Hearts of Iron 4 Thunder at our Gates just brought three undervalued WW2 players to life

New Hearts of Iron 4 expansion Thunder at our Gates has just arrived, and it’s all about stepping into the heart of command. The new ‘theater pack’ continues to grow the now decade-old WW2 game (happy tenth birthday, HoI 4, you’ve now lasted 60% longer than the conflict you’re based on) across three nations that don’t often get enough recognition. Become the last bastion against Japanese forces with Australia, carve out an empire as Siam, or determine whether Indonesia should push for independence. Add in the introduction of military HQs and ship captains, and your skills as a leader will be put to the test.

The latest Hearts of Iron 4 expansion pushes further into the Pacific, and Australia sees the most dramatic experimentation with its new focus tree and a democratic election system that influences your direction. Fortunately for the real-life Allies, Australia’s journey through WW2 was steered by a largely stable democracy, and you’re free to pursue this path for a more historically true campaign. However, there’s also the ability to steer the nation towards fascism under the rule of Australia First; or you could embrace communism, rally behind the Australian Labor Party, and push for nationalization through social action.

Adopting the Australia First path presents two potential branches, each very different. Under its historical leader, P.R. Stephensen, you’re able to push for a firm independence, rejecting British wars and potentially even signing a pact with Nazi Germany to claim the Pacific Islands, depending on how far you wish to go. If you instead hand power to Adela Pankhurst Walsh, however, you can continue to utilize the British connection, relying on their need for allies until you have grown the nation enough to establish independence in a smoother transition.

Siam, which would become Thailand by the war’s end, starts its journey through Hearts of Iron 4 under pressure from France and England. In order to establish control, you’ll need to deal with its leading party, the Khana Ratsadon. This is split into military and civilian wings, and each forms independent opinions of you, with the former typically favoring fascist policies and militarization, and the latter preferring a pro-democracy approach and a push towards more civilian industry. Strike the balance carefully, or you could face a coup.

Finally comes the Dutch East Indies, the archipelago that now exists under the banner of Indonesia. Indeed, this bubbling revolution is at the heart of its campaign, with you free to decide whether you wish to pursue a loyalist or revolutionary path. This decision is fixed in time, taking place 140 days in with a vote on the Soetardjo Petition. Should you choose to continue peacefully, you’ll gain a partially shared set of focus trees, and can either have Netherlands continue to invest at the cost of your autonomy, or work towards a more gradually independent region.

If instead revolution is in your blood, it’ll become the main focus of your play; Paradox says it has “prioritized making the revolution itself fun, rather than something you want to get over with as quickly as possible.” It’s split into three stages, beginning with the growth of a network of underground revolutionaries. From there, as skirmishes begin to break out, you can begin establishing independent Indonesian states against the will of the Netherlands. Finally, if needed, things can escalate to full-scale war, although the developer notes you “will never have to go all the way to the Netherlands to finish the revolution.”

Alongside this, Thunder at our Gates introduces two more elements designed to capture “the art of organizing a campaign.” The new military HQ system lets you deploy generals in specific spots along your frontlines, directing influence and command bonuses where they’re needed most. Meanwhile, the addition of named ship captains brings some extra strategy to the recently overhauled naval side of HoI 4, with the ability to promote them into admirals as their success and status grows. There’s also a wealth of new and revamped models and fresh voiceover.

Even if you don’t buy the DLC, Hearts of Iron update 1.19 brings more balancing and the new special forces doctrine to the table. There’s some additional polish for New Zealand with extra focuses, advisors, and industrial concerns. The patch notes also include the likes of more critical states for ships, an improved ship details window, and some more polish for the strategies used by AI commanders. Notably, Mexico will now prepare more before going to war, the UK is less scared of creating tension, and the computer will “stop trying (and failing) to cheat in border wars.”

Hearts of Iron 4: Thunder at our Gates is out now, alongside patch 1.19 for the base game. You can buy it as a standalone DLC at $19.99 / £16.99, or get it in Expansion Pass 2 for $48.77 / £40.99. Paradox will be hoping this lands to a sunnier response than the rest of the ongoing pass. Both No Compromise, No Surrender and Peace For Our Time have faced a wave of negative reviews since their launches regarding the perceived price-to-content ratio.