The Sword of Islam DLC introduced Decadence for Muslims, creating essentially a built-in sunset clause for large Islamic kingdoms. But they should be, just as the Muslims should be (and are) in 1066. The Norse are without question overpowered at 867. Christendom is waning and Catholic heresies are almost as common as Catholicism itself - as they should be.Д«ut I'm glad I can say in this Crusader Kings 2: The Old Gods review that none of this is actually a problem. By 1020, before the base game even starts, the Norse control, without exception, every coastal county from Russia to France, along with spottier areas after that (Brittany, Galicia, Sicily, the Crimea), and most of the Baltic and northern Germany, coastal or not (weirdly, Russia itself, which was historically united by the Norse, has largely evaded their wrath in this game). In my longest game so far, as House Hvitserk of JГіrvik, the warlike nature of the Norse really shows. It is very, very rare to find a leader the Norse can't go to war with for one reason or another. But they also have CBs against every coastal county on the entire map, along with the ability to subjugate entire pagan kingdoms. Like Muslims and the other pagans, the Norse have an automatic CB against any neighboring county. The Old Gods really pushes the Norse into early and constant war there's a pretty serious Prestige penalty for being at peace for too long.

Norse can also hold great feasts, complete with human sacrifices to Odin and Thor.

Just before writing this, I reformed the Norse religion. And over those two centuries, with major setbacks along the way, House Hvitserk has gone on to become de jure Kings of England, Scotland, Denmark, and Norway, and de facto kings of Asturias, and Ireland. In those twenty five hours, I've played from the new start date of 867 up until about 1020 (I play on the fastest speed, but pause a lot).

The majority of that has been a single save, starting as Halfdan Hvitserk (Whiteshirt), the Petty King of JГіrvik and a son of Ragnar Lodbrok. According to Steam, I've played about 25 hours since installing The Old Gods. This is the real deal, and the new mechanics add a great deal to what is already the most robust and compelling strategy game since Civilization IV.ДЇirst off, this is what I played for this Crusader Kings 2: The Old Gods review. If you like strategy games, but haven't tried Crusader Kings 2 yet, you should also buy Crusader Kings 2 and The Old Gods right away. Here's the short version of this Crusader Kings 2: The Old Gods review: if you like Crusader Kings 2 already, you should buy The Old Gods right away. We've covered the new features before, but now that I've had some hands-on time with the game, let's talk about how it all feels. The Old Gods came out last week, on May 28, and it moved the game's start date two hundred years earlier, and added robust new mechanics for pagans - who are now playable for the first time. Crusader Kings 2: The Old Gods review time! The Old Gods is the latest and largest DLC and the first expansion to Crusader Kings II, which I will punchily call a game of medieval dynasty management.

Crusader kings 2 pagan