Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game

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Darkest Hour is a grand strategy wargame focusing on World War II. Players can lead any nation involved in the conflict, managing politics, economy, and military forces. The game features a detailed combat system, diplomacy, and historical events, providing a realistic and immersive wartime experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Reviews

91%

Audience ScoreBased on 881 reviews

gameplay13 positive mentions

grinding5 negative mentions

Darkest Hour is considered the best game in the Hearts of Iron series, offering a rich and immersive experience with a focus on historical accuracy.
The game features a steep learning curve but rewards players with deep strategic gameplay and numerous scenarios, including both World Wars and the Cold War.
The modding community is active, with popular mods like Kaiserreich and Total Realism Project enhancing replayability and providing alternate historical scenarios.

The user interface can be clunky and difficult to navigate, making it challenging for new players to learn the game.
The game may not run properly on modern systems, particularly Windows 10, leading to crashes and graphical issues.
Some players feel that the game is overly scripted, limiting the ability to create alternate histories and forcing players into predetermined paths.

gameplay
57 mentions
23 % positive mentions
68 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Darkest Hour is characterized by its complex strategy and depth, offering a more engaging experience than its predecessors, particularly in terms of historical accuracy and mechanics. While the game requires a steep learning curve and can be challenging for newcomers, it provides a rich and immersive experience with numerous scenarios and modding options that enhance replayability. However, some players find the mechanics clunky and the user interface outdated, which can detract from the overall enjoyment.
- “Complex strategy, simple mechanics.”
- “Staggering depth and complexity to the mechanics, events, and decisions you can make mean that every new game is unpredictable and exciting.”
- “An astounding amount of depth and possibilities will keep the game fresh for many, many hours of gameplay.”
- “The research system requires a lot of unnecessary clicking, there are no battle plans so keeping up a decent front line is very difficult, and on top of that there aren't very many resources out there for help with the game's systems and mechanics.”
- “I'm a stubborn person, so I tried the same scenarios several times, trying to make some optimal decisions to enable me to gain the upper hand, but the game just keeps blocking any progress I make by its punishing mechanics, limiting diplomacy and disruptive random events.”
- “The user interface can be clunky at times and the mechanics can be tricky to truly learn.”
graphics
35 mentions
14 % positive mentions
77 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally considered dated, primarily 2D, and reminiscent of older titles, which may not appeal to players accustomed to modern visuals. However, many reviewers appreciate the crispness and vibrant colors, noting that the graphics do not detract from the overall gameplay experience. While some bugs and glitches are present, the game's historical accuracy and strategic depth are highlighted as its main strengths, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of the genre despite its visual shortcomings.
- “Crisp and colorful as they are already, you can easily enhance them with one of the easily accessible graphics packs.”
- “Although the graphics are more simplistic than HOI4, they're crisp and have that lovely old Paradox feel.”
- “This is the definitive version of Hearts of Iron 2 -- widescreen high-resolution graphics being the big bonus.”
- “The graphics are not up to today's standard, obviously, but they are not terrible - being 2D for the most part, which means they are not aging like milk.”
- “Be warned however, the aged graphics are akin to the original Fallout game and I find it is harder to enjoy if you've played HOI3 or HOI4.”
- “Not the prettiest graphics but in all honesty you don't play these games for those.”
replayability
20 mentions
45 % positive mentions
40 % neutral mentions
15 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its exceptional replayability, with players highlighting the ability to choose from nearly 80 playable nations and the extensive modding support that allows for diverse scenarios and alternate histories. Many users note that the combination of a rich narrative experience, historical and ahistorical events, and a plethora of mods contributes to an almost infinite replay value, making it a must-have for strategy game enthusiasts. Overall, it is frequently rated 10/10 for replayability, with players enjoying countless hours of varied gameplay.
- “It's infinitely replayable and offers the option of playing as any country.”
- “The thing that keeps me playing is the story, or the story you build during your playthrough, with a great soundtrack, historical and ahistorical events you can find hours of replayability.”
- “It's extremely replayable; there are tons of mods which turn the game into an always different masterpiece. You can extend the game timeline, play in an alternate timeline where the Central Powers won WW1 (Kaiserreich mod), add in a bunch of realism and plausibility to your WW2 scenario with Total Realism Project, or you can try expanding with Luxembourg and reclaim all the land that is rightfully yours.”
- “There is almost endless replayability value, and I have not even completed a full campaign as all of the major powers yet, even with 400+ hours invested.”
- “Darkest Hour, on the other hand, expanded the game in all directions and has a wonderful plethora of mods so as to make every game constantly replayable.”
- “This mod turned Hearts of Iron standalone expansion is what every HOI2 player ever dreamed of; a bridge between WW1 and WW2 while adding more research options, more events, more units, and a hell of a lot more replayability.”
music
8 mentions
50 % positive mentions
13 % neutral mentions
38 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised, with many users describing it as fantastic and a significant enhancement to the gameplay experience. However, there are complaints about the sound settings being too limited, as players cannot adjust the music volume independently from the overall system sound. Overall, the soundtrack contributes to the game's replayability and immersive storytelling.
- “The soundtrack is fantastic and the gameplay offers a deeper experience.”
- “The thing that keeps me playing is the story, or the story you build during your playthrough, with a great soundtrack, historical and ahistorical events you can find hours of replayability.”
- “Music 10/10”
- “The game looks great (it's a map), plays great (it's just clicking a bunch of buttons), and sounds... well, it's either too loud or too quiet. You can't lower the sound of the music or anything like that; you can either completely mute the sound or keep it on. If you want to lower it, you'll have to lower your entire PC's sound, which is a problem. I doubt anyone would play this for hours with headphones on; I usually open a YouTube video and listen to it while I play, and you should do the same.”
- “Hoi3 has way better UI and music.”
- “The music in this game makes you want to invade Poland.”
story
6 mentions
50 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the game's emergent storytelling and the personal narratives they create during their playthroughs, enhanced by a compelling soundtrack and a mix of historical and ahistorical events. Despite frustrations with the spy system and AI control, the depth of strategy and replayability keeps players engaged in the unfolding story. Overall, the narrative aspect is a significant draw, providing a rich backdrop to the strategic gameplay.
- “The thing that keeps me playing is the story, or the story you build during your playthrough, with a great soundtrack, historical and ahistorical events you can find hours of replayability.”
- “Emergent storytelling that Paradox is known for.”
- “The strategy in this game with the available missions on land, air, and sea far outstrips anything other games can represent.”
- “The intelligence system is poorly designed; using it manually is frustrating because you have to open the intelligence tab every few minutes. You have to rely on the AI, but even then, 9 times out of 10, you won't be successful and will lose more than you gain.”
- “The story is lacking depth and coherence, making it hard to stay engaged with the narrative.”
- “The emergent storytelling that Paradox is known for feels underwhelming and fails to create a compelling experience.”
grinding
5 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
In "Darkest Hour," grinding is present but is mitigated by the game's fine-grained control and thoughtful abstractions, which prevent it from becoming overly tedious. While managing divisions and armies can be somewhat laborious, the game's accurate simulation of WW1 dynamics keeps the experience engaging rather than frustrating. Overall, players find that the balance between control and abstraction helps maintain a smoother gameplay experience.
- “It's smooth and easy to control your nation, albeit a bit tedious when you have to deploy a lot of divisions and split armies and stuff.”
- “That helps a whole lot to make the game not quite so tedious.”
- “It may be tedious, but trust me, it's better than playing the game incompetently for several months like I did.”
optimization
4 mentions
75 % positive mentions
-25 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
The optimization of Darkest Hour is a mixed bag; while it offers a compelling gameplay experience reminiscent of HOI2, many users report significant lag issues that detract from the overall enjoyment. Some attribute the performance problems to compatibility with Windows 8 rather than inherent game optimization flaws. However, it is noted that the game is generally optimized for modern PCs and higher resolution displays.
- “Darkest Hour is not necessarily the best Hearts of Iron game on its own out of the box, but it has the best combination of gameplay, engine, and performance for making a Hearts of Iron experience where gameplay actually matters beyond waiting for allies to win or entering an ahistorical mess where nothing happens without you, and that's what a couple of modmakers have done.”
- “This game brings back the old Hearts of Iron II formula, redoes it into its own glory, but it's very laggy and can be irritating. However, I don't think it lags because of the game being unoptimized; I think it lags because of Windows 8. I've tried multiple things to fix the lag, but nothing works. It's a great game if you can get past the lag; some may be turned off because of it.”
- “All optimized for modern PCs and higher resolution monitors.”
- “Horrible performance, and I can't find a fix.”
- “This game brings back the old HOI2 formula, redoes it into its own glory, but it's very laggy and can be irritating. I don't think it lags because of the game being unoptimized; I think it lags because of Windows 8. I've tried multiple things to try to fix the lag, but nothing works. It's a great game if you can get past the lag; some may be turned off because of it.”
humor
3 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is praised for its cleverness and diversity, drawing comparisons to the wit found in titles like Victoria 2 and Europa Universalis 4. Players enjoy the ability to rewrite history in absurd and comedic scenarios, such as a communist Germany during World War II, adding a layer of fun to the strategic gameplay.
- “One of the most diverse Paradox games ever, with the wit, humor, and monarchies of Victoria 2, the political system of Europa Universalis 4, and the gameplay of Hearts of Iron 4.”
- “Rewrite history in hilarious and unexpected ways - WW2 Communist Germany?”
emotional
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players find the game to be highly emotional, highlighting its particularly impactful and compelling ending as one of the most memorable they've experienced.
- “This was actually pretty emotional.”
- “Has one of the most emotionally compelling game endings I've ever seen.”
stability
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
While the game features vibrant graphics and colors, players have reported occasional glitches that detract from the overall stability.
- “The game offers some pleasant graphics and really vibrant colors, although there are some ugly glitches here and there.”
- “I frequently experience crashes that disrupt my gameplay, making it hard to enjoy the game.”
- “The game is plagued by lag and performance issues, which severely impact the overall experience.”