Hearts of Iron IV is not a very accessible game. It is very complicated and does an atrocious job of actually teaching you how to play it. The base game is not as fun as the many, many game mods out there that dramatically overhaul the experience to add in fun and engaging stories with good characters. And then, on top of that, here's a mod that's based on a 2010s cartoon show for young girls, with older and/or male fans as a substantial but firmly Periphery Demographic. Can you spell Audience-Alienating Premise?
This mod is for a niche of a niche of a niche, I guess is my point, and what's more one I largely don't occupy. I still don't love the gameplay for all that I've gotten less incompetent at it, and I've never actually seen an episode of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Everything I know about it comes entirely from Pop Culture Osmosis and the odd bit of fanfiction by people I was following for other reasons.
Yet, for all that, Equestria At War is arguably the greatest Hearts of Iron mod, mostly by combining the strengths of various others together. The rich storytelling, likable characters, and thematic heft of The New Order, the complex political webs of Kaiserreich, the interesting speculative fiction elements of Old World Blues, and, yes, the arcade-y action and between-wars minigames of the base game (which it somehow manages to hew closer to than any of the above), all wrapped up in a visually appealing package.
It's not perfect. Several chunks of it are showing their age, and not all of them are slated for remakes or reworks. It's very much a work in progress. And again, the gameplay is very much an acquired taste, even with extra mechanics involved.
It's a running gag even in circles that aren't super friendly to the idea of World War II with magical talking animals that the only reason Equestria At War doesn't get more love and attention is because it's a pony mod. And... I get it. It probably started as some kind of stupid meme. But something that started as a stupid meme and eventually grew into a genuine work of passion and quality made with love and skill doesn't have to stay stupid forever; look no further than Dropsy.
If you're part of the Hearts of Iron community and you've heard good things but you've always been on the fence about "the pony mod," I encourage you to come in with an open mind and give it a try; maybe start with the newest content in Zebrica so you can see whether or not it's your cup of tea. If you're part of the My Little Pony community, I can't promise you'll enjoy it, but you might at least enjoy exploring some of the ideas it has for expanding on stuff from the show; this was made by fans for fans even if it's not only for fans. If you're not part of either community, honestly? This isn't a bad entry point for either fandom, although I acknowledge that it might be hard to justify the price tag.
Arguably the greatest of all Hearts of Iron IV mods... if, you know, the animals don't scare you off.
Hearts of Iron IV is not a very accessible game. It is very complicated and does an atrocious job of actually teaching you how to play it. The base game is not as fun as the many, many game mods out there that dramatically overhaul the experience to add in fun and engaging stories with good characters. And then, on top of that, here's a mod that's based on a 2010s cartoon show for young girls, with older and/or male fans as a substantial but firmly Periphery Demographic. Can you spell Audience-Alienating Premise?
This mod is for a niche of a niche of a niche, I guess is my point, and what's more one I largely don't occupy. I still don't love the gameplay for all that I've gotten less incompetent at it, and I've never actually seen an episode of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Everything I know about it comes entirely from Pop Culture Osmosis and the odd bit of fanfiction by people I was following for other reasons.
Yet, for all that, Equestria At War is arguably the greatest Hearts of Iron mod, mostly by combining the strengths of various others together. The rich storytelling, likable characters, and thematic heft of The New Order, the complex political webs of Kaiserreich, the interesting speculative fiction elements of Old World Blues, and, yes, the arcade-y action and between-wars minigames of the base game (which it somehow manages to hew closer to than any of the above), all wrapped up in a visually appealing package.
It's not perfect. Several chunks of it are showing their age, and not all of them are slated for remakes or reworks. It's very much a work in progress. And again, the gameplay is very much an acquired taste, even with extra mechanics involved.
It's a running gag even in circles that aren't super friendly to the idea of World War II with magical talking animals that the only reason Equestria At War doesn't get more love and attention is because it's a pony mod. And... I get it. It probably started as some kind of stupid meme. But something that started as a stupid meme and eventually grew into a genuine work of passion and quality made with love and skill doesn't have to stay stupid forever; look no further than Dropsy.
If you're part of the Hearts of Iron community and you've heard good things but you've always been on the fence about "the pony mod," I encourage you to come in with an open mind and give it a try; maybe start with the newest content in Zebrica so you can see whether or not it's your cup of tea. If you're part of the My Little Pony community, I can't promise you'll enjoy it, but you might at least enjoy exploring some of the ideas it has for expanding on stuff from the show; this was made by fans for fans even if it's not only for fans. If you're not part of either community, honestly? This isn't a bad entry point for either fandom, although I acknowledge that it might be hard to justify the price tag.