Are you the kind of person who listens to podcasts while you play games? Paradox Interactive has a treat for you. Alongside the latest Europa Universalis IV update, the studio has also launched two new DLC packs that contain history lessons pertaining to two of the most popular empires reworked in the recent Domination expansion.
If you've played Domination, then you'll know that it brings major reworks to various empires, the Chinese and Japanese civilizations among them. In that spirit, Paradox says that in order to "add some more immersion" to Europa Universalis IV while you're planning out your strategy, a new type of DLC has been created in the form of History Lessons.
As the name suggests, History Lessons packs contain lectures and lessons about various aspects of Europa Universalis IV's empires. The first two revolve around China and Japan, with the former hosted by History of China podcast host Laszlo Montgomery and the latter presented by History of Japan presenter Isaac Meyer.
Subjects contained within the Chinese History Lessons pack include the early Qing dynasty, the decline of the Ming, and China's great monuments. In the Japan pack, meanwhile, you'll find information about Japan's diplomatic history, its major clans, and the unification process. Let it never be said that video games can't be educational!
Frankly, I can't believe more games aren't offering podcasts as audio backdrops to their gameplay; it'd improve work sims to no end, I feel. Maybe Paradox will spearhead a bold new direction for gaming and we'll start seeing more podcasts included within our games. Let's hope so!
As well as the DLC, a new update, version 1.35.4, is also available for free for all EUIV players. It fixes a huge number of bugs, as you'd expect from a Paradox update, so make sure to give the notes a good read to see if your particular issue has been corrected.
Both new Europa Universalis IV History Lessons DLC packs are available right now via Steam. They'll set you back $4.99 apiece, but a bundle is also available at a discounted price. Stay tuned for more info on all things Paradox and grand strategy, and hopefully, more games with podcasts in them.