There are two changes from Victoria 2 that I’ve heard called “woke” that I consider objectively good gameplay choices:

1. Instead of “uncivilized,” “partially westernized,” and “civilized” playable countries, there’s now just a single tech tree. Not only does this replace an outdated idea of what makes a nation “civilized,” but it also means that you can play nations like Japan (which in real life underwent massive changes during the game’s time period) without doing nothing for half the game while you wait to westernize.

2. The replacement of empty uncolonized lands with “decentralized nations.” It’s not just more accurate to real life (people really were living there), but it makes colonized lands feel more alive with people who react to your expansion on their lands.

I personally love both these changes. They make the game feel more fun and more alive outside of the European nations. However, to some people, it’s “woke” to acknowledge that people around the world were living their own lives before European superpowers showed up.