Hearts of Iron IV: Death or Dishonor

Hearts of Iron IV: Death or Dishonor – is the second DLC for the real-time strategy game Hearts of Iron IV set during the WWII. Like the previously released expansion, Together for Victory, Death or Dishonor requires players to own the base game. The expansion described herein has been developed for PC by Paradox Development Studio, also responsible for the base game Hearts of Iron IV.

Mechanics

The Death or Dishonor DLC delivers new content, including four countries from Central and Eastern Europe, which after the outbreak of World War II, were caught between the rising powers of the Third Reich and the USSR. Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia had to make a decision: to stain their honor by joining the totalitarian leviathans, hope for help to come from the distant allies, or pick up the fight without any help, being aware of the threat posed by more powerful factions.

In order to diversify players’ experience, the developers added extensive National Focus trees for each of the new countries along with new world events. Apart from branches leading to alliances with an ideological option, the National Focus trees now allow the players to, for example, reinstate the Austro-Hungary Empire.

Hearts of Honor IV: Death or Dishonor also delivers some general content, featuring e.g. the option to license military technology. When facing tank, airplane, or other military gear deficit, country leaders can ask other governments for help in the form of military equipment licensing. The consent of a foreign government depends on both the international relations and the age of the project, of which plans the players are willing to borrow – it is very unlikely to obtain the blueprints of a recently developed advanced vehicle, for instance.

Another interesting feature is the Equipment Conversion option, where players can upgrade their arsenal by converting either older, or captured, units. The diplomatic aspect of the game has been expanded by awarding the fascist countries new subject levels, like the Reichskommissariat, which hold the occupied nations in an iron grip and allow players to use those countries’ gear, industry and natural resources.

Technical aspects

Along with the new mechanics, the Death or Dishonor expansion includes new elements of the audiovisual content, such as new leader portrait, 2D gear graphics, 3D vehicle models, soldier dialogues, and three new pieces of soundtrack composed by Andreas Waldetoft.

Last updated on June 22, 2017