It covers primarily its namesake the Victorian period (1837–1901) and beyond, specifically 1836–1920 for the main game, and extends until 1936 if the expansion is installed.

The game itself gives a lot of importance to the economy of a country, having a complex market system which is described as being one of the best economic simulators ever made.

The player possesses a wide range of options with which to build their economy, provided they have access to the proper raw materials.

Warfare in Victoria is a special circumstance of diplomacy wherein two players attempt to invade one another's (national or colonial, depending on the war) territory.

It is abstract, and consists of divisions marching to hostile territory and fighting a hands-off battle that the player has no control over save by sending reinforcements or withdrawing.

The ultimate objectives in warfare is dramatically different from those of other strategy games: it is generally very difficult to do severe damage to an enemy's economy in a single war, occupied territory is only temporarily in the hands of the occupier, and post-war territorial gains are generally modest and difficult to subdue.

Warmongers tend to discover themselves radically isolated from the rest of the world and forced to engage in warfare almost continuously, which can lead to neglect of industry and prestige.

[9] Barry Brenesal ended his IGN review, explaining, "There's an excellent game struggling to surface in Victoria, and I look forward to playing it just as soon as the requisite patches appear.

The reviewer then concluded that at the time of the initial release, before patches, players were in essence "paying Paradox to beta test their game.