Countries, eh? With their histories, social philosophies and sense of national pride. It's sickening, really. Luckily, Europa Universalis IV lets you beat up countries, by picking bigger, meaner countries to play as. And Paradox have rather kindly extended this opportunity to all, by releasing a demo ahead of the game's release next week. That's assuming you can work out what all the buttons do.
Head over to Steam to download the trial, handily marked with a "Download Demo" link on this here page . The demo locks you into the 1492 starting date, and gives 28 in-game years to play as Portugal, Venice, Austria or the Ottomans.
If that taster piques your interest, know that Paradox have also confirmed Steam Workshop support for the game. The developer's previously release, Crusader Kings 2, had some excellent mods, often hidden away on the Paradox forums or independent sites. Hopefully this centralised database will make it easier to discover some interesting add-ons.
Europa Universalis IV comes out August 13.
