One type of strategy game that’s eluded the addition of role-playing systems is the Civilization-style 4X grand strategy game.

Altogether, Knights of Honor is an older, but no less impressive alternative strategy game to Crusader Kings that’s definitely worth a look. In addition, where Knights of Honor really stood out for its time is a complex and functional espionage system that opened up a whole row of possibilities that other games can look upon with envy. As a result, the game has added depth to its army area of recruitment feature and settlement construction mechanics. Knights of Honor focuses less on the whims of individuals and more on the political and diplomatic concerns of Medieval countries, like France or the Byzantine Empire, where characters are utilized as resources and aides to further the player’s strategic goals rather than as centerpiece figures to the entirety of the gameplay loop. Most notably Knights of Honor shares the real-time approach to the strategic layer, but also adds in a small-scale tactical combat system. Stepping away from the role-playing and back into the Medieval era, Knights of Honor is probably the closest non-Paradox developed game to Crusader Kings. Publisher: Paradox Interactive, Sunflowers Interactive, Atari Inc. Though CA may have unceremoniously and bafflingly wrapped up Three Kingdoms’ post-launch life cycle with many bugs and issues unaddressed, it still remains a high quality, vibrant, and innovative title for the series. While the character system may not be as deep or involved as Crusader Kings, it’s still plenty entertaining and has a strategic and tactical effect on the player’s decision-making. Out of all of Creative Assembly’s games, Three Kingdoms does its best to put characters front-and-center, as well as their relationships to each other.

Characters have always been a part of Total War’s DNA (Medieval 2 is a great alternative) though not to the same extent as Paradox’s monster. Total War is known for its compelling blend of strategic campaigns and large-scale real-time tactical battles, the latter of which Crusader Kings omits. Unlike the older pre-Warhammer entries, Three Kingdoms is the first Total War game to explicitly focus on romanticized history, using the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” by Luo Guangzhong as its source material, which leads to the game accentuating the mythical and legendary. The first entry in the list takes players back to the Three Kingdoms period of Ancient China, when the ruling Han dynasty crumbled and led to the rise of powerful warlords. Total War: Three Kingdoms Total War: Three Kingdoms Nobunaga’s Ambition: Spheres of Influenceġ0.

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