The king is dead. Long live the king. Paradox unveiled plenty of projects at the 2019 iteration of its annual PDXCon fan gathering, but none loom larger than Crusader Kings III. After eight years and over a dozen expansions, the game that (arguably) made Paradox a household name is passing the crown to an heir.
There’s not much to go
Paradox did provide a few details in its press release though, calling it the start of “a new generation of grand strategy games, with new 3D character models and an even more detailed map.” The first claim is pretty hard to adjudicate at this point, but the latter two are certainly borne out by the few screenshots Paradox sent over.
To wit, it looks like you can see castles and other fine details on the map now, which is a neat feature. The user interface looks a lot tidier and more dynamic as well. There’s less information on-screen at any given moment, but the various sub-menus on display here are all eminently readable.
And I love how the iconic pop-up events now feature relevant characters in the artwork. Check out this example of Eustache and his crossed-arms disdain for Mayor Ebbon of Montreuil-sur-Mer:
Now that’s what I want from my medieval politics simulator, an accurate idea how annoyed my character is at any given time. I’ll miss the hand-drawn look of Crusader Kings II, but 3D characters seem like they’ll give Paradox a lot more flexibility.
Another screenshot confirms that the Way of Life expansion’s “Lifestyles” will feature in Crusader Kings III from the start, albeit much expanded. And the press release claims “religious beliefs are more firmly under your control,” which sounds promising as religion grew in complexity over the course of Crusader Kings II.
That’s the catch though, isn’t it? As I said, Crusader Kings II has undergone eight years of continuous development and expansion. It’s hard to imagine Crusader Kings III having nearly the same depth at release, no matter the quality-of-life improvements. Like every numbered Civilization reset, it might be years before Crusader Kings III is considered a proper heir to the throne. Hell, it might never happen in some people’s eyes. Civilization VI is three years old and still struggles to surpass its predecessor’s popularity some days.
Even so, I’m excited to see them try. Paradox’s games have come a long way since the release of Crusader Kings II, and I can’t wait to play a sequel that draws on the lessons from those intervening years. We won’t have to wait that long either, as Paradox claims Crusader Kings III will release in 2020. I’m not entirely convinced that date will stick, but I hope it does..
There’s not much to go
Paradox did provide a few details in its press release though, calling it the start of “a new generation of grand strategy games, with new 3D character models and an even more detailed map.” The first claim is pretty hard to adjudicate at this point, but the latter two are certainly borne out by the few screenshots Paradox sent over.
To wit, it looks like you can see castles and other fine details on the map now, which is a neat feature. The user interface looks a lot tidier and more dynamic as well. There’s less information on-screen at any given moment, but the various sub-menus on display here are all eminently readable.
And I love how the iconic pop-up events now feature relevant characters in the artwork. Check out this example of Eustache and his crossed-arms disdain for Mayor Ebbon of Montreuil-sur-Mer:
Now that’s what I want from my medieval politics simulator, an accurate idea how annoyed my character is at any given time. I’ll miss the hand-drawn look of Crusader Kings II, but 3D characters seem like they’ll give Paradox a lot more flexibility.
Another screenshot confirms that the Way of Life expansion’s “Lifestyles” will feature in Crusader Kings III from the start, albeit much expanded. And the press release claims “religious beliefs are more firmly under your control,” which sounds promising as religion grew in complexity over the course of Crusader Kings II.
That’s the catch though, isn’t it? As I said, Crusader Kings II has undergone eight years of continuous development and expansion. It’s hard to imagine Crusader Kings III having nearly the same depth at release, no matter the quality-of-life improvements. Like every numbered Civilization reset, it might be years before Crusader Kings III is considered a proper heir to the throne. Hell, it might never happen in some people’s eyes. Civilization VI is three years old and still struggles to surpass its predecessor’s popularity some days.
Even so, I’m excited to see them try. Paradox’s games have come a long way since the release of Crusader Kings II, and I can’t wait to play a sequel that draws on the lessons from those intervening years. We won’t have to wait that long either, as Paradox claims Crusader Kings III will release in 2020. I’m not entirely convinced that date will stick, but I hope it does..