It’s a delicate balancing act, and one that forces players to understand the characters they have under their control and play them to type - or be prepared to deal with the consequences.Īt one point, while playing as Matilda of Tuscany around the year 1100, my own son offered to marry me. Kings and queens can literally go insane, reducing their ability to rule and setting themselves up for ruin. You can make a good and pious ruler do terrible things, but push anyone too far and they’ll snap. The challenge is in piling up the right decisions in the right order to set yourself - and your children - up for success while not going stark raving mad.įor the first time in franchise history, Crusader Kings 3 models the idea of stress. Meanwhile, every other character in the world is trying to do the same kinds of things. Don’t like your boss? Then seduce your liege and murder them in their sleep. Want your neighbor’s land? The game has half a dozen ways to take it for yourself. It’s because where other strategy games tend to say no, Crusader Kings 3 says yes.ĭon’t like your wife or your husband? Then arrange for a divorce. That’s not because the game itself is capricious. Once the simulation is set in motion, just about anything can happen. You can step into the shoes of any one of hundreds of different historical figures spread out all across the ancient world, from the British Isles and Africa to India and the Mongolian steppe. Or you can begin the game in the 11th century, when huge, ponderous beasts like the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy dominate the landscape. You can enter the fray in the ninth century, when the majority of individual kingdoms are small and feisty. What’s remarkable is the sheer scale of the game. Your heir will now actually look like a combination of you and your spouse.

In this latest iteration, Paradox has significantly upgraded the visuals.

Crusader kings 3 achievements