Games like Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game

The Squirrel's verdictHearts of Iron 2 Complete is the direct ancestor of Darkest Hour — Darkest Hour began as a mod for this engine. Both share real-time-with-pause WWII grand strategy, country selection, and economic and political preparation for global war. HoI2 leans further into open alternate-history outcomes with less scripted historical pull than Darkest Hour, and median playtime lands around 73 hours.

Not for you if you want Darkest Hour's structured historical event chains rather than a more open-ended sandbox.

The Squirrel's verdictMaking History: The Calm and the Storm is designed for players who want accessible WWII grand strategy — production, diplomacy, and military campaigns across any nation from the 1930s onward, on an interface reviewers compare favorably to Axis and Allies. Alternate-history outcomes are wide open, and the game's total playtime runs shorter than most on this page, with a median around 53 hours.

Not for you if you want detailed unit management or complex research trees rather than a streamlined, pick-up-and-play national strategy system.

The Squirrel's verdictPlayers who want WWII grand strategy stripped of Darkest Hour's alternate-history looseness will find HoI3 the more disciplined option. Province-level fronts, division design, and a research-and-event system that reviewers describe as a genuine WW2 simulator rather than a sandbox. It pushes harder into division-level micromanagement than Darkest Hour, and co-op play is supported.

Not for you if you want Darkest Hour's freewheeling alternate-history scenarios rather than a stricter, more demanding WW2 simulation.

The Squirrel's verdictSame HOI2 foundation as Darkest Hour: province-level WW2 grand strategy, sprite-based unit counters, deep tech and research trees. Arsenal of Democracy leans harder into domestic sliders, economic policy, and civic investment rather than Darkest Hour's added historical content like WW1. Reviewers note alternate history is still possible but harder to pull off than in some rivals.

Not for you if you want Darkest Hour's WW1 content or an easier time diverging from real historical outcomes.

The Squirrel's verdictMaking History II covers the same WWII grand-strategy ground — military buildup, economy, political stability, alliances, open play as any nation — but with an interface reviewers compare to Axis and Allies rather than full Hearts of Iron complexity. Alternate-history divergence is wide open, and the system is accessible enough that new players can engage without consulting wikis for hours. Median playtime is around 102 hours.

Not for you if you want deep research trees, detailed unit management, or a polished interface — reviewers note crashes and performance issues with large nations.

The Squirrel's verdictSame WWII grand-strategy skeleton: national production management, any-country play, and wide alternate-history divergence rather than scripted paths. Making History lets you play minor powers with less historical lock-in than Darkest Hour's event chains, but reviewers note a thin tutorial and rougher interface, with end-turn processing that slows as games progress.

Not for you if you need clear onboarding and a polished interface rather than figuring out production and mechanics through trial and error.

The Squirrel's verdictSame grand-strategy skeleton as Darkest Hour: play any nation, manage production, resources, and military buildup across a full world map, with heavy modding support including a scenario editor. Set in WWI instead of WWII, with any-country flexibility DH's fixed historical path doesn't offer. For players who want Paradox-style depth without needing WWII specifically.

Not for you if you want balanced factions rather than reviewer-reported Allied favoritism, or a modern, non-dated interface.