Hearts of Iron IV

Hearts of Iron 4 is a game that players normally resort to when they desire more than a mere war game. It is not only a matter of placing organizations and shooting the guns, but also learning how a country operates in a war situation. You have to make some plans about what to manufacture in the factories, what technologies to develop, how to cope with political forces, and how to form/dissolve alliances. Execution oppresses planning and vice versa. Some love to play with a weaker state and attempt to survive, and those who play with the larger powers can see how various choices alter the course of World War 2.

The game is very much replayable. A single choice may put the world on an entirely different path. When you switch to another ideology, support a particular political figure, or are quite aggressive at the beginning, everything changes rather fast. You may make historical recreations—invasions of particular areas at the opportune moment—or may disregard history altogether and develop unlikely alliances. The AI responds to your decisions, and thus the game changes dynamically rather than being linear.

Other reasons why to play are the accuracy in military planning. Creating your own divisions, drawing out supply lines, and modifying strategies depending on the terrain or weather make the game more grounded. Players who like to take the time to think strategically would appreciate the amount of control the game provides. The presence of multiple players intensifies the game, and the player can team with a maximum of 32 players or become an enemy to the others, and the world does not stand still. It is tactical, long-term, and satisfying to those who appreciate planning on a long-term basis.

No, Hearts of Iron IV is not free-to-play. It has to be bought initially, and expansions or DLC have to be purchased separately. It is not available as a free version on PC or consoles. Free updates and patches to the base game are occasionally provided to the game.

The game can be found on the PC, which is the primary platform. It is available on Steam, and there are links and information available on the Paradox Interactive site. The PC version is compatible with all the updates, expansions, and mods. Certain storefronts also provide bundling, which includes the expansion packs of Waking the Tiger, Together for Victory, and Death or Dishonor. It does not have a mobile or console version yet. 

The game is both keyboard and mouse, and the systems are constructed on PC management tools. On Steam, it can be installed effortlessly, but the game may be heavy when it comes to large-scale battles, so the players are advised to look at the system requirements. All the content is automatically updated in Steam once it is downloaded.

ENDLESS Legend 2 is no longer based on real-world history but instead a fantasy-based setting, but it has the same mass-scale strategy as Hearts of Iron 4. You have a distinctive group, with its powers and plot, and you lead your nation by diplomacy, by war, by exploration, and by the development of technologies. Rather than dealing with the mechanics of World War 2, you have to deal with mythical ecosystems, strange resources, and a world of competing cultures. The rhythm is more systematic, and the decisions taken gradually form your civilization. ENDLESS 2 is a more imaginative strategy game, even though it has the same depth as HOI4. If you're curious about its world-building, you can always download it and explore how differently it approaches large-scale strategy.

Sid Meier's Civilization VII follows the time-tested turn-based strategy template in which you lead a civilization from prehistoric times to the present day. Although it is not a war game such as HOI4, it offers a similar satisfaction of playing with history, resources, diplomacy, and territorial expansion of the country. You decide the way to develop, either culturally, scientifically, militarily, or economically, and the decisions pile up over centuries. The strategy and long-term planning are rewarded in the game, as in Hearts of Iron 4, but with a larger historical focus. Civilization VII is the logical choice of players who like to create, manage, and develop a country using strategies. Whenever you feel ready to try a more peaceful but profound strategy experience, just download Civilization VII and begin shaping history your way.

Total War: Three Kingdoms is a strategy game that combines both real-time battles and large-scale empire management. On a campaign map, you do diplomacy, economy, and internal politics and engage in dramatic real-time fighting with thousands of units. In contrast to the global strategy of HOI4, this one is more centered on the power politics of ancient China, where generals, parties, and alliances are changed every day. The game focuses on characters and relationships, which influence the manner in which armies are engaged in fighting and the political landscape changes. It has the tactical richness of being a ruler of a country and the delight of leading armies in person. Through its planning, if you like HOI4, but wish to fight battles yourself, then Three Kingdoms is worth a look. You can simply download it to experience strategic planning mixed with hands-on battlefield control.