Crusader Kings III Reviews

Crusader Kings III is ranked in the 99th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
9.3 / 10.0
Sep 8, 2020

Crusader Kings III is not only one of the best grand strategy games of this generation; it's absolutely one of the best games of its genre in history! With CK3 in hand, it's really hard to find time for trying any other games for some months!

Review in Persian | Read full review

92 / 100
Aug 31, 2020

It’s clear that Crusader Kings is not a game for everyone. It’s dense, complex, at times slow, at other times overwhelming. But there’s a magic here, a storytelling generator that you won’t find anywhere else.

Read full review

9.1 / 10.0
Aug 31, 2020

Graphically beautiful, fun to play, intelligently designed, Crusader Kings III is one of the best entries in the long list of Paradox's grand strategy games.

Review in Italian | Read full review

9 / 10
Mar 29, 2022

Unleashing the full, terrifying complexity of a PC-based grand strategy game on console is a Herculean task, which Crusader Kings 3 manages with deftness and aplomb.

Read full review

Aug 31, 2020

Crusader Kings 3 takes the massively-popular formula of its predecessor and distills it into a much more accessible and attractive package. The drama is even better, the plots sneakier, and it’s a game you can play for hundreds of hours without getting tired of it.

Read full review

9 / 10
Aug 31, 2020

The best way to think of Crusader Kings 3 as a sequel is in terms of its own dynastic gameplay. Sure, Paradox have started from scratch with a new game, but it's still full of scheming, warring amidst an impressive breadth of cultures and religions. Crusader Kings 3 is an heir that has been born from Crusader Kings 2 and its many expansions, including and improving on so much of what made that game great, but it can still grow and improve in its own right.

Read full review

TJ Denzer
Top Critic
9 / 10
Aug 31, 2020

All things considered, Crusader Kings 3 is perhaps one of the most immersive and flexible strategy games ever put together.

Read full review

9 / 10.0
Aug 31, 2020

Crusader Kings III is an excellent kingdom management game, more intimate but no less intricate than the likes of Civilisation VI, it's as unforgiving a simulation as you're going to find while still being more fun than you'd expect it to be.

Read full review

Aug 31, 2020

Crusader Kings III's near perfect marriage of robust grand strategy with compelling roleplaying means both fans of wargames and storytelling aficionados will find something to love in its medieval world of politics and intrigue, whether that's crunching numbers to efficiently conquer the known world, or rolling with the punches as they scheme their way into the annals of history.

Read full review

Sep 1, 2020

Paradox took what made Crusader Kings II so good and ramped it all up a notch. The third instalment is easier to get into as a newcomer to the series, offers more addictive RPG systems like the revamped dynasty feature, whilst maintaining that medieval simulator charm. Just watch your back, you hear me?

Read full review

Mar 30, 2022

Bringing this game to consoles turned it into the most beginner-friendly and fastest-loading version of Crusader Kings yet. It falls only slightly short of the PC version’s greatness simply through the game being built from the ground up for desktop gameplay. As it stands, Crusader Kings 3: Console Edition is the platonic ideal for console ports when it comes to strategy games.

Read full review

9 / 10.0
Aug 31, 2020

Crusader Kings III pulls off a difficult dual victory, bringing a new level of depth, charm, and polish to the franchise, while also making it far more approachable than before. Some aspects of Crusader Kings III still aren't as user-friendly as they could be, but overall, this is a worthy heir to the throne.

Read full review

9 / 10
Aug 31, 2020

While Crusader Kings III has shortcomings and flaws, these are overshadowed by the sheer number of options and content thanks to its gigantic map and features. Greater emphasis is placed on a character's or dynasty's growth, a level of detail not seen in any previous grand strategy title, allowing you to experience trials and tribulations like never before.

Read full review

9 / 10.0
Mar 29, 2022

There is absolutely nothing like Crusader Kings III on console. By including such deeply embedded and emergent role-playing elements in Crusader Kings III and thus making it much more approachable than any of its more decidedly hardcore strategy predecessors as a result, Paradox have also created something of a gateway to bring traditionally non-strategy fans into the genre at large. Oh and it's basically a Game of Thrones simulator to boot. Which is nice.

Read full review

90 / 100
May 11, 2023

I don’t know how I feel overall about the release schedule and pricing of Paradox expansion packs. Maybe it’s a lot, or maybe it’s a fair price. What I do know is that these big expansions look to change the feel of the game in significant ways. Measured against that standard, Tours and Tournaments is another huge step forward for Crusader Kings, the best emergent narrative RPG/strategy game around!

Read full review

9 / 10
Aug 31, 2020

Successfully modernises the medieval strategy series, preserving much of what's good and adding some interesting new ideas. While it still needs to iron out a few details, it's a worthy successor to the series' august crown.

Read full review

Aug 31, 2020

Crusader Kings 3 is a fantastic entry in Paradox's historically-rooted strategy series. New RPG elements help to create a more engrossing character-driven experience, while lots of quality-of-life improvements make it more accessible and digestible to both Crusader Kings veterans and newcomers. There are still a couple of issues, such as as inconsistent AI-controlled allied armies, but this is still nonetheless one of the absolute best strategy games you can currently buy.

Read full review

9 / 10
Sep 1, 2020

Crusader Kings III is the best Paradox Interactive grand strategy games to date and probably one of best strategy game ever made.

Review in French | Read full review

9 / 10.0
Sep 4, 2020

Crusader Kings III is a one-of-a-kind experience that mixes intrigue, the ambrosia of victory, and the devastating bitters of defeat.

Read full review

9 / 10.0
Sep 14, 2020

Four generations in, I felt it was time to retire and did so with a smile on my face. Crusader Kings III forces you to play as a human capable of only human feats, and constantly reminds you of that fact. But it is this limitation that gives every action you take a real sense of weight, and makes even the most mundane of decisions feel like life and death.

Read full review