14 DAY TRIAL // The Res Publica mini-expansion for Europa Universalis IV is focused on the Netherlands, introducing a new unique type of government for the country, which focuses on the careful equilibrium that the country needed to keep between two powerful factions.
The mechanics are interesting and put the spotlight on a nation that many gamers would probably not choose when playing the grand strategy experience because of its position and the challenges that it faces.
With the new content, I spent about ten hours with the nation in various time frames, trying to see what I could accomplish with it and how it can perform against the more powerful rivals that surround it, from France and England to Spain and Sweden.
I like playing Res Publica and the community seems to be satisfied with the major 1.7 patch that was launched alongside the expansion, but I wonder whether the country-focused model can sustain the future evolution of Europa Universalis IV.
I would love to see something similar, with a tweak to the government and a new set of events, created for Bohemia, which I love to play in the early game, or for Austria, which is fun to play because it can dominate both the East and the West of Europe.
I am sure other players have their own favorite countries which they would want to see enhanced in the Res Publica and that most of them are ready to justify their choices based on both historical and gameplay reasons.
But at the same time, the very fact that EU IV is a very varied game, which allows players to choose almost any nation they want and guide it through history, means that it is almost impossible for the developers to choose on which one to focus.
Res Publica seems to have been mostly a labor of love for Johan Andersson, the mind who leads development on the game, and we might see something similar in future expansions, with other members of the team choosing the countries that they find interesting.
More details about the future of Europa Universalis IV will be offered during the coming Gamescom 2014 trade show.
In the meantime, strategy game lovers are well served by picking up the core game, which tends to be offered at a reduced price at the moment, in order to become familiar with the core mechanics, before exploring the three expansions offered for EU IV so far.