Common Sense Media Review
By Dwayne Jenkins
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Strategy game makes sloppy work of economics and politics.
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Victoria 3
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 1 parent review
What’s It About?
In VICTORIA 3, you have one responsibility: making sure the money's always flowing. In the span of 100 years – from 1836 to 1936 – how strong can you make your country? On one hand, you'll have to become the best politician imaginable to keep powerful parties happy and convince them to keep your pockets lined so you can enact your policies. But you may find yourself between a rock and a hard place: how much does the financial future of your country mean to you if you might have to retain some problematic laws to keep the peace? What's the moral cost of financial stability? But your problems don't end there. Your citizens need to be fed and housed, and you'll also have to establish trade routes and other arrangements with other countries to slowly gain influence. And if you're impatient and all else fails? War is always an option. But war isn't something to be taken lightly, and if you aren't careful, you won't just lose your money and your power – your head will also follow. Well? Think you can handle all of that?
Is It Any Good?
In the "grand strategy" subgenre of games, the most important thing is keeping players engaged for hours at a time. Victoria 3 has many good ideas, such as its focus on economical prominence rather than war-based goals and gains of similar titles. There's a certain level of satisfaction to a long-term political machination paying off, earning your lands more money and influence as a result. The game almost perfectly simulates the red tape involved in a bureaucracy where you may have to make moral concessions in your policies or decrees to placate powerful political groups who may stoke the flames of open rebellion should you not comply with their demands – or you make big social/cultural shifts too soon and risk losing a lot of money. All that being said, it's that focus on middling, dull politics and resource micromanagement that makes this a hard sell to grand strategy newcomers. Absent from this experience is the personal attachment to your lands or any characters you interact with. The bulk of Victoria 3 is watching progress bars increase or decrease with the occasional "event" popping up in an attempt to fill the dead air between negotiating with other countries or plotting to take over another country by force.
Again, Victoria 3 turns one of its unique qualities into a negative. The act of going to war with another country isn't painted as a luxury or a senseless means of conquest. Here, war is a player's absolute last resort. War means massive financial losses that could not only leave you in debt, but it could also make your citizens question whether or not you're fit to lead them, potentially leading to a revolution. But Victoria 3 also has a few frustrating bugs where it's entirely possible to enter into a never-ending war because the game randomly decided that your troops can't enter into a neighboring country. When that happens in a session that can take multiple hours to find your footing, it's very inconvenient to have all your resources, finances, and hopes plummet. Victoria 3 may have a lot of growing to do to find its own rhythm as an experience for new or old players to the grand strategy subgenre, but as it stands, Victoria 3 is a dull disappointment that drowns in a sea of better alternatives.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about games with a prominent focus on critical thinking, as grand strategy games like Victoria 3 have always offered. Despite the subgenre's large scope and many functioning systems, can games like this help younger players multitask to accomplish various goals, or do these kinds of games come off as stressful and overwhelming? What can parents do to ease their children into playing and sticking with grand strategy games?
As Victoria 3 features many scenarios or circumstances where players may have to align themselves with people they might not agree with, what's the limit to this in real life? Where would you make necessary concessions if you had to work with people whose viewpoints you may not approve of? What issues would you absolutely not budge on? Why?
Game Details
- Platforms: Windows , Mac , Linux
- Pricing structure: Paid ($49.99)
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Paradox Interactive
- Release date: October 25, 2022
- Genre: Strategy
- Topics: Activism , Adventures , History
- ESRB rating: T for Mild Blood, Mild Suggestive Themes, Mild Violence, Partial Nudity, Use of Drugs
- Last updated: December 1, 2022
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