CRUSADER KINGS III
Paradox’s historical sandbox sticks to what it does best
istory won’t remember my tenure as Alba’s monarch fondly. A poisoned brother, nieces and nephews fed to woodland critters, political rivals turned into ‘art’ in my torture chamber—and let’s not go into all the STDs, or that time I wanted to have sex with a shoe. Yeah, this is Crusader Kings all right.
HAfter racking up a litany of misdeeds that would be far too long—and nauseating—to list here, I can report that CrusaderKings III still lets you play an absolute monster. You can be chivalrous and pious, too, but it’s not as fun to read about. Indeed, almost everything you can say about its predecessor is true here, but it doesn’t feel like a repeat.
CrusaderKingsIII starts where the last game left off. Not chronologically, of course, but in terms of its systems. Over the course of nearly a decade, Paradox has lavished its historical soap opera with DLC, and almost all of what it added is still present in this new base game. The difference is that it’s all been designed holistically instead of slotted in piecemeal.
Everything just feels like it fits together better. It still throws lots of crises and notifications and decade-spanning wars at you, but it’s a lot less jarring this time around because it seems like more consideration has been put into how all of these systems interact with each other.
It’s also a hell of a lot better at explaining what the heck is going on.
At the time of writing, it’s still months away from completion, but already the new player experience is much improved over its predecessor. The tutorial is fine, if a bit dull and wordy, but it’s the nested tooltips, which are both concise and informative, and UI changes that do the heavy lifting. The best way to learn, however, is still jumping in and making a
STRINGS ATTACHED
I’m partial to the intrigue lifestyles because they really let you make the most of CrusaderKingsIII’s system of schemes and hooks. Schemes, known as plots in the last game, run the gamut from nurturing a friendship to planning a murder, and like most things there’s a mechanical and roleplaying component. They move forward every month, and each step the game makes a new calculation based on you and your agents’ skills versus your target’s resistance. At the tenth step, regardless of those things, you’ll try to execute the scheme. If you fail but don’t get caught, it just starts again.
To help you with your schemes, you can gather up secrets about your fellow nobles and courtiers. Maybe they’re a heretic, or having an affair, or hiding a huge roster of illegitimate bastards. These secrets give you a hook that you can use to exploit them. When I was broke, I liked to blackmail them for hard cash, but they can also be used to force nobles to back your candidate in an election.
My greatest victory wasn’t on the battlefield—it was when I made my ten greatest enemies endorse my son as the next in line to the throne, all because they were stepping out on their spouses. Now that’s power. But it also comes at a cost. There’s everyone hating you, of course, but it also might have an impact on your emotional and mental state.
Stress is a new feature that encourages you to embrace your character and act appropriately. A content and compassionate ruler would be unlikely to shame people or use an error in judgement for blackmail, so picking those options generates stress. The more stressed you become, the closer you get to a breakdown. You’ll get chances to alleviate the stress, but the cure can be just as bad as the ailment. Solutions include booze, brothels, or flagellation. Or you might take up running. None of this feels like a punishment. It nudges you into roleplaying, but breaking free of those expectations can also be liberating, leading to new twists and traits.
I just wanted everyone to be happy, which is why my rulers have slept with everyone. I was being blackmailed a lot,
STRESS IS A NEW FEATURE THAT ENCOURAGES YOU TO EMBRACE YOUR CHARACTER