Europa Universalis V: Fate of the Phoenix

The Byzantine Empire, or the Eastern Roman Empire, is something that has fascinated me for years. It is one of the last remnants of the ancient world. We know that this empire fell and its final cities were conquered in the 15th century. It is this state that I have had the pleasure of trying out in the Europa Universalis V downloadable content pack, Fate of the Phoenix. Let me inform you that this primarily alters a nation that is already playable. You won't see sweeping improvements for many of the other empires in the base game. The focus of this review is on the improvements that have been added, and these affect the Byzantine Empire for better or worse.

I haven't dared to play a full campaign as this nation in the base game because of how brutally difficult it usually is. In the fourth instalment, it took me quite a while before I cracked the code and made it to the end. In that game, the experience was significantly enhanced by its corresponding downloadable content pack. In the fifth instalment, it's a completely different experience. The base game is quite different from the gameplay elements of the fourth instalment and somewhat more complex. It is on this foundation that this downloadable content builds upon various features. As you know, I liked the base game so much that I gave it a nine in my review. That's a rating I still stand by. That's why I've been longing for a bit more content, and this is a typical early piece of extra content for the series.

Fate of the Phoenix is the first new content update to expand the Eastern Roman Empire with new events, an improved religious system, new ways to shape the empire, and thematic changes. The clearest dichotomy that arises whilst playing concerns the conflict between new ideas and old. Do you want your empire to remain more Roman with Greek influences, or to become more aligned with Western values and the Catholic branch of Christianity? You are constantly faced with choices regarding reforms, changes or preservation, and this is fascinating from a historical perspective. Several of your choices also have an indicator showing what the historical counterpart chose to do. However, if you wish, you can ignore this and make your own choices. We know, with hindsight, that the historical Eastern Roman Empire didn't always make the right choices.

The hardest and perhaps most rewarding part is trying to survive for over a hundred years. You're placed in a real bind right from the start, with poor legitimacy, huge debts, natural disasters that have struck parts of the kingdom, and various estates that refuse to pay taxes due to bureaucratic rules instituted by previous leaders. If you want to remove these, you have to pay enormous sums of money, and that's something you don't have much of at the start of the game. Much of the opening hours involve making bad choices rather than even worse alternatives and trying to reverse the downward spiral. This is because almost nothing works well, apart from the fact that you have relatively strong armies and fleets at the start. You also have great potential to build even more powerful forces so that you can reclaim your fallen kingdom.

Early on, I decided to focus on building legitimacy, stability and control. I also attempted to annex Epirus and deal with the growing threats around the world. Pretty soon, a rival kidnaps an heir to the throne and tries to make Epirus independent again. This results in a conflict that I eventually win, but shortly afterwards I face a rather powerful coalition led by the Ottoman Empire, and I lose quite quickly. The peace that follows plunges me into an unsustainable spiral of debt and more war. It took me a couple of attempts before I found a strategy where I managed to grow a little. That, in turn, meant I could start doing things like creating conflicts I wanted and demanding money, paying off debts and starting to remove the wretched privileges the estates have. I also try to change the state religion in the kingdom and replace the Orthodox faith with the older gods. However, they aren't as developed in this expansion as the conflict between Catholicism and the Orthodox Church; you can literally resolve the schism and unite the different branches of Christianity if you're skilled. I do, however, find polytheism more interesting than monotheism. I have, however, tried out several religions.

Paradox has woven together choices, unit types, cosmetic, cultural and religious elements quite well in a way that lets you decide what you want to do. I would, however, emphasise that this is difficult; if you don't have the basics of the game down, I don't even think you should attempt the Byzantine Empire and this pack unless you frequently play as Christian Orthodox states. On the other hand, if you've been playing for a while and you're doing quite well with other nations, this is worth your time. I think the Byzantines have an exciting starting position and a fantastic geographical location. You can control trade, fight pirates and expand slowly in various directions. After a while, the Black Death, colonialism and much more will affect you. You'll certainly also want to address the question of whether to trade with China, as trade is vital.

One of my favourite stories from the Byzantine Empire is about how two Orthodox monks are said to have smuggled out silkworm eggs and helped to establish silk production back in their homeland. This story is probably not true, and there is speculation that the monks were actually in India. This is the sort of thing that makes it exciting, as you can decide what to trade in and which resources to invest in. At some point, you'll have to prioritise and make choices. The empire is on the brink of collapse; where do you spend your precious money and resources? Trade and/or diplomacy may be one path; war another. However, you cannot do everything at once, and this became extremely clear to me when I tested this very aspect. You need a well-thought-out strategy. In many ways, it reminds me a little of the Total War: Attila campaign as the Western Roman Empire. Just as in that campaign, you needed to destroy, tear down, regroup and restructure your empire if you were to have any chance of survival. However, you'll be spared Attila and his Huns in Europa Universalis V; instead, you'll have to deal with the remnants of the Mongol Empire if they attack you.

I won't give too much away in this review, but I think the events are interesting, offer you choices and can help you shape the nation you're playing as. They're also neatly woven into decisions you can make regarding whether you want to build a modern city or preserve the old. That balancing act is just as much of a challenge as everything else in the game. If you manage to survive the first hundred years, some events offer quite substantial bonuses. However, I made more use of the toolbox when playing as the Byzantines than with many other nations. You need to assess your economic options, identify which diplomatic avenues might be advantageous, and figure out how to reclaim your lost empire. It becomes a much easier campaign once you've paid off your debts, turned your financial losses around, and have forces capable of fending off enemies in all directions. Militarily speaking, this nation becomes extremely powerful with its technologies and unique unit types.

From a technical point of view, this isn't any worse than the base game, and I've had a relatively good time with it. There are micro-lags when clicking on provinces and when a lot is happening at once. I've also spotted the odd visual glitch and the occasional gameplay bug with text explanations. It hasn't bothered me noticeably, but it might affect weaker computer systems more than mine. The new music is quite good, and I've always loved the music in this particular game series. They are sweeping, well-crafted tracks that blend in with everything else. In the fifth instalment, there's a handy player right within the user interface so you can choose what to play and what not to. If you can overlook a few technical issues, there's a good expansion of one of the game's factions in this downloadable content pack.

The most rewarding aspect of this downloadable content pack was surviving longer than its historical counterpart and resolving historical events we still live with today, such as the schism between the Orthodox and Catholic churches. I've had quite a bit of fun with this pack as I enjoy the challenge of playing as this kingdom. I don't think Paradox should make the experience any easier. Countries in the game need to be unique, with their own challenges and difficulty levels depending on their starting position in the 14th century. Although the technical aspects haven't changed, it's still a solid game at its core, and this downloadable content makes this kingdom even more fun to play as. It's one of the more difficult, if not the most difficult, of the major nations in the game, and it requires patience, a plan, and the willingness to lose if you're going to enjoy this new content. If you don't feel confident with the basics of the game, you should skip this until you feel more confident. If you're looking for a challenge or simply want to play as the Eastern Roman Empire, this is an excellent pack for that very purpose, which I can highly recommend.