Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 4
  2. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Oct 27, 2014
    65
    It’s far from an essential purchase, but hardcore Crusader Kings 2 fans will probably want to pick this up for the custom kingdoms alone. For everyone else I’d advise giving it a miss unless you’re very interested in the period setting.
User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 4 out of 13
  1. Apr 25, 2017
    1
    THE addition that broke the game for many, many people. Let's start with good sides. Additional start date (that not many people like due toTHE addition that broke the game for many, many people. Let's start with good sides. Additional start date (that not many people like due to abbasids out of control). Zunist religion.
    What sucks:
    >Making custom empire or kingdom funnily wrecks dejure borders of predefined kingdoms and empires, because you WILL want to eventually destroy your title and use neat dejure predefined one - NOPE. Charlie events are ultimate noob scenario ones. You get half of europe + saxony + italy just by decisions. From then convert to religion of your choice adn the world is your oyster!
    >Retinues are completely butchered. They become drain on your economy for hardly any benefit. Barely better than normal troops, they are ridiculously expensive and will die during marching through your own territory. Most of viable retinues became butchered with this patch, and now you are stuck with pikemen for like 3 years now. Horse archers, cataphracts, knights? Forget them, they are useless. Addition of cultural retinues to the game (at least for many new cultures) killed diversity, because now you are stuck with horrible things unless you convert to different culture which is gamebreaking.
    > Tribals. So you want to be pagan. Peaceful pagan, just sitting in your country and minding your business untilyou are ready to expand? nope. You are tribal now. Everyone around you gets 2500 troops for 500 prestige, so you will waste all your prestige defending from backward peasants. If you decided defending is boring, you can look at your 0.3 g/month income or BLOB, because there is nothing else to do. If you are stupid enough to have at least 2 kids, they will automatically create kingdoms after your death and good luck attacking your brother. So you are forced to blob even more to make empire OR stop any conquest whatsoever the moment you are 40 years old, because you are too old to create empire. Good times.
    To sum up, retinues as bad as they are now, will never again allow you to just mind your business with strong, professional army EARNED by big tech. You will feel weak from the first to last year of your game. Good luck.
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