Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game similar games & best alternatives

Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game - Trailer
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Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game

Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows) • 2011

Should you play it?

Developed by a team of experienced modders from the Paradox forum, Darkest Hour is a stand-alone Hearts of Iron game. The game features a mixture of short and in-depth campaigns set across the darkest chapters of the 20th century. Play from the outbreak of the Great War up until the onset of the Cold War.

What works

  • Deep and complex grand strategy gameplay
  • Extensive modding community and alternate history scenarios
  • Historical accuracy and rich event system
  • High replayability with multiple nations and time periods
  • Low price with great value

Things to keep in mind

  • Dated graphics and user interface
  • Steep learning curve and limited tutorial support
  • Some ui and multiplayer limitations
  • Can be time-consuming and slow-paced
  • Limited diplomacy and domestic politics depth

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Hearts of Iron III

  • Hearts of Iron 2 Complete

  • Victoria II

  • Arsenal of Democracy: A Hearts of Iron Game

  • Supreme Ruler 1936

  • Imperiums: Greek Wars

Less fantastical

Games that feels like Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game but with less imaginative fiction

  • Command Ops 2 Core Game

  • Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm Player's Edition

  • Civil War II

  • Strategic Command: World War I

  • Command: Modern Operations

  • The Operational Art of War IV

Less story-driven

Games that feels like Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game but with less narrative immersion

  • Age of History II

  • Dummynation

  • Hearts of Iron IV

  • SuperPower 2 Steam Edition

  • ICBM

  • Making History II: The War of the World

Less fellowship-oriented

Games that feels like Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game but with less of a community feel

  • Age of History 2: Definitive Edition

  • Grand Tactician: The Civil War (1861-1865)

  • Rise Of The White Sun - 白日升

  • Age of History 3

  • Victoria I Complete

  • Monarch : Medieval Remastered

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game: Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Competition, Status, Fellowship, Domination. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Story, Leadership. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Relaxation.

Last update: 03/08/2026