"As long as there are two people left on the planet, someone is gonna want someone dead" - TF2 Sniper

The third instalment of the Crusader Kings franchise brings not only a refresh to the bloodbath of the previous two games, but whole new levels of depth to the murdering people. Your actions have consequences, but are also much more rewarding.

A medieval strategy game with heavy elements of roleplaying and storytelling, Crusader Kings III has big shoes to fill after the success that was CKII. Well, Paradox has done it again, another excellent title has been produced.

Characters actually feel like they have personality in this game, thanks to the hugely improved character portraits and the new stress system. Who would have guessed that doing things against your own morals would stress you out? The stress system and increased role of personality traits makes decisions much more impactful. Sure, I could be greedy and extort significant amounts of gold from the church, but as a zealous character, this doesn't sit well with me, and with the recent death of my best friend, I might be pushed over the edge and start finding vices to cope with my stress with.

Further, the individual feudal contracts with each vassal add an additional layer of control to managing vassals. Do you give your loyal vassals a tax break? Or do you placate the disenchanted vassals while taking more from the happier ones? Individual feudal contracts allow for you to build up your realm to what you want it to look like, particularly once marches and scutages become available.

Additionally, the espionage system is hugely improved. The role of RNG has been reduced, making it more clear as to when something might occur (such as an assassination). However, once you have gotten away with it, don't think you will hide your secret forever. A new system to the series, known as hooks and secrets, adds a whole new layer to espionage. You may have gotten away with the murder of your wife, but ten years later, while drunk at a feast, you might let the secret slip to a vassal, who can then use this secret as a hook to blackmail you or he can just expose you for the murderer you are. Plop your spymaster in the byzantine court to search for secrets and watch the secrets roll in. Followed of course, by unlocking the golden obligations in the stewardship tree, so you can turn the hooks into gold. Yes, you are profiting from blackmail and the misery of others, but they deserved it.

The new dynasty system is a welcome refresh. No more playing pokemon with bloodlines, instead, use your dynasty's renown to unlock perks for all your family members. Also, got some random uncle who somehow inherited all of France? Well now, instead of remaining part of your house, dynasty members can create cadet branches that they have control of, which adds not only to the historical accuracy of the game, but also enhances the depth of the game, your distant cousins in Spain of a cadet branch of your dynasty will now feel like

However, there are some problems. The AI are the worst allies I have ever had. HOI4 Italy is more useful as an ally. The AI will watch you die to enemy troops from one province away while they could just more one tile and not only save your arse, but destroy your enemies. Additionally, the AI haven't figured out what a matrilineal marriage is, so if a female gets land, she won't care that her heir won't be part of her dynasty, she will just throw it all away and marry normally, letting some other dynasty inherit the title. Holy Orders are practically unusable, because not only do the AI never seem to make any, but when you create one, they use it all the time, giving you no chance to grab it when you are defending against the infidel hordes, because as soon as one AI ruler is done with it, they instantly pass to the next. Perhaps add a queue to the holy order for the player to use so they can actually get it or let us found more than one holy order to help supply the huge demand.

Technology is changed, it is now tied to your culture and development and feels much more realistic. Development is now a visible statistic that impacts income, technology and levies and development growth feels much more natural than other Paradox games such as EU4. The new prestige and piety systems let you spend prestige and piety without compromising your overall buildup to a paragon of virtue or exalted among men.

However, I would like to see merchant republics added back to the game, to properly model the role of sea trade in medieval economics, as well as boosting our often empty coffers. Additionally, I feel like Primogeniture should not be restricted to beyond 1200 AD, just to beyond around 1100 AD and should be based more on technology than date. If you are so advanced that you discover all the innovations in an era before the next one opens up, you shouldn't have to wait just because you are reforming your kingdom faster than real life. The domain restriction penalty should also impact control, control is the perfect system to use to represent the impacts of divided attention, so I am surprised it was not used. Further, becoming a saint shouldn't be unavailable for content or humble characters, because it feels strange to stop the most saintly people from becoming saints.

Ultimately, although there are a few problems with the game, the design of the game is fundamentally sound (unlike Imperator: Rome) and is highly enjoyable to play. It does not feel like a slog, but rather like an exciting story of hope and despair, victory and defeat, plans and surprises in the medieval era of human history. While sometimes it may feel like the AI are all trying to bang your wife, don't forget that the murder scheme exist for a reason. "someone is gonna want someone dead".

10/10 would put down peasant revolt again.

"As long as there are two people left on the planet, someone is gonna want someone dead" - TF2 Sniper The third instalment of the Crusader Kings franchise brings not only a refresh to the bloodbath of the previous two games, but whole new levels of depth to the murdering people. Your actions have consequences, but are also much more rewarding. A medieval strategy game with heavy elements of roleplaying and storytelling, Crusader Kings III has big shoes to fill after the success that was CKII. Well, Paradox has done it again, another excellent title has been produced. Characters actually feel like they have personality in this game, thanks to the hugely improved character portraits and the new stress system. Who would have guessed that doing things against your own morals would stress you out? The stress system and increased role of personality traits makes decisions much more impactful. Sure, I could be greedy and extort significant amounts of gold from the church, but as a zealous character, this doesn't sit well with me, and with the recent death of my best friend, I might be pushed over the edge and start finding vices to cope with my stress with. Further, the individual feudal contracts with each vassal add an additional layer of control to managing vassals. Do you give your loyal vassals a tax break? Or do you placate the disenchanted vassals while taking more from the happier ones? Individual feudal contracts allow for you to build up your realm to what you want it to look like, particularly once marches and scutages become available. Additionally, the espionage system is hugely improved. The role of RNG has been reduced, making it more clear as to when something might occur (such as an assassination). However, once you have gotten away with it, don't think you will hide your secret forever. A new system to the series, known as hooks and secrets, adds a whole new layer to espionage. You may have gotten away with the murder of your wife, but ten years later, while drunk at a feast, you might let the secret slip to a vassal, who can then use this secret as a hook to blackmail you or he can just expose you for the murderer you are. Plop your spymaster in the byzantine court to search for secrets and watch the secrets roll in. Followed of course, by unlocking the golden obligations in the stewardship tree, so you can turn the hooks into gold. Yes, you are profiting from blackmail and the misery of others, but they deserved it. The new dynasty system is a welcome refresh. No more playing pokemon with bloodlines, instead, use your dynasty's renown to unlock perks for all your family members. Also, got some random uncle who somehow inherited all of France? Well now, instead of remaining part of your house, dynasty members can create cadet branches that they have control of, which adds not only to the historical accuracy of the game, but also enhances the depth of the game, your distant cousins in Spain of a cadet branch of your dynasty will now feel like However, there are some problems. The AI are the worst allies I have ever had. HOI4 Italy is more useful as an ally. The AI will watch you die to enemy troops from one province away while they could just more one tile and not only save your arse, but destroy your enemies. Additionally, the AI haven't figured out what a matrilineal marriage is, so if a female gets land, she won't care that her heir won't be part of her dynasty, she will just throw it all away and marry normally, letting some other dynasty inherit the title. Holy Orders are practically unusable, because not only do the AI never seem to make any, but when you create one, they use it all the time, giving you no chance to grab it when you are defending against the infidel hordes, because as soon as one AI ruler is done with it, they instantly pass to the next. Perhaps add a queue to the holy order for the player to use so they can actually get it or let us found more than one holy order to help supply the huge demand. Technology is changed, it is now tied to your culture and development and feels much more realistic. Development is now a visible statistic that impacts income, technology and levies and development growth feels much more natural than other Paradox games such as EU4. The new prestige and piety systems let you spend prestige and piety without compromising your overall buildup to a paragon of virtue or exalted among men. However, I would like to see merchant republics added back to the game, to properly model the role of sea trade in medieval economics, as well as boosting our often empty coffers. Additionally, I feel like Primogeniture should not be restricted to beyond 1200 AD, just to beyond around 1100 AD and should be based more on technology than date. If you are so advanced that you discover all the innovations in an era before the next one opens up, you shouldn't have to wait just because you are reforming your kingdom faster than real life. The domain restriction penalty should also impact control, control is the perfect system to use to represent the impacts of divided attention, so I am surprised it was not used. Further, becoming a saint shouldn't be unavailable for content or humble characters, because it feels strange to stop the most saintly people from becoming saints. Ultimately, although there are a few problems with the game, the design of the game is fundamentally sound (unlike Imperator: Rome) and is highly enjoyable to play. It does not feel like a slog, but rather like an exciting story of hope and despair, victory and defeat, plans and surprises in the medieval era of human history. While sometimes it may feel like the AI are all trying to bang your wife, don't forget that the murder scheme exist for a reason. "someone is gonna want someone dead". 10/10 would put down peasant revolt again.