I'm gonna go outside and eat a mushroom.

If you're new to Crusader Kings and looking for a place to jump in, this is where you'll want to start. But if you're someone who played the ♥♥♥♥ out of CK2, you're going to be disappointed at this game's current state.

Paradox have cleaned up the UI and stabilized the game engine. In terms of an upgrade, that's really it. Most of the new features won't have significant effects on your campaign. To name a few - baronies have been added to the game, but cannot be played or become strong enough to have any meaningful impact on your demesne. The new dynasty system is only interesting if you start as a Karling or intend to play a ludicrously wide build. Knights are a bit half-baked and the game, astoundingly, will not let your character become one.

I followed the Dev Diary leading up to the release. When Paradox announced that China would not be part of the base game, they justified it as trading width for depth. This game delivers neither. The interactions between characters are frustratingly shallow compared to CK2's DLC. Never mind that you stole this man's kingdom, enslaved his wife, and executed his family. A few years of Sway schemes will fix that right up.

Beyond all this, the game has one mortal sin. CK2 allowed you to begin your campaign on any day between the years of 1066 and 1337. This equals out to 98,915 possible starting points. And that's just the base game! Each of these nearly hundred thousand days is filled in with as much historical detail as humanly possible.

Crusader Kings 3 has two (2) start dates that you can choose from.

Given Paradox's questionable business model, it's likely that we'll be buying CK2's richness back in chunks over the next five years. Maybe then, after $200 of DLC, this game will be somewhere near what we already have.

Say goodbye to your loved ones. You won't be seeing them for a while.