It’s a game that’s both epic and personal at the same time, and this increased focus on the personal side of that – after several big strategic expansions – is welcome and long overdue. But remember, Crusader Kings II isn’t really a strategy game, in so much as it is a King Simulator, and while there are wars to fight and taxes to collect, much of the game’s “work” comes from stuff like managing your daughter’s marriages and assassinating treacherous vassals. I’ve invited my mortal enemies to dine in my halls in the hopes my charm and (and booze) can stop them from trying to overthrow me.Īll of this sounds pedestrian, and in a strictly bullet-point kind of way, it is. I’ve sent my lazy-arse daughter to the monastery. I’ve spent 30 years hunting a Great White Stag that continues to elude me. I’ve snuck out behind my wife’s back and slept with half the courtiers in England. I’ve got a dog, named the dog then trained the dog, then had to choose where to bury it when it dies. Sometimes we talk religion (it’s messy), sometimes we talk politics (slightly less messy), sometimes we just hang out. As the King of England I’ve become best friends with a powerful Islamic Sheikh. Once you’ve chosen your base personality, the game unfolds much the same way a regular old CKII game did, only with a wealth of added personal decisions and options available.

And when that ruler dies, you can re-roll all over again. You could follow in your father’s footsteps, or break out and shame his name, it doesn’t matter, the choice is yours. Because you control the entire dynasty in the game, and not a single person, once your first ruler dies, you take control of their heir and do it all again. This being CKII, though, you’re not locked into your decision for long.

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