Crusader Kings III

 PC
Crusader Kings III Image
Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 61 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 580 Ratings

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  • Summary: Paradox Development Studio brings you the sequel to one of the most popular strategy games ever made. Crusader Kings III is the heir to a long legacy of historical grand strategy experiences and arrives with a host of new ways to ensure the success of your royal house.

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Crusader Kings III - "Real Strategy Requires Cunning" Cinematic Story Trailer

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 61 out of 61
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 61
  3. Negative: 0 out of 61
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Oct 7, 2020
    100
    A brilliant strategy that is basically accessible to everyone, even if the person doesn't like strategies very much – all one has to do is love a good story. Crusader Kings III is simply a Game of the Year candidate. [Issue#306]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. GameSpew
    Aug 31, 2020
    100
    Every detail of Crusader Kings III feels like the perfect evolution of the series. The refined systems and better UI don’t take away from the complexities of a campaign; they just make it easier to have fun. Every worry I had of this being a watered-down Crusader Kings II experience faded away with the sheer amount of content available. With a larger world, more refined systems, gorgeous visuals and deep character mechanics, Crusader Kings III is everything fans of the series could have hoped for – and more.
  3. PC Gamer
    Aug 31, 2020
    94
    Crusader Kings 3 is incredible. It's an irrepressible story engine that spits out a constant stream of compelling alt-histories, delightfully infuriating characters and social puzzles that I've become obsessed with unravelling. I can't imagine being done with it. I just subsist on digital drama now. Will Alfred finally leave the torture chamber and make a friend? What's Bjorn going to do now that he knows his wife is in love with his chancellor? And who's going to be committing patricide next? I need to spend less time writing reviews and more time with my dynasties.
  4. GameWatcher
    Aug 31, 2020
    90
    As much as it remains a numbers-driven grand strategy game, Crusader Kings III masterfully paints a complex medieval world teeming with living characters that have desires and ambitions. Its mixture of familiar and evolved systems enhances its roleplaying and emergent storytelling potential. The actions that you perform always feel like they’re the result of a process or skill your characters have naturally gained and there’s always something to grab your attention. And so it did, as for 70+ hours we were completely absorbed by warfare, realm management and court intrigue, which, it turns out, we haven’t had enough of just yet.
  5. Gameblog.fr
    Sep 2, 2020
    90
    Crusader Kings III is the best Paradox Interactive grand strategy games to date and probably one of best strategy games ever made.
  6. CGMagazine
    Aug 31, 2020
    90
    Crusader Kings 3 is a compelling strategy game that deserves to be played. Paradox Development Studios outdid themselves on this one.
  7. Screen Rant
    Aug 31, 2020
    80
    While not perfect, long-time fans of the series and newcomers previously intimidated by its complicated gameplay will be able to enjoy expanding their dynasties in Crusader Kings III for years to come.

See all 66 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 105 out of 154
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 154
  3. Negative: 33 out of 154
  1. Gensako
    Sep 2, 2020
    10
    One of the best paradox releases. It misses little features from Crusader Kings 2 and improves in many areas, including a lot of things thatOne of the best paradox releases. It misses little features from Crusader Kings 2 and improves in many areas, including a lot of things that are available to Crusader Kings 2 by spending a lot of money for lower quality. A very good foundation for the developers to work and thrive.
    Even from a veteran's perspective there is no reason to return to an older installment.

    The Kings is Dead. Long Live the King!    … Expand
  2. ideos
    Sep 4, 2020
    10
    The best Paradox game. Much better than the CK2. Plus this optimization ... the game runs very smoothly. For me, a great game for years.
  4. shurick
    Sep 2, 2020
    10
    Wonderfully crafted game that will only get better with age and DLC :) Some annoying things from CK2 are gone but they have managed to notWonderfully crafted game that will only get better with age and DLC :) Some annoying things from CK2 are gone but they have managed to not dumb it down which is great! New Menu and tooltip layout will take some getting used to but overall its a huge step forward. Characters are wonderful and you definitely feel more involved controlling their destiny.… Expand
  5. Senjil
    Sep 5, 2020
    9
    Классная стратегия,затягивает на долгие часы за свою нелинейность и спасибо за русскую локализацию.
    9/10    Классная стратегия,затягивает на долгие часы за свою нелинейность и спасибо за русскую локализацию.
    9/10
  6. AeonsAlex
    Feb 20, 2022
    8
    Another Paradox game where you start it and 6 hours fly by without even realising. Builds on everything CK2 did right, and by the time all ofAnother Paradox game where you start it and 6 hours fly by without even realising. Builds on everything CK2 did right, and by the time all of it's DLC comes out, I'll have sunk another 300 hours into it.… Expand
  7. HAILAK
    Dec 28, 2021
    6
    It's just CK2 with improved visuals and a few quality of life improvements, improved menus, better optimisation etc. and worse in many, manyIt's just CK2 with improved visuals and a few quality of life improvements, improved menus, better optimisation etc. and worse in many, many ways.

    Still a bunch of bad and obfuscated mechanics. Most google searches for this game are "why does X happen?" "how do you do Y?" all poorly explained, and you'll be doing a bunch of these searches yourself too. The game still feels thrown together with little thought, despite the long development time.

    Some features are much worse than CK2. For example, you can't have primogeniture till about 1200, so the first 66% of the game is basically unplayably frustrating. I can't really stress this enough, you start expanding, and then just start thinking "why am I even playing this? the gains I'm making are going to get split up into different realms when my ruler dies anyway. Perhaps I should just do nothing for the first four-hundred years?". It's difficult to play more than one character's lifetime because of this, the game might advertise itself as 600 years of history, but really it's more like 60 years of history.

    Titles cost twice what they used to to create, to deliberately slow down the game. Also extremely ahistorical in favour of game-ism, for example, the Han Chinese culture appears in this game, and was highly advanced by the 9th century, but as they appear in the game, they have barely researched breathing.

    **** awful loading times.

    Lacks many features from CK2, presumably so Paradox can release them in DLC so you can pay for them again. No real improvement from CK2 in the important areas, like combat, naval combat, movement, succession, laws, etc.

    A good strategy seems to be to have as few children as possible, can you think of this being the case in actual medieval times?!

    Playing this makes me occasionally want to play CK2 again.

    I would refund this if I could.
    There have been many patches, but these issues are all still extant, and nothing has changed.    … Expand
  8. Mr_Master13
    Dec 19, 2021
    0
    Your product is really great, but finally rename Russia to Rus. Russia is not successor of Rus!

See all 154 User Reviews

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