Crusader Kings 2 was free on Steam this year and while I had heard of it and other games like Hearts of Iron and Europa Universalis I hadn’t actually bothered to pick up any of the games. Boy am I glad I gave this game a chance. I had no idea that I would spend over 400 hours on a single game in my life and still not be bored of it or have learned everything there is to know. I’ve still only put time into western European starting groups. I haven’t delved into the pagan, Muslim or Eastern religions or political groups they start under. I’ve started as a count, duke and king and had great experiences with all of them. The challenges of starting as each one are a different kind that I wouldn’t have expected. I think the thing that has kept me hooked is the fact that this game isn’t about resources as it is about people and how they react to each other. Sure, having a big army or lots of gold is important but sometimes who your kid marries or who you have an alliance with matters even more. The level of complexity in this game is quite honestly overwhelming at first and even after playing as much as I have I still struggle with some decisions. Not everything is a cut and dry good or bad idea. Sometimes killing a rival is the best idea and sometimes it can turn your vassals against you and cause a civil war. That’s part of what I love about this game. No decision results in the same outcome as last time.

Graphics 7/10
I didn’t rate the graphics too highly because the game is from 2012 originally and I don’t think many improvements have been made since then. However, it is a nice looking game overall even if there isn’t a lot of great detail to a lot of it. I don’t look at the game and wish it looked better but am usually impressed with the detail of characters faces and the maps.

Sound 9/10
What the game lacks in graphics it makes up for with the music. I don’t always play games with the in game music going but this game I keep it on. The music fits the setting of the game perfectly. It doesn’t feel like it has too much variety but it also isn’t a distraction in any way. The music starts and you settle in and never really feel like it has done too much or too little for the game.

Addictiveness 10/10
Do I need to say much more than 400+ hours? This game has multiple starting points (different years to start) and you can be just about any character in the game that is alive at the time. I’ve started the games at basically all levels you can start as and even with that I still start over and make new games to try new things. The numbers of ways you can play this game feel nearly endless. I still haven’t tried starting as a pagan or under anything other than feudal so I’ve still got a lot of other chances to play in different ways.

Story 2/10
There really isn’t anything that could be considered a “story” for this game. You pick a new person every time you play and your characters die and are replaced constantly. This makes developing a coherent story impossible. However, it also leaves open the ability to develop any story you want. You can become a torturing tyrant or a benevolent leader. You can kill your rivals or give gold to keep everyone happy. The choices you can make are nearly limitless. You can develop your character however you want and interact with the people around you however you want. So, there may not be a structured story to play (which is what I used to determine my rating) there is more than enough to do to develop your own story of your dynasty.

Depth 10/10
This is by far the most in depth game I think I have ever played. The number of regions of the game along is insane. The religions and cultures and government types all add another layer upon layer of complexity. And then you’ve got the detail of having to deal with person to person relationships rather than dealing with country to country so much. You don’t invade a country; you take titles from specific people. You can invade a country and it won’t upset anyone but the person who holds the title you are trying to take. And with just about everything you can do you can update the options relating to those options. Counties that someone else used to control eventually become yours naturally if you hold them long enough. And as you grow your empire it comes easier to control through the vassal system. As you move from counties to duchies to countries to empires the vassals you control will themselves control more area and the larger empire remains relatively easy to maintain. Even with all of this explanation it is only scratching the surface of how complex the game actually is to play and understand. There are so many facets to consider and worry about. Keeping your vassals happy enough they won’t revolt but also getting enough tax revenue and soldier levies to be able to continue to expand your empire is a fine balancing act you have to figure out.

Difficulty 8/10
This game is also one of the toughest games I have played. Just getting into the game is so overwhelming and complex that accomplishing anything at first is extremely hard. Even once the basics of the game become obvious there comes layer after layer of complexity to the game that weren’t there before. As your empire grows so do your problems. More counties, duchies and countries under your control means more people to keep happy and deal with. No matter how much you think you know there are still more things being added and more changes that continue to keep the game evolving in its difficulty.

Crusader Kings 2 has all the elements of other games be it economic or military but in the end the game is a political simulator. Every action matters. How people perceive you matters and quite often more than how many troops you have or how much money you have. How you act and build your characters, and your subsequent offspring, can make or break your dynasty. Too many bad marriages or weak leaders can result in your country or empire fracturing in a civil war and leaving you nearly destitute compared to where you once were. Sometimes one strategy that worked earlier in the game stops working because you’ve become too powerful or are suddenly less powerful. And probably the best part of the game is that it has aged well. Expansions and mods are still being made for the game and are constantly improving the complexity available to you.

The only real drawback to the game is also what makes it great and that is the complexity. There is simply too much to learn at first. I watched several hours of how to videos from youtube in order to learn how to play the game and understand just the basics of what I was doing. I spent another 400+ hours of gameplay after that in order to feel like I can actually play the game somewhat well and I know there is still a lot left to explore and try out. If you enjoy slower paced games where decisions matter more than strict numbers then this game is definitely for you. It does take a long time to learn but the learning curve is more than worth it because once you understand the game it becomes better and better.