There’s just so much to take in with Crusader Kings III that you feel like you’re always learning new tricks and approaches to various situations. Everything is about trying to think two or three steps ahead and the sensation of outwitting a particularly tenacious foe on the world stage is satisfying to say the least. Raising an army and then sending it into battle to conquer a neighbouring country might not endear you to your subjects right away, but the resulting economic bounty that you could obtain could swing opinion in your favour and allow you to move into a position of greater strength moving forward.
Sure enough, each of these strategy elements you could argue are common to other genre efforts but where Crusader Kings III excels especially is in how everything coalesces into a grandly satisfying whole.
From managing tax levies on your general populace, to balancing public opinion on your actions, maintaining your economy and keeping folks happy, Crusader Kings III excels not because you’ll be able to balance all of those plates successfully, but because over a long enough period of time you won’t and when they come all crashing down is often when Paradox Interactive’s latest tactical effort is arguably at its best. Much like history tells us, the rise and fall of any kingdom worth its salt is often a kaleidoscope of diplomacy, military action, marriage and oodles of good old fashioned skulduggery – and in each of those worldly disciplines Crusader Kings III does a great job of putting the player in control. Speaking of which, as one might expect, running your own kingdom, let alone one that is expected to endure over the course of centuries, is quite an undertaking and Crusader Kings III provides players with no shortage of concerns to worry about in a bid to keep their kingdom prosperous. You could find yourself murdered by a disowned son or daughter that in disposing you, now allowing you to control their fate and chart an all-new course through history as a result. Essentially, the game ends when your dynasty does, so whether you’ve got an unbroken line of succession, or a hidden and forgotten bastard progeny exiled in some far flung country (cough), you can still keep on playing – which is a hugely refreshing state of affairs to say the least considering that other strategy games have far more rigid fail state criteria.Įven better still, your dynasty can carry on in a number of interesting ways all of which can provide monumental changes to the scenario. Quite unlike other tactical fare, losing a battle, a war or even your kingdom in its entirety is not ‘game over’ in Crusader Kings III. The kicker though, is that for the next playthrough I started off playing as my vengeful (and now extremely rich) son, and so you can see just how compelling Crusader Kings III can be. In one such playthrough, my ruler had a romantic dalliance with a lady from a rival kingdom but because I decided to ‘roleplay’ a complete a-hole, promptly kicked her to the curb and took up with another match that I deemed would be better for my realm from an economic perspective.Īfter many decades of fairly prosperous rule, I soon found myself besieged by mighty army from the east led by, you guessed it, my errant sprog, who in the name of his dear old ma proceeded to murder me and take all of my holdings. Crusader Kings III PS5 Review A Beguiling Blend Of Grand Strategy And Emergent Role-Playing Drama That You’ll Never Tire Ofįor my own part, the real excellence of Crusader Kings III lay in how it salts its tactical gameplay with emergent storytelling that bleeds from one playthrough into the next.
Perhaps of all of them, there’s one Steam review whose commentary will be keenly felt by most who aren’t fans of strategy games in general is the one which ends “so don’t even ask me how to play, I couldn’t even tell you because I’m doing my best, and I’m having a blast.” And this is crucial, not least because Crusader Kings III is not only a super sophisticated, endlessly deep tactical affair, but also one that permits such a wide variance of experience that everybody, regardless of their affinity to the strategy genre (or competence at it), can get something from.
“My Grandson had a child with his mom” one such review states while another gleefully exclaims that they created “a dynasty of incestuous pirate witches who are also religious fanatics.”
A quick scan of the opinions that PC gamers have had regarding Crusader Kings III would reveal a game that is seemingly at odds with its super serious, po-faced historical subject matter.