This is hands down one of the best mod teams in the world. The Crusader Kings III AGOT mod finally released a few days ago after a ton of hype and anticipation…and, even though it only has one start date, it’s amazing!
Well, there’s goes 1,000+ hours of my life.
Crusader Kings III has been radically enhanced…but not by Paradox Interactive as the mod team behind the original AGOT mod for Crusader Kings II has just released the first few builds (builds 0.1-0.1.2) for the highly anticipated successor CK III AGOT mod. And, let me just say, it’s FANTASTIC.
Dropping us right off at the start of Robert’s Rebellion, AGOT gives us the option to choose from the major players, Lord Tywin Lannister, Lord Eddard Stark, Lord Robert Baratheon, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, and King Aerys Targaryen II, or any one of the hundreds of major and minor noble lords during the famous rebellion that led to the events of the main book series.
Or, if your is not a fan of Robert’s Rebellion, you can play as any one of the important, major, and/or minor players during Iron King Balon Greyjoy’s rebellion against the newly crowned King Robert Baratheon I and his unified Seven Kingdoms two years after the later king’s own rebellion.
As the name suggests, its Game of Thrones, one of the most interesting, intriguing, and politically savvy fantasy novel series/T.V. shows, within Crusader Kings III, the very best strategy dynastic strategy game in the video game industry today.
Nevertheless, everything about this mod makes the base game CK3 gameplay so much more rewarding as the literally everything from the map size and details, castle designs, character models, character events, diplomacy, intrigue, warfare, duels (which aren’t actually in the base game), skill trees, all the armor and weapon designs and bonuses, and the extremely detailed, thought-out lore decisions 10X better.
I really don’t know what to praise as everything is so meticulously created and refined, which isn’t even something I can say about the base game. Though, if I have to point out two things I really enjoy, it has to be the role-playing elements and the design models.
All the characters and castles, ranging from the Lannisters of Casterly Rock to the Targaryens of Dragonstone and from the Martells of Sunpear to the Starks of Winterfell, are so neatly crafted that it’s almost impossible to believe unpaid, “amateur” models made this mod. They’ve truly outdone themselves as this game, despite being rather limited due to the two start dates, it’s twice as fun as the base game, and is nearly as fun as the original AGOT mod.
And, to my surprise, there is actually settings you can choose to play a more lore-based (or vice versa) experience of Robert’s Rebellion. Some of the key events that defined the war, such as Jaime Lannister killing Aerys (or Aerys actually blowing up King’s Landing), Robb Stark’s birth, Jon Snow’s birth, the Tower of Joy, etc., can and will happen if you choose the strictest lore-based option.
But, if you want to forge your own AGOT history, then you can simply have either a completely random or semi-lore experience that’ll see a combination of lore events and events completely of your own making occurring.
Honestly, there’s so much more to this mod that I recommend you just play it for yourself to truly experience each little improvement the mod team implemented.
Of course, I can’t name it as the superior of the creations yet as the OG mod has a few things this mod lacks right now: magic, more interesting start dates, and dragons!
Don’t get me wrong, taking charge of the most consequential rebellion in the history of the ASOIAF universe is a blast and was always one of my favorite bookmarks in the CK2 mod, but the dragon and Targaryen-filled start dates of Aegon’s Conquest, the Dance of the Dragons, The Conquest of Dorne, The Blackfyre Rebellions, The War of the Five Kings (the war of the main novel and T.V. series), etc. are the bread and butter of this mod franchise.
So, I’ll hold off on giving this mod a proper review until a few of those start dates (I’m thinking The Blackfyre Rebellions, The Conquest of Dorne, and pretty much everything after the Dance of the Dragons and before The War of the Five Kings will come out as the implementation of dragons and magic is far more difficult than it was in the CK2 game), but I more than recommend giving this mod a playthrough or two before the main content comes out.
Images Source: Featured Image: (Game Developer: Paradox Interactive/Mod Creator: CK3AGOT) (CK3AGOT Public Beta – The Release Date – YouTube)
