Victoria II
Victoria II
Game
Game2009
Hearts of Iron III
Developer Paradox Development Studio
Hearts of Iron III is a 2009 grand strategy video game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive for Microsoft Windows. A Mac OS X version was released the same year. A grand strategy wargame that focuses on World War II, it is the sequel to 2005's Hearts of Iron II and the third main installment in the Hearts of Iron series. Initially, the game received a mixed reception, largely… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
162 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Lemmy) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 6, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
19
Rotten
31 positive · 130 negative
95% range 14–26%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 31 | 130 | 0 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
2,529 of 3,470 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
17% recommend · 31 yes, 152 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 183 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (4,602 of 6,500 positive).
Some players praise Hearts of Iron III as a superior grand strategy game, especially compared to its sequel. [1] Many reviewers criticize the game for its broken state on modern systems, requiring third-party fixes or failing to launch. [2][3][4] A significant number of negative reviews stem from a controversy over Paradox's treatment of Turkish players and Atatürk. [5][6][7][8]
Liked
Disliked
- Many report the game crashes or doesn't work on modern systems. [2][3][4]
- Several complain about excessive micromanagement and a hostile interface. [11][12]
- Some allege Paradox is racist for banning Atatürk images. [13][7][14]
- One reviewer criticizes the game for being sold with DLCs at a high price. [9]
Representative posts
- [1]
Every DLC, every patch, every update and every game breaking over powered alt history feature added into HoI4 along with its 3 digit price tag (and early supporter DLCs now given free, too bad if you paid $120) makes me recommend Hearts of Iron 3 more. It is simply far superior game in its genre. Yes it's difficult. Yes it has flaws. Yes there are things that could be done better. But this game with Victoria 2 …
- [11]
Hearts of Iron III feels less like a strategy game and more like a punishment for anyone who doesn't already know how the entire system works. The interface is a nightmare, the menus are overloaded, and even basic information is buried under layers of unnecessary complexity. The amount of micromanagement is ridiculous. Managing armies, units, production, supplies, technology and the command structure becomes an …
- [4]
tl;dr this game doesn't work on modern systems, and is not worth buying unless you're willing to put in a lot of effort to make it run (if it's even possible). Even though Paradox should be ashamed for selling a product that doesn't work, the game itself is extremely fun albeit flawed. I actually enjoy the game itself, and have hundreds of in-game hours logged across other accounts. It's not everyone's cup of tea …
- [15]
Not Recommended I've put a lot of hours into Paradox games, but I'm leaving this review because of how the company treats part of its own community. Paradox's official Discord bans users from using Atatürk as a profile picture. Atatürk is the founder of the Republic of Turkey and a respected figure for millions of Turkish players, and he's a historical subject in Paradox's own games. Banning his image outright tells …
- [12]
Hearts of Iron III is an incomprehensible, hostile mess that actively drives players away with its nightmarish interface, endless micro-management, and complete refusal to explain anything. The UI is a cluttered disaster of tiny unreadable icons and buried menus, the supply and production systems are pure busywork hell, and the AI is so broken it routinely loses wars it should win while your own units starve or …
Summarised from 27 of the 184 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Hearts of Iron III sits at 19% positive across 161 opinionated reactions from 2 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Hearts of Iron III initially received a mixed reception because the game shipped with a large number of bugs in the early release. After several patches eliminated many bugs, reception improved and the game received generally positive reviews. In 2009 December it had a combined average of a 77 on Metacritic and a 79% on Gamerankings. GamePro wrote, "Perhaps the worst problem is the interface itself, or more specifically, the amount of feedback it affords the player. In contrast to the old system, there is no instant way to assess how many divisions you have in each province, nor important values like their units' organization or combat values". On the other hand, the game has been praised…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 162 · most liked firstMy Dad's favorite game. Spent Thousands of hours playing Black Ice. Rest in Peace
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Your hate towards Mustafa Kemal Atatürk will not go without being condemned. Paradox Interactive will answer for hate crime done against the Turks. As someone who played almost every paradox game and supporter for almost 20 years we demand apology and explanization. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's quotes on war and peace; Peace at home, peace in the world. War must be necessary and vital. Unless the life of the nation is in danger, war is a crime. The only way to make people happy is through…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mixed bag of games, something for everyone. edit: closing this now as the remaining keys have likely expired. I'm giving away some games from an elapsed Humble Bundle membership. Speak up in the thread to claim one (1) per person. First come, first serve. Mostly Steam keys, some Humble gift links. In rare cases, the key might be no longer available (sorry in advance), but most should work. Be sure to redeem soon & Happy Holidays! 🎄✨🎁🎅 ~~- Atlas Fallen Reign of Sand~~ - Beneath Oresa…
neutral · AI labelView post →Look for HOI 4. See it's very expensive. OHH WOW A CHEAP HOI game. Buy and Install. Squirrel sized brain cannot comprehend wtf I am doing. Try and figure it out. GIve up and uninstall. Reinstall. Proceed to do this 20 times believing the next time will be different. It is in fact not.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Reminder that Atatürk partook in the Armenian genocide and that Turkey will never into EU. 👍
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Every DLC, every patch, every update and every game breaking over powered alt history feature added into HoI4 along with its 3 digit price tag (and early supporter DLCs now given free, too bad if you paid $120) makes me recommend Hearts of Iron 3 more. It is simply far superior game in its genre. Yes it's difficult. Yes it has flaws. Yes there are things that could be done better. But this game with Victoria 2 defined what a grand strategy game can be and set the bar so high up that Paradox…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Was a great game if you don't mind about paradox devs overly racism it is playable I bought tis game many years ago right now I am boycotting this firm due to their racism and you see they lost %20 of their fan base
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's better than Hoi4. HOI4 is paid bloatware at this point. This game is a straight up WW2 simulator. You can still go alt-history if you want and the way production and research works in this game is just better.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Recommended? No. This isn't about the game itself, it's about how Paradox Interactive is handling a discrimination controversy. A player was banned from Paradox's official Discord for using a real photo of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as a profile picture. A moderator called him "controversial" and linked him to the events of 1915 without any credible basis, then deleted replies that pushed back on it. If controversial figures are banned from profile pictures, that rule has to apply to everyone, not…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →hell yeah i hate turks too man
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Calling Atatürk controversial and banning people just for using his picture as their profile picture. Guess that happens if you learn history from wikipedia.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →With the playtime that I have, I think I had time to tell if this game is good or not. Do you like NATO icons? Do you like using actual tactics and micromanaging, but War in The East is just a bit too much? If the answer to both is yes, then get HOI3 (with the major DLC's). For a much better experience, download the BlackICE mod. Despite people saying "Oh it's too hard", I found it much, much, much easier to play than HOI4 with the new DLC's which just add random modifiers and events which…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hearts of Iron III feels less like a strategy game and more like a punishment for anyone who doesn't already know how the entire system works. The interface is a nightmare, the menus are overloaded, and even basic information is buried under layers of unnecessary complexity. The amount of micromanagement is ridiculous. Managing armies, units, production, supplies, technology and the command structure becomes an exhausting chore. Instead of making strategic decisions, huge amounts of time are…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good game, better than HOI IV
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Stupid game no longer loads up, nothing changed just doenst work anymore even after re-installing and removing all folder.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honest opinion. This is much better than Hoi4 due to the dlc's low prices, still enjoyable game. ANd overall its just peak. Ofc the graphics and some mechanics arent perfect, but its a easily playable game, and nothing is expensive.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TLDR: It's the ultimate logistics simulator for hardcore strategy purists, but the interface is dated and the engine stability is terrible on modern rigs. You will need to buy "Their Finest Hour" DLC to enable CPU multicore optimizations. I would also recommend downloading the 4GB LAA patch online to let the executable use more RAM. Hearts of Iron III is a great military RTS game based in WW2. You can play as any country and build an army and alliances to try to take over the world. It's a top…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →crashes upon load Unless you download a third party fix. Way to go Paradox
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good game, just a bit old. Pretty cool for politics I guess, but if you want a more modern game, buy HOI4 instead, also HOI4 is more focused on warfare imo. Though my opinion is only mine and yours may be different.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a fact: "This save is from another version of the game and cannot be loaded." This is my opinion: Not recommend any PARADOX Interactive. Don't waste hours pouring into one Campaign saved file in Ironmode, with only 1 save allowed and then coming to the game a few days later to get this stupid message: "This save is from another version of the game and cannot be loaded." Sorry, that I am a human and don't play this game non-stop 24/7, to go: "Oh no problem, I will start the game a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →tl;dr this game doesn't work on modern systems, and is not worth buying unless you're willing to put in a lot of effort to make it run (if it's even possible). Even though Paradox should be ashamed for selling a product that doesn't work, the game itself is extremely fun albeit flawed. I actually enjoy the game itself, and have hundreds of in-game hours logged across other accounts. It's not everyone's cup of tea understandably - by default the game literally automates half the mechanics,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →More of a simulator of the atmosphere and dynamics of WWII and the years leading up to it. Plus it is more math heavy than graphics heavy. Just the way grand strategy should be.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its really good, basically cacra3 but WWII, many things to do, nukes, missiles, 11/10. Heres a thingy thing thing ---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☑ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☑ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☐ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☐ Kids ☐ Teens ☐ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fascinating standard of moderation for a historical grand strategy community: You build an entire gaming ecosystem around World War simulations, yet displaying a UNESCO-recognized statesman who was fighting on the Gallipoli front in 1915 is deemed 'too controversial' by moderators who apparently cannot read a basic chronological timeline. Meanwhile, portraits of leaders responsible for engineered famines, atomic devastation, and literal Wehrmacht generals pass without issue as long as they…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is my childhood classic game but you can not sell an unoptimazed 17 year old game on modern hardware for total of 27 bucks with all of its content behind Dlc's instead of selling the whole game with all Dlc's included on the base price. This is just out right Ubisoft kinda scam and i do not advise any body to buy this game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I simply cannot recommend ANY Paradox game. with their current business model of screwing the player while trying to milk as much money as possible.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Garbage dev and publisher. Literally zero redeeming qualities. You know I tell people, if I was running it, it would be tremendous. The most tremendous company in the history of America. Instead we have these guys running it. Terrible. Sad. Pathetic even. An absolute waste. Only sleepy Joe could run a company this bad. We used to be able to run companies in this country. Now we can't even do that anymore, and it's all thanks to this previous administration. Sad.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hearts of Iron III is an incomprehensible, hostile mess that actively drives players away with its nightmarish interface, endless micro-management, and complete refusal to explain anything. The UI is a cluttered disaster of tiny unreadable icons and buried menus, the supply and production systems are pure busywork hell, and the AI is so broken it routinely loses wars it should win while your own units starve or vanish into logistical black holes. New players will waste dozens of hours just…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This isn't senseless anger. It is an anger caused by an attack on a nation through its leader. We demand an apology.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not Recommended I've put a lot of hours into Paradox games, but I'm leaving this review because of how the company treats part of its own community. Paradox's official Discord bans users from using Atatürk as a profile picture. Atatürk is the founder of the Republic of Turkey and a respected figure for millions of Turkish players, and he's a historical subject in Paradox's own games. Banning his image outright tells Turkish players that their national founder is treated as offensive content…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DLC Slop, Racist Devs
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DO NOT LET RACISM STAND! Punish Paradox for its racist mistreatment of the Turkish community!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →On the official Paradox Discord server, community representatives explicitly harassed users with profile pictures of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, made defamatory claims against the founder of Türkiye, and banned players who objected to this conduct. It is deeply concerning that Paradox Interactive allows its official representatives to display open hostility and discrimination toward a dedicated portion of its global player base. Harassing users over historical figures and abusing moderator…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I cannot recommend any paradox game. Do not buy their products.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is amazing. If you are looking for a good and less complicated HOI game then this one is the best one for you as it has the right amount of challenge and the right amount of complexity. The only thing that might turn you away would be the graphics as they don't look the most appealing however it is the experience that matters and that for me has always been fun and exciting.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Classic Paradox formula: Release a bare-bones game and lock crucial features behind expensive DLCs. HoI3 is barely playable in its base version. You are forced to buy the expansions just to get basic mechanics and fixes that should have been in the vanilla game. I cannot recommend a game that respects neither the player's time nor their wallet.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Greedy company with weird hypocritical principles. It’s ok to release games with over-bloated and confusing mechanics but at the same time rips tons of options and much interesting mechanics. Not the mention amount of money they demand just to get the game to a more appropriate and fun to play state. Maybe they should consider themselves as controversial and make some actual changes.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you dare to speak so brazenly about our founding leader, you will have to face the consequences.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wouldn't recommend any product from this company.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Less a video game and more a military logistics punishment simulator, requiring you to babysit an exhaustive order of battle for thirty minutes just to nudge a single division toward the front.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Relocate to Istanbul for free history lessons and kebab
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Capitulated Poland -> Game crashed 10/10 would play again
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →for some reason the game starts lagging after the start of ww2 and only a few months in the game becomes unplayable most likely due to my pc low specs if you have a low specs pc you should think about that
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You have to spend a lot of time learning how to play.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the WORST game I have ever bought on Steam!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Still a great strategy game, used to play the hell out of this on another profile years ago...wish I hadn't lost that password lol
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nice game. Not as in detailed or anything as HOI 4 but still good more of a pure war strategy game then diplomacy and every has the same research
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't understand why games that aren't updated are still on Steam.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →racist paradox u are sucks
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →pathetic game from a pathetic paradox, what an idiotic name of a company
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An outdated game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A fine hobby to have.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a game by a company that spreads slander against Atatürk—a man who did not even distinguish the Anzacs he fought against at Gallipoli from his own soldiers.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played as Turkey I fought with england,france,armenia and italy while having my breakfast my country was on the verge of collapse. when I finished my breakfast I decided I need to be serious and focused on the game and won the war after the game some dude named nicholas hulbert called me and said you massacred armenians and engaged in controversial actions the only thing I did was rescue my country in the end he banned me I dont recommend this game developers talks and thinks nonsense
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I finally decide to sit down and give this game a whirl after leaving it in the 'log for so long, and it just doesn't wanna cooperate with me. I can play the older games (HOI2, AoD, DH) just fine with not that many, if any, issues, but this one just refuses to play ball. I tried the most notable fix, but despite that and a few extra tweaks for good measure, it just wouldn't run. Paradox is openly selling a game that has not been fixed for most modern computers, and the situation has not been…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If it weren't for Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his brothers-in-arms, the Rums, Greeks, and Armenians would have united to massacre and eradicate the Turkish, Kurdish, and Arab, especially Muslim, populations. Damn you racist pieces of trash, I am never buying a Paradox game or DLC again. ♥♥♥♥ off, you terrible people.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hearts of Iron III feels like a strategy game designed to punish the player with complexity rather than reward them for mastering it; the interface is dated and confusing, the learning curve is absurdly steep, the AI regularly makes baffling decisions, and managing armies, production, diplomacy, and logistics quickly turns into tedious spreadsheet work instead of enjoyable grand strategy. There is depth here, but it is buried under clunky controls, poor presentation, endless micromanagement,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Even after all these years, Hearts of Iron III remains one of the deepest World War II grand strategy games ever made. It has a steep learning curve, but once you understand its mechanics, the game offers an unmatched level of strategic freedom. Supply lines, chain of command, production, diplomacy, and warfare all feel meaningful and interconnected. It may look dated, but it still delivers what many strategy fans are looking for: a complete experience without feeling like core mechanics are…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An incredibly detailed World War II simulator that suffers from severe over-engineering. The tedious Order of Battle micro-management demands hours of administrative work before any actual gameplay can occur. Because the developers abandoned the game to focus on sequels, major performance bugs and AI flaws were left permanently unfixed, leaving a frustrating, unpolished product. I do not recommend.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Empty game with ♥♥♥♥ DLCs
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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