Crusader Kings 3

Crusader Kings 3 is the latest installment in Paradox’s series of grand strategy games set in the Middle Ages. The game was created with the historically accurate customs and traditions of peoples who lived between the 9th and 15th centuries in mind, but also with a dash of modern ideas about the world, such as equality and tolerance.

For 600 years, the player leads a dynasty of rulers in their chosen realm and can use them to bring any fantasy they can imagine to life. This is all thanks to the extensive RPG elements, which include relationships with relatives, marriage and inheritance, intrigue and betrayal, diplomacy, and trade.

The map in Crusader Kings 3 is similar to the one in the second game with all its DLC, but it’s larger, stretching from the eastern coast of the Atlantic Ocean to Siberia and India. At launch, it included all of Europe, southwestern Russia, parts of Asia reaching as far as Mongolia and Bengal, and the northern part of Africa. New regions have been added to the game over time.

The map shows the current political, cultural, and religious landscape, which changes dynamically over time without any input from the player. You have to keep checking the state of affairs and adjust your plans. For example, a weak feudal lord might find shelter under a powerful empire through a successful marriage or diplomacy, after which it will be difficult to dislodge him.

For the first time in the series, baronies are represented on the map, but counties remain the smallest indivisible units of the game world and the starting point for gameplay. The structure of the lands has not changed: counties make up duchies, duchies make up kingdoms, and emperors stand above kings.

As in Paradox’s grand strategy games, Crusader Kings 3 takes place on a global map in real time rather than in turns, like Total War. However, the game has no RTS-style battles with units and armies fighting on the map. Wars are simplified to a dialogue window and the combat strength of troops, determined by their type.

The complex and challenging gameplay is built around the best mechanics of grand strategy and role-playing games, focusing not only on external expansion but also on domestic affairs. Since CK3 spans 600 years, the player leads an entire dynasty rather than an ephemeral state. Their goal is to survive as long as possible by killing those who stand in their way, forging alliances, and taking part in wars.

Each dynasty member is generated with a realistic set of ambitions and attributes, as well as a personality they follow throughout their life. Managing the ruler’s personal life and that of their descendants is an important part of the gameplay. The player engages in a kind of selective breeding, deciding whom to marry to whom and who will inherit the throne. After the ruler dies, the cycle repeats with their descendants.

The better the current generation’s attributes, the better the next generation’s genetics will be, and the more they will achieve. For instance, a neighboring king’s daughter will be more willing to marry a handsome prince, allowing you to forge an alliance and unite two realms.

Role-playing in CK3 has been improved with a stress mechanic: when the player makes a decision that goes against a character’s personality, their stress level rises. The more stressed they are, the worse the ruler feels: they may have a breakdown, cause a scandal, or even die before their time.

The mentorship system lets you educate an inexperienced heir and unlock as many skills as possible in their lifestyle by the time they ascend to the throne. The latter is a new mechanic featuring five branches: diplomacy, martial, stewardship, intrigue, and learning. The more skills a character has in a given area, the easier it is to put the corresponding plans into action.

For example, a warrior king can quickly expand the realm’s borders, but should be succeeded by a diplomat who can appease the neighbors and make peace with enemies. Next, you might need a king who can put the finances in order and strengthen the dynasty’s authority, followed by a scholarly ruler who can help drive scientific progress.

Relationships within the dynasty are an important part of the gameplay. Power transitions from father to son often drag on: dissatisfied relatives may unite and try to kill the rightful heir or seize his throne. The struggle for power also takes place behind the scenes, through intrigue, gathering blackmail material, or murder. You can do the same from the outside, carrying out covert operations and sending assassins after members of rival dynasties.

Crusader Kings 3 has no set storyline for the player to follow, with the game ending once it’s complete. Instead, there’s a large set of random events (many of which won’t happen again), and the player writes their own story by deciding how to handle them. At the start, you can choose one of six campaigns, which determine the difficulty, starting point, and start date—867 or 1066. Everything else is the same.

You can develop your realm through construction and research, strengthening your power, and changing its culture and religion. Much depends on whether you choose a tribal, clan, or feudal government, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

If you wish, you can change your religion by creating your own heresy and choosing its features—for example, allowing cannibalism or declaring adultery a virtue. The same goes for culture: you can reform a people’s customs and traditions, introducing them to something new. The reverse is also true: after conquering a province, you can impose your religion and culture, but this may cause discontent.

The army has changed. It now consists of levies and professional soldiers, and both can belong to different troop types. The higher the soldiers’ combat skills, the better; this can unlock promotions to certain units, such as knights. You choose whom to recruit, giving you more control over the army’s composition.

If you handle problems within your dynasty well and successfully develop your realm, your dynasty builds up a prestige meter—a sort of measure of its renown among other realms. This makes it easier to conduct diplomacy and arrange marriages, and vassals become more loyal and less eager to stab you in the back.

CK3 is so flexible that you can quietly spend the entire game tucked away in a corner, taking your vassals hunting, going to feasts and parties, and steadily developing your realm while others turn the world into a bloodbath.