Crusader Kings 3 Roads to Power review - A strong overhaul to the Byzantines

Crusader Kings 3 is now on its third chapter of post-launch content, and as a result, it's bigger than ever. The main piece of content this time around is the Major Expansion, Roads to Power, which has some of the most important additions to the core gameplay experience yet and might be the most worthwhile expansion so far.

Avenues to Authority

Roads to Power has two main additions to the CK3 experience: the administrative government of the Byzantine Empire and all the things that go along with that, and the new Adventurer playstyle that lets players eschew the typical landed gameplay of the series.

Where previous Major Expansions for the game have added features that largely feel almost superfluous to the core gameplay, Roads to Power's new features are more like overhauls, changing how you interact with the game itself and the goals you'll set for yourself.

However, it is uneven in its approach. The new Byzantine-centric features make up the vast majority of the content in the DLC, while the Adventurer playstyle isn't actually complete yet. The Wandering Nobles event pack releasing later in the year is set to add dedicated Lifestyle features and events that flavour the whole experience of adventuring, and as a result, it's not quite there yet as a fully-fledged way of enjoying CK3.

Streets to Control

Starting with the main part of the expansion, Roads to Power removes the feudal system from the Byzantine Empire and adds an administrative government for players within its borders. This is more than just historically accurate flavour, as the system of governance here makes for a fairly different player experience.

It's similar in terms of its hierarchical nature, but vassals take on the role of a Governor, who rule over provinces called Themes. These rulers also gain the distinction of being Noble Families within the administrative system, which is where much of the conflict and political gaming in the expansion comes into play.

The Influence System also plays into all of this, which is a new currency form that represents a character's reach and authority within an administrative realm. While a feudal ruler can make their power plays with Gold, Prestige, Piety, and an army, an administrative ruler is handicapped if they don't focus on building a base of Influence. For example, you can spend Influence to slander enemy families and lower their chances of progressing, or use it to ally with a more powerful family you're looking to benefit from.

Simply put, the administrative government form is a sandbox for political manoeuvring, adding even more ways for people to play the game of thrones. It favours the Intrigue-based characters the most, who were always a little dull to play in feudal systems due to limited opportunities, giving them more things to scheme about.

It also felt a bit tougher than the standard feudal governments when it came to gaining more power. You have generally more ways to earn power here, but you're also trapped within a more defined system, meaning you have to be more thoughtful and clever about how you move forward, such as who you pick battles with and when, or what alliances you choose to favour.

Paths to Potency

The other side of the DLC is the Adventurer playstyle. Essentially, instead of playing a landed character where you're restricted to the area you rule (with the exception of travelling for activities), you can play an unlanded character, someone who owns no land and instead travels around with a camp of followers and soldiers.

With this style of play, you have no direct vassals, instead recruiting followers who can support your overall goals as part of the Camp Purpose system, which outlines what you're all being brought together for and the gameplay opportunities you'll receive. For example, you could become a band of criminals and thieves with the goal of amassing wealth, or explorers who travel for the love of it.

The main gameplay loop for an Adventurer involves travelling to new locations, completing contracts for local landed characters so you can get Gold and Provisions (your currency for travelling) and building up your camp. It's a simple system right now, with the biggest issues being how easy it is and how much depth it lacks compared to other playstyles. You can earn Provisions so readily that the core part of travelling is rarely ever a danger, which the game clearly wants it to be presented as.

An aspect of Adventurer characters I appreciated is the unique story content though. For example, I played one of the recommended starting characters, Hasan Sabbah, who historically founded the Order of Assassins. Playing as him gave me some unique decisions to make, which led to me founding the assassins in-game myself, though it bugged out at this point and my game ended. It was a sour note to end a fun playthrough on, but I enjoyed the approach.

The Verdict

Crusader Kings 3 Roads to Power is the best expansion the game has had so far, purely because of its focus on new gameplay systems that let you approach how you play the game a little differently than before. The new Byzantine content is a breath of fresh air for the best aspects of CK's gameplay, but the Adventurer playstyle could do with a little more to make it fun beyond your first go.

4/5 

Reviewed on PC. Code provided by the publisher.