CRUSADER KINGS 3 FACTIONS SERIES
CRUSADER KINGS 3 FACTIONS FREE

Notably, in the series’ next outing, A Total War Saga: Troy, the hero mechanic is seemingly stepping up a notch. However, for the history buffs, the feature could be turned on and off, turning ‘heroes’ back into the fallible, killable human leaders they were in previous instalments. The addition of hero characters in Total War Three Kingdoms definitely added a sheen of cinematic appeal in the place of historical accuracy. Now, Creative Assembly is looking to widen that appeal further. That said, the ability to directly command and supervise battles has always made Total War more mainstream than Crusader Kings and given the games a wider appeal.

CRUSADER KINGS 3 FACTIONS SERIES

The Total War series is something of a kindred spirit of Crusader Kings – your armies moving around like chess pieces, while you manage your empire from a top-down map view. Where before the game occasionally felt like you were managing medieval spreadsheets, there’s now more life in every corner of the grand strategy sim. 3D character models, new animations and a completely revamped map have dragged the Crusader Kings franchise into 2020. The thing that’s even more likely to win over new players though is the visuals. Helpful tool-tips and advisor interactions complement a new tutorial, taking place in the country of Ireland. While the game still looks to have plenty of depth, much more effort has been made to welcome and encourage new players.

The snippets of Crusader Kings 3 footage we’ve seen so far have been quite revealing.

CRUSADER KINGS 3 FACTIONS FREE

Paradox Development Studio announced the grand strategy series would be returning in September, eight years after the release of Crusader Kings 2 (which is currently free on Steam). It’s Crusader Kings 3 that looks to be making the biggest effort though, with the notoriously opaque grand strategy series setting its sights on pulling in a wider crowd than ever before. Both games are making great strides in improving accessibility (the latter will likely be available on consoles) with the hope of attracting new players to the strategy genre.

Meanwhile, Age of Empires 4 heralds the revival of an iconic RTS series after a 15-year wait. Total War Saga: Troy is set to take Creative Assembly’s iconic series in a new direction later this year. Equally importantly, all these games are paying more attention than ever to welcoming new players. Behemoths of the genre are gearing up for new outings, and long-dead franchises are rising from the grave. This year could be one of the best for strategy games yet.

Crusader kings 3 factions