Crusader Kings III brings eight years worth of improvements and more to Paradox Interactive's popular strategy series. Announced late last year, the game is a sequel to 2012's Crusader Kings II, which has been consistently supported with dozens of DLC packs and free updates throughout the eight years since its release. Now, Paradox brings an evolved take on their monarch masterpiece to create a more engaging, and mercifully more acceptable entry to the series that is just as impressive as it looked during preview season.
The only thing more confusing than Paradox's intricate, convoluted grand strategy games is the complete lack of meaningful tutorials in previous entries, often leaving players to turn to the internet to figure out how to play the acclaimed strategy games. Crusader Kings III tackles this problem head-on with the best tutorial the studio has ever put out. The game takes time to introduce players to key concepts both new and old, and will offer tool-tips about more minor mechanics as a game goes on. Key terms can be hovered over for a quick definition for those who don't know their Primogeniture from their Ultimogeniture, and eases the mini-history lessons required to understand the game. Not that Crusader Kings III is easier or less underwhelming for newcomers, but efforts to make the esoteric game more palatable are largely a success.
Many mechanics added to Crusader Kings II through DLC are present in the sequel, along with some new or re-worked systems. More notable changes include the use of Hooks and Secrets: the former being favors earned that can tip negotiations in the player's favor, and the latter being a record of past misdeeds done. Secrets are a two-way street, as players cannot go murdering every disgruntled vassal without risking discovery after the fact. If the player chooses to act against their character's traits, they can accumulate Stress, forcing more considerable roleplay to every successor to the throne.
The Lifestyles system, another Crusader Kings II add-on, has been reworked into a perk system that can unlock powerful boons and abilities, and experimenting to find the best combination adds a new layer of strategy. Combat has been streamlined and made more transparent, although calling allies into war brought upon frustrating AI at times that turned what should have been decisive victories into unnecessary losses.
These new changes, alongside many more minor yet well-executed ones, make Crusader Kings III a combination of the cutthroat courts of Game of Thrones with the family-based sandbox gameplay of The Sims - although Crusader Kings III hopes to be less greedy with its DLC than the latter. Compared to its predecessor, actions have greater consequences, both good and bad, and the quality of life changes will be gladly accepted by veterans and newcomers alike.
Overall, the improvements justify the decision to create a new game instead of simply adding more DLC to Crusader Kings II. While not perfect, long-time fans of the series and newcomers previously intimidated by its complicated gameplay will be able to enjoy expanding their dynasties in Crusader Kings III for years to come.
Crusader Kings III releases September 1st on Mac, PC, and Linux. Screen Rant was given a Steam key for the purposes of this review.