Recent reviews by asparagus

I love this game but ran into an error where I couldn't get out of the main menu (clicking anything would crash it). Play on GOG, much more stable.

Crusader Kings 3 is an lackluster experience coming from Crusader Kings 2. I was hyped for this game, but as the release day neared I found myself less and less interested. I slowly came to realize that this game would not be as fleshed out as CK 2 (expected due to a new release), but I did not think it would be to this extent.

First, the pros:

The game is very beginner friendly and you can quickly have a successful and fun play through within your first few games. Paradox did a great job implementing and building on the Way of Life and Ruler Designer systems. The default bookmarks provide great experiences and provide great introductions to the different types of runs you will have while playing the game.

The cons:

The game is pretty bland. Now of course this is pre $300+ worth of DLC that will come out for this game but even for a new release this game is lacking. The charm that Crusader King 2 had with its numerous amount of absurd events and extreme scenarios is sadly absent in this game and that is a big blow to a player like me. Gone are the days of Horse vassals and Satanist sex orgies, and instead we are given lackluster religion and intrigue systems (intrigue being essentially the same as before). Now while this can be easily fixed with mods, I still believe that a $50 dollar game should be able to provide some type of freshness, especially after dropping $200 plus on CK2 + DLC.

TL;DR - Crusader Kings 3 is a great introduction to the Grand Strategy genre, mixing strategy and role-playing elements while utilizing its looks to create an immersive experience for a map game. However, if you are coming from CK2, I would suggest waiting for the game to fleshed out more.