A decade since launch, Paradox Interactive’s mighty Europa Universalis 4 remains one of the best grand strategy games on PC. Much like rivals Civilization 6 and Stellaris, EU4 continues to grow through community-made mods alongside its official expansions. One of the most creative and interesting of these yet is Europa Universalis 4: Post Finem, which dares to imagine how our world might look absent the influence of the mighty Roman Empire.
In the land of Europa Universalis 4: Post Finem, the three Punic Wars still took place between Ancient Carthage and the then Roman Republic. Unlike real-world history, however, Carthage emerges victorious in all three, and proceeds to dismantle Rome altogether. That means no Roman Empire, a rare sight among the best historical grand strategy games, and thus no spread of the Latin language and culture.
As you can imagine, the knock-on effects are pretty colossal. Greece maintains its dominance in the east, while Carthage and its Punic beliefs and cultures spread across the west. The Germanic cultures and religions of northern Europe, meanwhile, are able to flourish largely untouched. It’s a comprehensive overhaul that promises to be a worthy contender among the best Europa Universalis 4 mods, and it’s still getting bigger.
“Of course, everyone has their own ideas of how alternate history should unfold and what is ‘realistic’ or ‘unrealistic,’” the mod’s lead developer ‘Chewy’ says in a post shared by EU4 developer Paradox as part of its mod spotlight series. “At the end of the day, the beauty of fiction is that reality is often even stranger.”
The Post Finem mod is absolutely crammed with content. There are more than 60 unique mission trees to discover. Lead Carthage’s attempt to reclaim its once-glorious empire, survive as the fragile king of Macedonia without being overthrown by your own war cabinet, or seat yourself with the Seleucid Kingdom and embark on an ambitious campaign of conquest and unification across the Hellenic world. On top of all this, you can look forward to hundreds of new flavor events, including a full rework of the colonial system.
With the imminent Post Finem 1.2 update, the Italian Federation has been given a new-look interface. There are 24 possible reforms to pursue, along with a religious tension mechanic, and there’s even the potential to reunite the federation once more under the fabled Roman banner. There are also overhauls to Arabia, the Horn of Africa, and southern India, with the introduction of four new religions and a rework to the Arabic religion.
The Europa Universalis 4 Post Finem mod is available now via the Steam Workshop. Version 1.2 launches on Friday June 21, and an open beta for is set to kick off on Friday June 7 – if you’re interested in helping test out the new build ahead of launch, you can join the Discord to get access. The team recommends you have all DLC to play, although you can make use of the Paradox monthly subscription if you’re not looking to buy it all at once. Head here to download the mod and get started.
Still not sure where to begin? Here’s our guide to the best Europa Universalis 4 DLC. Or for more large-scale international diplomacy, take a look through the best 4X games on PC – we promise you’ll find Rome in plenty of them.
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