Europa Universalis 5‘s new DLC, Across the Pillars, focuses on adding flavor to the Iberian Peninsula, specifically Castille (Spain), Granada, and Morocco. It tremendously increases the value of playing in this wonderful part of Europe but ultimately falls short of giving you enough unique events and decisions that really turn the gameplay around.
I spent most of my time playing as Castille, looking to proclaim the Spanish Monarchy after uniting the crown of Aragon with my own, following the historical path that led to the eventual rise (and fall) of the Spanish Empire. The DLC opens the game up with a unique situation, the Battle for the Strait, in which Morocco and Castille vie for control over the last remnants of Al-Andalus—the Emirate of Granada. Castille, aka myself, wants to conquer and integrate it into the later Spain, while Morocco has its own agenda and seeks to either expand itself or reclaim the glory of the Umayyads in Iberia.
It took several tries, but I eventually conquered Granada fully. It declared an independence war, which I had trouble containing long enough for Morocco to sweep in, proclaim Granada its subject, and take over as the war leader. The independence war no longer being the main CB, I was allowed to conquer Granada’s territories. It was rather easy since I had total continental dominance compared to Morocco, even if they held the upper hand on the sea at the time.
But to my surprise the situation just… ended? The events leading up to it were cool and flavored, but the situation itself simply had very few decisions you could make as Castille. For example, I could only dismantle Granada’s forts, reduce its sovereignty, and demand Muslim scholars from it and convert them to Christianity. That was about it, though I could also pressure its court to gain greater control over the country. Furthermore, Granada simply wants to be independent from you, and nothing really helped. Even at +150 relations, Granada was severely disloyal and declared numerous independence wars against me.
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Morocco and Tlemcen also were super warlike and kept declaring wars, disrupting my gameplay, for no particular reason. They couldn’t take any territories, seldom had naval supremacy, and never, and I mean never, had any upper hand on land. The Battle for the Strait thus devolves into a waiting game whereby you actually want to give Granada over to Morocco and then conquer it willy-nilly, since Granada’s countless independence wars do not allow you to do basically anything against it in a peace deal, forcing white peace.
A much stronger side of the DLC are the new expeditions, which all tie into your historical status as a colonial nation searching far and wide for mythical cities and locations. These expeditions are a much better way of exploring than simply sending out exploration missions as they come with a ton of flavor and unique events and can lead to some incredible finds and rapid expansion into the New World. As someone who absolutely adores colonial gameplay in every EU game, I found this to be the strongest and most interesting part of the DLC.
The Iberian Union did not work out well for me since for some reason Aragon kept taking it over despite my ruler being the only son of the king and queen who formed it. I eventually gained control somehow and started integrating the Catalonians into the ultimate Spanish state. A few of my runs fell through because of France, whose levy-spam strategy still works in the game, and because I am completely dumb in economics.
Overall, though, I think this DLC definitely improves the state of affairs in Iberia. It’s better than not having it, even if the main situation is a bit dry. The DLC spans hundreds of in-game years, through many different eras and ages, and it will keep you engaged and entertained for a very long time indeed.
