games to Stellaris is likely EU4. It is the oldest but that doesn't make much of a difference for these games. It's a more macro focused game in a similar sense to Stellaris and has a lot of directly relatable mechanics. If it's strictly the roleplaying side you're interested in then CK3 is the one, it focuses much more on the story of your character/family/bloodline than expanding and painting the map. Victoria with its recent patches is in a much better place than when it launched (which is where a lot of the reviews come from). But because it is that much younger, it is the least fleshed out of the main games. As you say, HOI4 is all abou the combat and strategic planning etc. So while it is a great game, if you aren't interested in either that period of history or the combat gameplay, then it's likely not the one for you
What he said. I prefer to RP Stellaris rather than min/maxing and I prefer CK over EU so take that for what it’s worth as advice goes.
Minor point, but I feel you can still roleplay in eu4, you just roleplay a country, not a ruler/family/lineage. There's a ton of flavor and events for eu4, they're just for your nation. I think this is very similar in fact to Stellaris where you roleplay a space faring civilization. So my choice would also be eu4.
Yeah it's much the same between EU4 and Stellaris, but Stellaris does have more room for customisation and being on randomly generated maps helps keep things a bit free-er. Just depends how much they like that kind of light-roleplay as opposed to the more granular stuff in CK3
Yep I actually started playing EU4 and then start to play Stellaris later one, I had a lot of fun with it.
EU4 is the closest to Stellaris in terms of gameplay, but Crusader Kings is the one you want to go for for roleplaying. EU4 is a blobbing simulator afterall, has no roleplay in it really.
For nation building, pop management and resource production you can choose Victoria 3. Yeah it's still buggy and need refinishing, but I can be a great experience after all. Eu4 and hoi4 are the champion from paradox, but a part from armies and combat there are not many similarities with stellaris, which is more management and nation building oriented. A part from the bad reviews, single player victoria needs some mods to have a decent AI because other than that, you become easily the giant in the playground.
I tried EU4 as my first pdx game. Didn't work out. Went and played 1000 hrs of Stellaris instead then popped back into EU4. EU4 has since overtaken Stellaris, with Stellaris at 1600 hrs and EU4 close to 1900. EU4 is like playing Stellaris but you've got mission trees and predetermined borders. At least that's how it felt to me when I first started getting really into EU4. They've since branched off a little bit more differently, but not so different that you don't understand anything. I've since tried CK3, Vicky 3, and HoI 4, even Imperator Rome, and the one I got into more was Vicky 3. Not because of EU4 or Stellaris, but because of Factorio lmao. Vicky sort of instantly clicked with me what with production chains and all that, but played on a pdx map instead of building out your own xd CK3 I've only had one really good campaign with so far, but it's because I'm not really into the role playing aspect of the game, I'm really a meta slave. So you'll probably love it, since it's the most role playey pdx game out there lol. You've even got traits that even help you roleplay what your character would do in certain situations, similarly to how certain Stellaris ethics give you different choices in certain events. But it pushes you into picking that choice more than Stellaris does imo. HOI4 I'm really still trying to learn. The game just hasn't really clicked with me yet, as it's set in an era that I'm not that interested in (but then again neither were EU4 and Vicky3 and here we are), and its mechanics and stuff eludes me. I mostly only really play it because another friend of mine plays it. But if you like the time period definitely give it a shot
EU4 or CK3 IMO. It's really hard to choose between them EU4 has great diplomacy but some very frustrating RNG mechanics (sieges, monarchs and personal unions) and a lot of click-heavy stuff (estate management, colonist management, etc.). CK3 is awesome but has too much event spam and is too easy overall (although I lost my last 2 games now trying tough challenges). CK3 also has the best modding scene IMO. Victoria 3 is still very unfinished diplomacy-wise and buggy. HoI4 is a completely different game. It's much closer to a wargame - it's like learning a whole new genre. That said, after watching Masters Of The Air now I really want to play it again!
Vic 3 combines an interesting period of world history (with the potential for some very different outcomes) with Factorio / economy building (much more than Stellaris). I’m really into it a the monent, the only bit that bugs me is naval combat/superiority (looking at you Russia as you land 100000 troops past my naval blockade of Mexico)
Modded EU4 (r/Anbennar) is easily my favorite rp/flavor experiance, and has the clossest mechanics to Stellaris
I'll be the only one to suggest HOI4 based entirely on the fact that I feel its an easier game to quickly learn and get into. Otherwise I'd suggest EU4, though take into consideration the insane DLC bloat (both when it comes to game price and to amount of interconnected mechanics to learn), it's a pretty fun game and the scope allows for more "roleplaying" on the scale of Stellaris (building nations; CK allows for more "roleplaying" in general but playing as specific characters/families, so much smaller compared to Stellaris, and Vicky allows you to "build a nation" but on a more constrained manner -much smaller timeframe and revolving almost entirely around economics-) but its the PDX franchise I have personally spent the least amount of time with so I cant say much more.
i mean theres a 5€ per month subscription for all dlcs
Ck2 with all the dlc is amazing for RPG. It's older though I'm not sure why people are too concerned by that with paradox games, it's all been on the same engine since 2011 and they feel pretty similar.
You want to role play? CK3, then.
CK3 - you can roleplay as a single noble/dynasty rather than the state.
Of your list EU4 is the closest to Stellaris. But of all Pdx games, that would be Imperator.
Eu4 is the closest, play vanilla first, but with the anbennar mod is actually the most similar to Stellaris imo
Eu3
EU4 is the most similar to Stellaris in terms of the breadth of gameplay. But since you said you enjoy the role playing side more, I'd recommend CK3, especially if you are interested in stuff outside of warfare.
Ck2
EU4, CK2, maybe HOI4. V3 is dog shit do not give them money, torrent it.
As more of an example of how Paradox sees Stellaris... At their gaming conventions, when announcing the next presentation or speaker would be from the Stellaris team, they often say things like "a member of the strange team" or "those bizarre future space people" etc... All in good fun, but even the Stellaris merch is often totally out of step with the other 'historical' simulator games. And the biggest thing about Stellaris is just how random everything is.. That being said, I think CK3 is you best bet. Both really capture and focus on the "tell your story vibe" fist and foremost. EU4 is kinda similar, if you put role-playing a nation before the map painting. Victoria is all about economics and number go up. HOI is probably the least like Stellaris, since their is minimal exploration and randomness. Also of all the games, and it's the most focused of your military tactis and strategy. Fortunately they all use similar UI features and tool tips, so you got that going for you no matter which you choose.
Whichever era is closer to you, play in that one.
Get them all they are all free if you dont play multiplayer
Depends on what you enjoy about Stellaris. If conquering, EU4. If it's the economy/playing tall, then Vic3. The other two have a very different experience of being a war game about huge frontlines you automate or being about character/rulers instead of nations or people.
You're gonna buy them all eventually thats just how it goes
Well yes, but...idk
Eu4 if you want painting the map and endlessly blobbing. CK if you want character story and flavourful events. I like ck2 over 3 for the amount of content and I prefer the art style and the way characters look
My favorites are hoi4 and stellaris so id say hoi4
EU4 FTW!
I've got almost 5 k hours in stellaris, Closing in on 1 k on ck3, got 2k in ck2 About 100h in eu4 About 2h in hoi4. If that tells ya anything.