Recent reviews by Skinny P3n15

I have not played this game very long but I'm having a ton of fun with it. My friends and I really enjoy this game. There are a few issues I've had like connectivity for just starting matches and some graphical errors but all in all a good experience. It is early access after all. Would recommend this game.

If you like Civilization games, you will like this game. More depth to pretty much everything. More focus on your government style. Better combat and even tactical turn based combat plus army composition isn't just one unit and they can be massive. Would highly recommend. I played during the Victor Opendev and it has a few kinks it needs to work out but all in all is a very enjoyable experience.

The first time I reviewed this game, I only had ~30 hours in and hadn't realized just how little I had dipped my toes into this ocean of fun! When I write reviews, I like to focus on Gameplay, Visuals, Performance, and the Company. Now that I have over 800 hours in this game, let me tell you what this game is about.

This is a medieval 4x strategy/roleplaying game set in 867 AD and onward Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Western Asia, and soon all of Asia all the way to Japan! Meaning, you could begin a game as just a dude back packing around Europe, and end having conquered about ~70% of humanity at this point. Especially after the adventurer update, giving you the ability to play an unlanded character of your design, this game has basically become the Sims with way more testosterone behind it lol!

Gameplay - I cannot tell you how much I love the gameplay in this game. You can make this game whatever you want or you can pick a character in history and re-enact or re-create history. I personally recommend starting the game as an adventurer. I don't like replacing historical figures at the start of the game but I DO like taking their stuff and making it mine. On top of that, as an adventurer, there is no rush to build up and do amazing things from the get go. You can absolutely min-max this game like you would rather play an excel spreadsheet but this game also lends to relaxed gameplay and that is I think maybe it's strongest asset. As a guy who works a regular 9-5, It's hard to sink all of my free time into a game that feels like a second job sometimes, even if I do find the challenge enjoyable sometimes. I do like the ability to just get on and go for a hike or have a feast to enjoy myself and not necessarily attempt to conquer the world all the time. You really do just make it your own game. Normally that reads to me as lazy development but in this case it is brilliant.

Visuals - Compared to CKII (of which admittedly I have minimal time in to be fair), CKIII is like comparing your 5 year old's doodle of the household to the Mona Lisa. Both have their value but when is clearly better. The map looks good both when zoomed in to see dudes walking around the map and when zoomed out to appear like a table top. There is a good amount of variation between all of the cultures and religions in the game with every update fleshing it out just a little bit more. When the game first came out, I needed some mods so it didn't always seem like every Frenchman decided all at once to wear the same tunic but at the time of writing this, there is a decent amount of variation between all of the cosmetics that I don't really use them anymore. Absolutely can spice the game up with those mods because believe me when I say they really do add a bit at times, but you don't even need them. Only gripe I have is that depending on heritage and a couple other factors, a ton of the map share unit models. It makes sense to an extent but at the same time armor and clothing were so personal during this time period that seeing the same helmet looking exactly the same as the dude sitting next to you was uncommon (because a homie had to make all of that painstakingly by hand and we ain't robots lol). More variation with unit models would be nice though it's not game breaking to see the same guys fighting each other.

Performance - At the time of writing this, my PC is working with an I7 and a 2080ti. My old review, I had the same cpu but was using a 1050ti and the game ran just fine on max graphics easily at 60fps. FPS doesn't matter to me as much for these games seeing as I am just staring at a map the whole game but I have not experienced any extremely strenuous graphics or had the game stutter out or anything. Once you've played for about ~80 years give or take, it will slow down depending on mods and rule settings. However, I typically run the game on 3x speed (game goes from 1x speed to 5x speed, time being kept on a day by day basis and ticks for resources and whatnot are on a monthly basis generally) so when it slows down, I just turn the game speed up a little. It makes multiplayer a little more challenging but singleplayer is fine since I have full control of time and don't need to worry about annoying my friends when I want to read every word of dialogue. There are settings and mods you can get to improve this. For example, limiting the number of AI adventurers helps out alot. You can run upwards of 200 at a time but I find that running with about 50 feels like the best compromise between performance and story building/gameplay for me. I typically run the game at 60fps with no issues.

Company - I include the company because as a person who likes to vote with their hard earned money, I like to let the scumbag devs know I don't want their garbage. If a company is going to not put in an effort and churn out the same thing over and over again with no regard for their fan base, I won't touch your products. I grew up on Call of Duty and quit playing after Advanced Warfare specifically because of this, same with the Battlefield series. While I am not about to tell you that I have found the only corporation that cares about you more than your momma, I will tell you that I can appreciate the way Paradox typically does business. They do sometimes put out some DLCs that feel over priced on some of their games (Stellaris is my main gripe with this) but the fact that they let you use the DLC the host uses even if you don't with limitations is a great choice for someone with broke friends (lol). I enjoy that my friend group doesn't need to be split up because Billy can't afford $10 more, which is fine and completely understandable. Paradox understands that their games like these are very social games and they don't want their fans and customers being divided and I can 100% get behind that.

In summary, if you enjoy a good 4x, if you enjoy roleplaying games, or just want a game you can chill out with and pick up after work for an hour or two, come get this game. Can typically be found on websites such as G2A or Humblebundle for less than $10 not including DLC but at $50 when games are getting ready to be $80, not horrible. Your friends will more than likely pick this up if they haven't already and play this with you for days, trust. You don't need to work at NASA to run this game, requirements for it should say, "can you turn your pc on?". All in all, this game is an easy 5/5 stars. I haven't even mentioned the modding community for this game but I will let that be a little gem for you to find because there is ALOT of stuff for this game in the workshop that can turn your game from medieval life sim to basically Fallout (After the End mod for those interested, it is so cool and their team is amazing). Thanks for reading!

This game has always been a game that I've enjoyed watching on YouTube. I had it on console (Xbox) and it was super fun then. I finally get a PC and the game is even better. The situations you find yourself in are zany enough to be interesting every time but not so crazy where you lose sight of what is happening. The mods for this game are cool too, like for example the Star Wars mods you can get for this game make it a whole new level of awesome for me. Me and some friends pretty much RP'd the Star Wars universe, making the different factions and playing them out as we see fit. The whole climate that is built in the game, whether you be a friendly species or horde of devouring aliens here to cleanse the galaxy, every action feels rewarding and consequential at the same time. The base game, in and of itself, is very good. If you are a fan of the Grand Strategy genre as well as a spacey/sci fi setting, this game is definitely for you. The graphics also are not bad, all things considered. You by no means are looking at something as visually complex as say Battlefield V but watching the space battles unfold as your fleets clash, watching giant death rays annihilate entire planets, seeing your soldiers get in landing ships and storm the beaches, it's all real good. I would give this game 5/5 stars. Good graphics, good game play, and just an all around good time. I also really appreciate how Paradox handles DLC when it comes to multiplayer. So long as the host has the DLC, everyone in the match has access to it, so if you have that one friend who can't always shell out for them, you can help them out without it costing you anything. Would recommend this game STRONGLY!

This game looked really good when I was reading about it and watching other people play. I got to play it finally and I'm not happy to say the least. There is no balance between weapons. As it stands, the only weapons that matter are the Rapier, the Longsword, or the Spear. Everything else might as well come with a suicide button. There is literally 3 gamemodes. One is you hoping to fight with a team against a team but is actually you fighting 14 people because your team picked instruments instead of weapons. Then there is Battle Royale which at this point is a sign of a desperate developer to stay relevant. Lastly, there is a horde mode that to be honest, I never tried because I was already fed up with the Frontlines mode. I had so much hope for this game and was crushed to see it this way. It is also super buggy. Some people don't save their progress after matches (mine did but a friend of mine was stuck at lvl 1). Some people can't navigate the menu without the game crashing. The last thing that ticked me off about this game is that it suffers from the same community issues that Chivalry had. People run into a large group of people, friend and foe, and just swing back and forth. Why they even included a tutorial in this game when that is literally all you have to do to be successful in this game is beyond me. Don't get me wrong, there are people who do fight and have skill. The majority, however, is literally taking a longsword and swinging or has a rapier or spear just spamming stab. 2/5 stars simply because the game is graphically appealing and has lots of potential but the community is bad, the maps are bad, and the balancing is bad. It was only $30 but it's honestly not worth more than $10.

I love this game to death. I have been playing it for a long time and feel it is quite the game. I am by no means an expert on PC stuff or even this game but I think that is half of why I like it so much. Some people know how to cheese the game and beat it no sweat. I, however, am learning all the time new ways to perfect my strategy and trying to use real world experience to beat my enemy. It is a constant challenge but that is half the fun. If you are like me and you don't like games that are like dark souls ( I know, get gud scrub ) when it comes to difficulty, this game offers the ability to be hard af in it's own regards but still have that learning area to learn how to defeat any obstacle that comes your way. The modding community for this game is awesome. If you want the game to be modern or WWI, they got a mod for that. The developers also do a great job of keeping the game up to date as well as throwing a wrench in every time a major update comes out which is a great challenge in it's own right. As of the last update, I can't make super death fleets as quickly as I used too but I am learning ways around this. If you like Grand Strategy games and need a game that is easy learn but hard to master, this game is for you. I would give this game 4.5/ 5 stars simply because the AI can be kinda dumb sometimes and make the game easier when it misreads situations and makes really dumb mistakes. If you pick this up, be sure to check out Millennium Dawn and Wolferos Great War mods. They add a whole new flavor to the game as well.