Best PDS game as of right now....

[Shatterfury]

Victoria 2....feel the power of industry !!!

Edit.
Krupp steel is ze best steel und I`ll drown ze welt in it until everyone understands !

 

[Rostan]

CK2 and Victoria 2, followed by EUIV and HoI2. That said, CK2 should be seriously optimized. It is a shame that Paradox´s best game (IMO) should be the most bug/slow-down prone. And Victoria, if moved to Clausewitz and if it lost some of the frequency of those annoying "debate in province X" events would be perfect.

 

[MilosM]

Victoria 2 hands down.

 

[Axe99]

Of the games in the series we have now (and of course only in my opinion ):

- CK2 is the most polished/balanced of the 'modern' Paradox titles, but oh those lists of characters. I get list fatigue playing it after a while. I can't play two games of CK2 back-to-back because of it. If they could solve this problem it would be a contender for me. If you don't mind looking at lists and lists of characters, a clear winner .

- EU4 is still finding it's feet. It's a great game, and I prefer it to CK2 because the UI better suits the gameplay (far fewer and shorter lists, woo ), but many of its gameplay systems aren't quite settled yet, and it's changing a fair bit each patch. What EU4 offers now is a bit different to what it offered two patches ago (whereas CK2 is a good deal more stable in terms of gameplay arcs). EU4 is also a bit easier than CK2, although both require a degree of self-handicapping even if you start off in a weak position, if you're not looking to be uber-powerful.

- Vicky 2 is complex, and the UI is a bit old school (oh, imagine a Vicky with more modern design sensibilities) and the economic model has some conceptual holes in it (prestige rather than price as a way of determining supply, no substitution effect and fixed (and declining!) money supply) but it still works well (better than EU4's trade system imo) and the game itself is a gem. It's got the deepest gameplay and the most dynamic, interrelated systems of any PDS games, and for me dynamic, plausible interrelated systems are what make strategy games great .

- HoI3 had a troubled start from which it never recovered. It's my favourite PDS series, but HoI3 just has too many issues with it to give it the top nod unless you really, really prefer WW2 over everything else.

- March of the Eagles is great if you're looking for something a bit less deep (warfare is a little deeper than all non-HoI PDS titles, but everything else isn't) and shorter.

So, at the end of the day, if you were looking for a deep strategy experience and didn't mind the UI being a little dated, I'd recommend Vicky 2 first . Next would be CK2 or EU4, depending on your tolerance for looking at lists of characters (if high, CK2, if low, EU4). Darkest Hour (a modified version of HoI2) is also worth a look, but it's UI is a generation older again, and takes some getting used to after playing the more modern titles.

 

[queermobile]

Victoria 2 with PDM is by far the best game out imo. CK2 is my most played, but I've slowed down a lot lately. EU4 is...well, I've played EU4 for 600 hours, but I seem to recall never playing it at all. I may fire it up again for the first time this year when VeF or MEIOU&T get updated and try a Burgundy -> Lotharingia game, but I haven't bought Common Sense yet. It's a well-polished game and all, but I enjoy primary peaceful gameplay, which is probably why I like vicky2 so much.

 

[Hallsten]

I'd say that the best PDS game is CK2, EU2 with AGCEEP or HOI2 with TRP. All depending on which time period I feel like.

 

[Lemont Elwood]

CK2 is by far the funnest to play.
Vicky II has the greatest potential (as a sociology game) but is horribly dated and lacks ability to influence it. For that reason, I give it second place for what it tries to do.
EU4 is solid but bland.
I hate HOI.

 

[RealGrognard]

IMO CK2 is clearly the best.

 

[Chamboozer]

Victoria 2 is the best, and is my favorite strategy game of all time.

 

[La Toscana]

Eu3

 

[Oliver Twopence]

It is either CK2 or EU4, but I cannot really say which one as I have not played either since the last few expansions. It used to be CK2, but the additions to EU4 might have tipped the ballance by now.

Victoria 2 is my favourite Paradox title - and by far the one I have played the most of - but that is more due to the period than anything else, really. It has shortcomings. A bit lacking in features compared to the newer titles, and not as good of a representation of its respective period either.

 

[AppoX]

Victoria 2 is the best but I still spent more time playing EUIV because Vicky 2 lacks EUIV's longevity and novelty; every playthrough feels more or less the same.

 

[panther29]

Stellaris!

 

[Stolen Rutters]

Ha ha, I had the same thought. Stellaris is what we imagine it to be, and from the initial reviews it sounds like a very well thought out space game, potentially the best ever made in fact (With characters, ship designer, and colonization, it looks like all previous Pdox games are helping evolve the game. Heck, it even has POPs).

If it releases fairly bug free and the features are reasonably balanced (no "Star lanes are OP! Wormholes are a wasted choice." for instance), it looks like it's going to win best game honors a half year from now.

 

[FerdinandVeblen]

Well, it kind of depends on what you want.

A lot of people love Crusader Kings II, and it has the deepest interpersonal mechanics. Plus Game of Thrones and wacky postapocalyptic North America mods. I personally have never gotten into it, but I admire its ambition and scope.

EUIV is the newest and probably the prettiest, and it's a fun "long-term wargame". It's probably the easiest to learn, and the most like the Civilization series.

I never liked HOI3, but Darkest Hour is pretty great, especially with the Kaiserreich mod. It's a crazy-detailed alternate history that really feels like something a pulp author would've written in the '30s, to me anyway. Definitely the best if you want something highly event-given and war focused.

But my personal favorite is Victoria II. I love the POP-driven politics, the economic engine, the big shifts from the slow build of the 1830s to the Springtime of Nations to the "Second Industrial Revolution" of the late 19th century to the breakdown of the old order amid the massive wars of the 20th... it's amazingly ambitious and (especially if you get the DLCs, the first DLC in particular is pretty necessary to get the economy working well) a stunning success. Plus the "paper" map is real pretty

 

[Kirkegaard]

My personal list would be: EU4, HOI II, Victoria II, EU2, CK II.
Games I really dislike HOI III and EU III.

I feel like both Victoria and CK II does lack game mechanisms I feel should be there. When I play I find myself saying "why can't I do this" or "this should really mean something, but does not seem to do so"

 

[Retrograde]

I think the POP system in victoria 2 alone is a real triumph of gameplay and design

 

[RELee]

I think the POP system in victoria 2 alone is a real triumph of gameplay and design

I agreed!

 

[klingonadmiral]

Victoria II by a mile. After a long bit of nothingness, there's EU4 (it would be a lot higher if they would nerf max level forts already). CK2 I never got the hang of, HoI I haven't played yet.

 

[GameNerd]

The Svea Rike serie will always be best.
EU 1 and 2 was good in their days, EU 3 was disappointment and EU4 I’m still waiting for.
Vicky 1 was very good but never liked Vicky 2.
HOI was good until HOI 3 came.
EU: Rome had potential but apparently no buyers.
CK 1 had charm and CK2 saved me.
Did I forget something? Probably.