Do you want to be the King of the World?
It has been more than 15 years since Crusader Kings broke through with force among those passionate about strategy, 15 years that may seem like a world to any mortal, but seen from the prism of realization are nothing more than a blink, a sigh, a fluttering hummingbird in the line of succession to these houses of renown and history. After dazzling us eight years ago with a sequel that did nothing but improve everything seen in the original, Paradox Interactive returns to the fray with another exceptional video game that once you try it, you no longer want to leave thanks to all the improvements it receives.
A tutorial that teaches you to be King
Many times in titles like this, with a monstrous variety of options, maps, sections, subsections and possibilities, the player is always shown the basics in a more or less extensive tutorial and is thrown at us as a child who practically does not know how to swim at the same time. deepest part of the pool. But in Crusader Kings III this is not the case thanks to a majestic and practically perfect tutorial that takes care of giving you all the tools you need to know if you are a newcomer to the franchise.
It shows almost 80% of everything we can do, and what it does not show is left for when we finish it and continue in that game to continue instructing ourselves. Even if you don't finish it (which I advise against) and you want to get fully involved in one of its campaigns, the program will continue to help you with concepts or options that you have not reviewed or controlled completely. This is not only useful for the player who is introduced to the saga or the genre, but also for the most knowledgeable in these struggles who will have a perfect opportunity to refresh their enormous content.
Enjoying Crusader Kings III
This is a complex game, very complex, and within its complexity it presents us with a very important dichotomy, because in reality, the new Paradox is played by itself, practically alone. Let me explain: if you start a game and you follow the possibility percentages of some actions, as well as the advice and help in the form of icons that are offered to you, you will remain in power without much hurry for a large number of hours, and even , you can win territories without resorting to the "Casus Belli". Surely you wonder how it can be possible that, if this title is so complex, it can be played alone. The answer is easy, since it is one thing to play Crusader Kings III and quite another to enjoy Crusader Kings III. To do this, you have to free your mind and begin to concoct, plot and concoct plans in the purest Game of Thrones style because, in essence, Crusader Kings III is more a title of characters and what they can do than kingdoms and territories.
The latter may seem somewhat crazy, since in a strategy game like this the characters disappear in an instant of the game, but these are the ones that form the foundations of the kingdoms, so we will have to invest many hours in knowing them, locating them in the most suitable position for their characteristics and above all, control them. Yes, control them, because in Crusader Kings III something has been added that completely changes the way you face the game: conspiracies. These are long-term plans to take different actions. They are the axis on which the raison d'être of the characters pivots, because with them Paradox has managed to squeeze the titanic work carried out with its huge cast of protagonists. Having an astronomical number of them and not endowing them with characteristics, background and utility, would have been a wasted work. But luckily they have provided them with everything necessary so that stories and an emerging narrative are formed through the conspiracies that I don't remember seeing in any other title.
There is a majestic and practically perfect tutorial that takes care of giving you all the tools
In Crusader Kings III anything can happen. From the simplest and according to the time as a union of influential and powerful families through an arranged marriage, with minors in between; going through the union of relatives, excommunications, bastard children who claim a place in the line of succession or betrayals of all kinds up to, even, a holy war. The conspiracies are divided into two types, personal and hostile. The latter include the murder of a noble rival, either Duke or King, being able to choose whether to carry out this task carefully so as not to raise suspicions or regardless of the consequences. Here you have to take special care, because there are, and they can be devastating for the kingdom or the future of our lineage. So much so that the enemy can make a counter conspiracy, killing, for example, the only heir to the throne and thus ending the possibility of continuing the game with all the work done, forcing us to choose another lineage or dynasty to continue in the game. But not everything has to end in murder; you can also carry out kidnappings.
Reason for war
As is tradition in the saga, ell "Casus Belli" is the excuse to act militarily against an enemy, and it is also the filter that puts the game, in a very intelligent way, so that it does not become a syndios of battles. For this reason, you will always have to look for that cause or reason through the council, a group designated by you to either create conspiracies that end in that reason that you need to attack or claim rights in the territory you want to annex, or control through papers. false of some past legacy in our lineage. All very well detailed and presented so that it is not complicated to carry out these tasks, but it does take time for the counselors to collect the information to achieve it, ranging from a few months to even years, all depending on the complexity of the objective. .
My conclusion
Crusader Kings III is a work of art in motion. Every detail is taken care of, not only in the artistic for its beauty, but also in the details of each character that appears on the screen. These change over time and with everything that happens to us during our lives, such as war wounds, illnesses, pregnancies, physical defects at birth and countless more. Technically Crusader Kings III shows excellent fluidity, although it does not have large scenarios to render, as a title of this genre requires a lot of work that is not seen, such as probability calculations or the invisible movements of all unknown regions and kingdoms.
