Let your dynasty be remembered in this grand strategy RPG
Crusader Kings III is a multiplayer grand strategy role-playing game set in the Middle Ages that lets you live out the life of a monarch who must lead their land to glory. It’s the third installment of the Crusader Kings series and a direct sequel to Crusader Kings II. Developed by Paradox Development Studio, it’s available on PCs and consoles.
Crusader Kings III features the classic beloved gameplay while bringing in new mechanics to enhance your medieval RPG experience. If you love playing out stories of royalty, drama, and political strife in your games, it’s a recommended title to try out.
Long live the king
Grand strategy is a video game subgenre that focuses more on strategy concerning an entire nation or empire’s state and resources. This is how popular grand strategy series like Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis play out. You need to manage the land you rule and survive the harsh cycles of life by making sure that your dynasty stays in power for as long as you can. This includes taking care of your nation and making it flourish and withstanding the test of time.
Unlike Europa Universalis’ over-encompassing view on the map, Crusader Kings uses a more personal route and in Crusader Kings III, fleshed-out individuals are the backbone and catalyst of your land’s future. Some old, favorite features have returned and others have been upgraded, like the details of the map and your control over it. There are new mechanics as well, that define the game more as a dynasty simulator and this new addition gives emphasis more on the individual characters that make up the story of your nation.
In this game, you have more control over your dynasty and can influence it directly with a new currency called Renown. You can also focus on various Lifestyles that align with your character’s personality and get various perks, as well as events that can either benefit or hurt your rule. To start the game, you need to select your royal house, either in Iceland, India, the Arctic Circle, or Central Africa. After this, you need to lead your dynasty, securing the power of each new generation of yours.
Here, one way to establish your reign is through war as this is a real-time strategy game that requires you to show off your diplomatic skills and mastery of your land. Moreover, in this series, death is nothing as this just means passing down your lineage to a new playable heir, be it planned or not. As a player, you’ll discover the world of peasants and knights, courtiers, spies, and secret love affairs in this game.
Furthermore, as for your heir, you can groom the next in line however you want, be it through a guardian or by educating them yourself. You can even arrange a marriage for them or discard them if you want. However, as the game focuses on ruling a dynasty, it doesn’t offer a character development feature. Also, this addition doesn’t have all of the good features that Crusader Kings II had, although it’s a refreshing enough game for both newcomers and veterans alike.
Expanding eastward
The All Under Heaven major expansion of Crusader Kings III dramatically expands the playable map eastward to include medieval China, Japan, and Southeast Asia, adding a variety of cultures and kingdoms for players to try outside of the traditional European or Mediterranean zones. This tremendous update also includes Japanese as a supported language for the game, extending its accessibility to the international audience.
The three new regional kingdoms are an accurate representation of how the government systems worked historically in medieval East and Southeast Asia. China follows a Celestial system, and power and influence depend on Merit, which is earned through deeds or Imperial Examinations. Japan strictly adheres to the Shogunate system, where you can rise through the intricate court system to become a mighty Shogun. Southeast Asia follows the Mandala system, uniting tributaries into temple-centered empires.
Additionally, the expansion introduces the Silk Road trade system, where you can profit from the innovations and wealth of China even if you are far from its borders. It also sees the addition of historical starting bookmarks that let you begin campaigns from iconic medieval ages. To top it off, the update immerses you in Asia’s cultural flavor with new throne rooms, events, and traditions related to Asian culture.
Offers various DLCs and constant updates
As Crusader Kings III is a grand strategy experience, it continues to expand its gameplay by providing a wide range of downloadable content. Offering a total of 15 DLCs, this game gives players an immersive experience by introducing new clothing models for the royal family, new gears for war, and new sword weapons. Aside from DLCs, this game gives continuous updates as well in its base game like the Traverse update.
In this update, players are welcomed with new lifestyle trees, which are the Inspector, Wayfarer, and Voyager. Additionally, there are also new activities that are linked to the new lifestyle that the game offers such as Inspection, Hike, and Monument. Moreover, you can also see a new set of buildings and a new set of cultural traditions that you can explore.
A must-try addition for fans of Crusader Kings
Crusader Kings III is a must-play for fans of the Crusader Kings franchise. This addition features the beloved gameplay mechanics of the series while also giving players new features. In this game, you need to choose your royal house from the pre-made map and make sure that your dynasty continues even after your death. Here, you can also groom your heir by nurturing them, marrying them off, or even discarding them if you want.
