Crusader Kings II: The Old Gods

 PC
Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. PC Gamer
    Jul 19, 2013
    90
    The Old Gods does just about everything you could ask for in a sandbox strategy game expansion, and with far fewer initial bugs and technical issues that any previous release of the series. [Aug 2013, p.75]
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  2. Riot Pixels
    Jul 2, 2013
    90
    It would have been cool if every nation added in The Old Gods got the same detailed treatment as the ones from the Legacy of Rome expansion, but still, this is a fascinating journey into the unforgiving Dark Ages.
  3. Eurogamer Sweden
    Jun 28, 2013
    90
    The Old Gods offer a significant addition to Crusader Kings and a fun focus on the pagan cultures. While the vikings initially feel slightly overpowered, they have a much harder time ahead of them as the years go by. This is a well crafted expansion and a absolute must have for those interested in playing the Nordic nations.
  5. Thunderbolt
    Jun 19, 2013
    90
    As with all the best expansions, The Old Gods doesn’t just give you more of the same. Instead it takes an excellent core system, and adds a set of rules and changes that give you drastically different ways to play.
  6. GameWatcher
    Jun 12, 2013
    90
    If you’ve never picked up a CKII expansion before, The Old Gods would be the perfect place to start. Saying that, there’s no reason you shouldn’t pick up the other expansions either, but we guess it depends on what you like to play as.
  7. Multiplayer.it
    Jun 7, 2013
    85
    The Old Gods is the icing on the cake of Crusader Kings II: if you love this game, you must simply buy this new expansion. Another great piece from Paradox.
  8. Eurogamer Italy
    Sep 23, 2013
    80
    Quotation forthcoming.

Awards & Rankings

7
#7 Best PC Game of 2013
90
#90 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

User Reviews

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User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 185 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 158 out of 185
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 185
  3. Negative: 14 out of 185
  1. Orctownorc
    Jul 7, 2013
    10
    I'm I'm willing to forgive the Paradox DLC show in this case since the core game is truly worth it. It seems almost a miracle that after yearsI'm I'm willing to forgive the Paradox DLC show in this case since the core game is truly worth it. It seems almost a miracle that after years and years of making sausage machines, they have (perhaps by accident) arrived at the architectual basis for a TRULY GREAT GAME. Crusader Kings 2 is a great game. No mistake. But it's still a little shy of perfect. However rather than the mediocre expansions of other Paradox titles, we find (miraculously!) that the major DLC for CC2 REALLY is improving the game. If they somehow find the way to build a GAME around this engine: scenarios, campaigns, cut scenes, narratives: we could well end up with the supreme strategy video game experience! Power yo you Paradox! On to the peak! This team may be the first to scale the Everest of game design! Even short of perfection, what they are selling now is work every copek and every crown! If you haven't tried this game buy it now and ALL the DLC. Applause! Bravo! Bravo… Full Review »
  2. Meshakhad
    May 30, 2013
    9
    An excellent piece of DLC, although it does need some balancing. Norse rulers can invade just about anyone, and can frequently fieldAn excellent piece of DLC, although it does need some balancing. Norse rulers can invade just about anyone, and can frequently field unstoppable doomstacks.

    Still, playable pagans, another 200 years of history to play with... good work, Paradox.    … Full Review »
  3. Kluge
    Jun 28, 2013
    9
    TOG gives you a whole new set of rules, mechanics, and scenarios with which to create a fantastic, immersive narrative while in aTOG gives you a whole new set of rules, mechanics, and scenarios with which to create a fantastic, immersive narrative while in a sandbox-style game. If you liked the previous major DLC expansions, this one's a must-have (by far my favorite), probably adding the most content of any DLC yet-released. Religions, pagan religions, and even vassals are now all dramatically more fleshed-out, with CK2 now being a large handful of games' content all in one. Paradox also started adding many more context hints in this game, explaining certain effects which are temporary (for example previously, there were many actions which'd affect an NPC's opinion for x years, but the game never hinted at that now it gives specific durations for actions which affect opinion).

    I agree TOG does introduce a lot of questionable balance choices, though... In TOG's start date, there are a good few nations able to totally dominate the map within a couple decades, no matter which difficulty level you're playing at. Playing Norse effectively voids out the entire casus belli system (particularly if setting ambition to claim a kingdom) as you can declare wars against just about anyone for large pieces of territory for rapid, dramatic expansion.

    Rebellions have been revamped as well, and now are more along the lines of what's in Victoria II (though this mechanic still isn't nearly as complex as in V2). I'm not sure it really adds any benefit to the game other than flavor and some more chaos, which keeps the game from feeling stale. Some rebellions will require even large states to hire mercenaries and call in allies to defeat, which increases the risk of expanding exponentially faster than you assimilate newly-conquered lands.

    AI seems significantly improved, as NPCs seem more prone to aggressive expansion, quickly gobbling up tens of smaller states in a handful of years, than working up to defeating the larger ones which might not be historical so much, but is more balanced considering this is what players do. The Independent States tab in the ledger shrinks pretty quickly with time, and I don't think that's a bad thing at all.

    The DLC introduced a few new bugs, but mostly only text-related, and I haven't yet experienced a crash playing TOG for ~30 hours. For instance, sometimes choices in dialogue options won't show effects or who's affected, only icons, and there seem to be many more instances where a character's name is replaced with something like "text_consort_titlename."

    I'll also state support for how Paradox does DLC content, with fluffy stuff (new portraits and song packs) being sold for a buck or two, but with all the core changes being included in the main DLC. It lets me choose which content I want and don't want based on which nations/regions fit my usual playstyle. There's no invasive DRM, and the prices are very reasonable, so I'm a huge fan of Paradox's respect in general toward customers.    … Full Review »
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