When I first reviewed Crusader Kings II in 2012, I called it “one of the most challenging, entertaining and rewarding strategy games [I’ve] ever played.” Four years later, it turns out that was only the beginning of my long journey with the game.
The Black Death, an outbreak of the bubonic plague which swept through Europe in the 14th century (killing anywhere from 30-60% of its population!), does not seem a good setting for a video game. Oh, unless it’s Crusader Kings II we’re talking about. Which, hey, we are.
Only in Crusader Kings II could a horse rise to power and, after decades of war and conquest, restore the might of the Roman Empire.
Crusader Kings II was released in 2012, and promptly became my Game Of The Year. And that was in its paltry vanilla state! In the years since, it’s gotten so much new content and so many big expansions that it’s practically become its own sequel.
The perfect Game of Thrones video game—a lot more perfect than Telltale’s one, which ate my save game—is a mod I’ve been writing about for years. So it’s awesome to see that it’s finally out of beta and wearing v1.0 after its title!
Crusader Kings II—one of the best video games ever made—has had a ton of great expansions and post-release content over the years. But none of it has been quite as exciting, at least to me, as this.
When it was first announced, I was worried that Crusader Kings II's Way of Life DLC would be bad news for my spare time and even worse news for my sleep levels. I was right to worry.
Video games don't usually get into the Christmas spirit. Which is a shame! So it was nice to see that, upon reinstalling Crusader Kings II yesterday, I ran into this: a new holiday soundtrack to one of the most bloodthirsty games ever made.
And here I was, only just saying how good Crusader Kings II - nominally a strategy game - was at depicting inter-personal relationships. Guess I'm not the only one who digs that aspect of the game, because developers Paradox are now going to double down on it, announcing an expansion that's all about role-playing.
Forget RPGs, action games or even the promise of a decent adventure title. The perfect Game of Thrones video game already exists, as a mod for a PC game that's not too shabby itself.
As we've seen with its patch notes, Crusader Kings II is a game that, taken out of context, sounds completely insane. The game's forums are no different.
Oh. Great. Just as I wean myself off the wonderful Game of Thrones mod for Crusader Kings II, now I find out there's a Lord of the Rings mod for Crusader Kings II.
If you needed further proof that Crusader Kings II is one of the best-supported, most expansive games of all time, check out this new expansion.
It's OK, Crusader Kings II isn't for everyone. I get that. But I'd like to think we can all at least find common ground and enjoy the game's patch notes, which continue to be the very best.
For something that's such a big part of many people's daily lives, religion doesn't play a terribly big role in video games. It does in Crusader Kings II, however, and that role is about to get a lot more interesting.
The final preorder bonus for Paradox Interactive's eagerly-anticipated PC/Mac grand strategy Europa Universalis IV has been revealed — a save game converter for Kotaku 2012 Game of the Year nominee Crusader Kings II, and a free copy of that game for those unfortunate enough to not own it already.
There's a point, maybe around an hour in, where you might feel a little disappointed with The Old Gods, a new Viking expansion for epic strategy game Crusader Kings II that was released this week.
