Sorry for the aggressive title — first of all, I genuinely was frustrated, and second, I did it intentionally to draw more attention to this issue.
“Both in terms of gameplay and historical accuracy, it’s a complete failure. It’s Western-centrism and Western colonialism in action.
Well then, my children, the culturally advanced, socially superior, and self-aggrandizing Latins have arrived to replace the “Greeks”—deemed unworthy to rule Constantinople—and take the city under their control. In the 11th century, the West did this to Rome; in the modern era, the Western world continued in the same vein toward China and other peoples and states that suffered from colonialism—and today this continues in the realm of culture and entertainment.
Romans, how did it come to pass that you perished along with your country? Today, some white Westerners still follow in the footsteps of their Latin ancestors, demonizing you—but you no longer have the opportunity to restore your reputation.”
The review you can see above is just one of many similar ones, and honestly, seeing so many of them got under my skin — so I wanted to take a moment to share my thoughts on this DLC and the game in general.
Briefly about the DLC itself: I haven't had much time with it yet, but in terms of value for money from a "modern" Paradox Interactive, it's perfectly fine. Out of curiosity I checked the reviews and ratings, and I was honestly struck by how predominantly negative they were.
One example is above — someone, overflowing with resentment toward Europeans, criticizes a Byzantine DLC through the lens of European colonialism, drawing comparisons to the history of China. Of all the analogies you could make. But then I remember the HOI4 situation, where Chinese players took issue with one of the alternate history paths for India and mass-bombed the game's reviews — a game that is, by the way, banned in China, meaning they shouldn't even be playing it. After that, nothing surprises me anymore.
Some of the reviews I've seen from Russian-speaking players give the entire DLC a thumbs down over a few untranslated lines of text, calling it "Russophobic." And all these people are collectively dragging the score down.
There's also a group that uses DLC reviews to criticize the base game — which is its own strange approach. The only thing I'd consider genuinely close to an objective review is content-focused criticism: no ideological agenda, no going off-topic, just talking about what's actually in the DLC. That I can understand and respect.
So — my personal take: the DLC is fine. Does it deserve this wave of negativity? Definitely not. Does the game itself deserve criticism? That's a more nuanced question for me. I genuinely enjoy the game — it has its flaws, but they're the kind that can and should be addressed over time, and that doesn't stop it from being something I keep coming back to.
And frankly, using a DLC's review page to air grievances about the base game or broader political frustrations does a disservice to everyone trying to make an informed purchase.
Now let me explain what I mean when I say "modern" Paradox. We all love Paradox games — otherwise we wouldn't be playing them. But the decisions coming from studio leadership over the past few years have been genuinely disappointing: their approach to shipping products that are essentially in early access, and their pricing model. I think a significant portion of the criticism aimed at their recent releases is a cumulative effect — built-up frustration between the studio's leadership and its playerbase. This model works for now, and people keep buying their games, but at some point that goodwill runs out.
I'll wrap up with this: I wish the developers patience, I'd encourage studio leadership to reconsider their priorities, and I'd ask players to be more objective in their criticism. If you're using reviews as leverage against the studio rather than evaluating the actual product, say that clearly — so that people reading your review understand what the criticism is actually about. And to those leaving reviews with questionable content: please, be reasonable.