With Tours and Tournaments, the next really big DLC for Crusader Kings 3 is coming our way, and while it sounds like fun, it may be heading in the wrong direction
I love jousting tournaments! Really, every year I look forward to attending these wonderful events. I then dress up properly, slip into my high leather boots, throw on a frock and set off on my trusty steed to escape the modern world for a few hours. The faithful steed is called a Fiat 500, by the way.
Of course, today”s medieval markets and jousting tournaments don”t have much in common with how they actually took place in the Middle Ages. But to experience the rapturous, glorified version of it for myself still makes me rejoice. The tournaments in Crusader Kings 3, which are coming with the recently announced DLC, could be a little more accurate.
And here, too, I am as happy as a young knight to whom the fair lady of the castle has just shown her favour. Because what Paradox is brewing sounds like the tournament and travel DLC I”ve always wanted. All the more annoying that it”s coming at the wrong time.
A living middle age
I don”t want to write this DLC off at all. I”m sure I”ll enjoy it a lot. After all, there”s a lot of what I want Crusader Kings 3 to have in it. The more detailed tournaments and hunting trips are just the beginning.
Even though it already gives me a thieving pleasure to imagine myself going on a year-long quest for a massive boar or sending my heir, who is only interested in poems and songs, to joust so that the lad can still become a real man. A Cervisia on that. Burp. Where”s my crown?
But it seems almost more important to me that with Tours and Tournaments, in addition to weddings, tournaments or outings, it is precisely the routes to these happenings that become important. To me, it always seemed like a missed opportunity that CK3 never highlighted the whereabouts of my ruler. Even when I went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, I never knew where King Moustache was actually lost.
Soon I will no longer have this problem. Trips outside the protective walls can be a real risk and the world away from the royal court immediately becomes much more tangible. Wonderful!
Yes, but not now
I don”t want to do without this DLC – at least it sounds promising. But Paradox is still setting the wrong priorities with Tours and Tournaments. Actually, CK3 needs to finally show off elsewhere.
Of course, Paradox knows why this game is so successful and why it is so popular with new players. Precisely because it concentrates much more on the life stories of the characters involved than on complex empire administration. Drama, betrayal, intrigue, romance and embarrassing accidents. Crusader Kings 3 is already a bit of a scandal sheet among Paradox games. I mean that in a non-judgemental way, after all, I also have much more fun with CK3 than with Victoria 3.
But Paradox should still take care to balance. Crusader Kings 3 is not always about characters or role-playing either. The fans also need a playful foundation to stay on the ball in the long run. And this is exactly where CK3 still has some catching up to do.
Three years of role-playing
The strategy game turns three this year and has largely focused on small flavour packs and role-playing add-ons in the DLC department. Even Royal Court was an expansion that did add a little more life to the world and introduced new drama possibilities – but it”s also just an expansion that a lot of people out there eventually got tired of.
At some point, you simply played through every event at the royal court and made every decision once. In terms of gameplay, the expansion offered hardly any major innovations. Well, the culture system was at least given a little help with a major update.
Royal Court is actually a cool feature that loses much of its appeal in the long run. What”s missing is strategic depth.)” src=”https://www.global-esports.news/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Royal-Court-actually-brings.jpg” width=”2560″ height=”1440″ /☻
Only there are so many other areas that would benefit from strategic added value. Be it a greater focus on trade or even a reworking of how exactly wars work in CK3. These may be rather dry disciplines, but a game about empire management should simply focus on them as much as on interpersonal drama.
Not to mention that many regions in CK3 are still underdeveloped. The Arab world, the Far East, Africa. All these regions are simply not worth it for me so far, as they simply don”t stand out enough compared to Europe.
Crusader Kings 3 offers a fantastic foundation – especially if you haven”t played your fill of CK2 yet. But at the moment it feels like Paradox is widening that foundation instead of building a bulwark on top of it.
