head to head

Age of History III cover artvsHearts of Iron IV cover art

Age of History IIIvsHearts of Iron IV

Age of History III leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Hearts of Iron IV leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).

EXECUTION1 /10READS4 /10VARIANCE3 /10OPTIMIZATION8 /10
Age of History IIIHearts of Iron IV

Axis by axis

Execution1 vs 2

Hearts of Iron IV leans harder on execution: pausable, micromanagement-heavy

Reads4 vs 4

Even - both lean on reads about the same.

Variance3 vs 3

Even - both lean on variance about the same.

Optimization8 vs 9

Hearts of Iron IV leans harder on optimization: division templates and production solved

Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.

full breakdown

Age of History III

full breakdown

Hearts of Iron IV