Hearts of Iron 4 tackles Japan's most chaotic political struggle in new update

Strategy games are no strangers to political struggles. In fact, that's basically their whole thing. Hearts of Iron 4 is no different, as you take control of any nation in World War 2, to see if you can recreate history—or change it. Despite being nearly a decade old, developer Paradox Interactive is still publishing regular updates. The next expansion will focus on Asia, and the last two developer corner updates have shone the spotlight on China and the Philippines. This time, it's Japan's time in the sun, and Paradox explains its bespoke new system for unraveling the chaos of the 1930s.

For those of you who don't know, Japan was a mess during the 1930s. An inter-service rivalry between the army and navy led to neither communicating with the other, the army having its own little navy, and the navy having its own little army. That's a gross oversimplification of a decade of political upheaval, but it gives you a broad picture of what we're talking about.

Those of you who have played a lot of Hearts of Iron 4 may immediately think of Balance of Power. This system seems perfect for Japan's messy internal conflict, but Paradox has created a new, bespoke system instead. Imperial Influence includes the Balance of Power between the country's armed forces, but also allows industrial and governmental players the chance to influence the Emperor. I guess that's why this is considered one of the best strategy games around.

The factions will rise and fall in influence depending on the focuses you take and the demands you succeed or fail. Each faction's standing will be represented by one of four levels of influence: subdued, meddling, influential, and dominating. Ensure your preferred faction achieves their goals in order to guide Japan to the future you want to play out.

There will also be one major decision to make in terms of determining Japan's 20th century political philosophy. When the Kodoha prepares its coup to replace the government, you can choose the outcome. The two options are mutually exclusive, and can force your hand when it comes to ideology.

There are a few other details, like the fact that Japan now starts as a politically neutral government rather than a fascist one. There are also instances where war with China is unavoidable, depending on the choices you make.

As with previous blogs covering China and the Philippines, Paradox promises a well overdue overhaul for Japan in the next update. Distilling this chaotic political period into concise videogame mechanics is not easy, but the new approach looks a lot better than the current Japanese playthrough.

If you liked this, you may also be inclined to try some of the best grand strategy games. Our picks of the best PC games will also stand you in good stead while you wait for this patch to drop.

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