Khans of the Steppe Review – A New Way to Rule and Roam

Crusader Kings 3: Khans of the Steppe Review

When the third Crusader Kings came out, it had to clear the board. Crusader Kings 2 racked up a few dozen expansions in its life and the sequel got to be something of a clean slate. Some of the changes, like the wandering nobles expansion, are new ways to completely transform the game. But some things- in this case, the Mongol expansion- gives Crusader Kings another chance to get something right. Khans of the Steppe fits snugly into Crusader Kings 3 while creating a whole new way to play.

Gather the Horde

When Genghis Khan showed up in CK2, he was an event. You’d hear about the ongols and soon enough they would slam into the east side of the map and spread until they could be stopped. Sometimes they couldn’t. In Khans of the Steppe, that singular event can certainly occur. However, there is a lot of room for less dominant nomadic clans.

The events in Crusader Kings 3 were given a cute graphics style, which is used again for the new nomad camp mechanics. This is the illuminated manuscript screens you can bring up for a wandering camp, or a villa, or a tournament. This is all somewhat intuitive. A nomad clan feels like a bigger and more complex version of the camps. Thus, it can compete with more traditionally landed factions.

Rule With an Iron Fist

Nomads have different succession laws and a very different council system from the feudalism of the titular Crusader Kings. The lifeblood of your clan is actually regional fertility; your horses need somewhere to graze. If they overfeed in one region, you’ll have to move them somewhere the grass is literally greener. Of course, a lot of fields of grass come with guys who claim to own them, so you will have to negotiate or intimidate them.

The Clans can be upgraded in size and prestige until they can become you know, the famous Horde of the great Khan. There are a number of ways to trigger the nomad’s invasion and a lot of outcomes for what follows. Fortunately, for players who like to deviate from history, the nomad mechanics are a whole system that exists independently (the mod possibilities are pretty intriguing).

Asian Invasion

We’ve seen a glimpse of what’s to come this year in Crusader Kings 3. We know that nomad clans are just the beginning of the push east. By the end of the year, the map will have expanded to include all of Asia, up to Japan. This will make vast swathes of the map much more dynamic and interesting to play (and hopefully not to harsh on our processors). The groundwork is set in Khans of the Steppe as the northeast section of the map becomes a little less homogeneous.

As we get Chinese kingdoms, not to mention different cultures in the steppe, everything on this expansion will compound. Right now there are some Duke-level lords for nomads to negotiate with. With major powers in the far east, the horse clans will bridge those two regions, becoming more important.

As an add-on, I really appreciate the depth this brings to my games, but I question how often I will actually pick a nomad clan to play. Let’s be real- I pick the same couple of regions every time, make a giga-knight, and then weep as all his failsons lose his lands and legacy. But if this season of Crusader Kings continues at this level, I might be convinced to step outside my comfort zone and learn something new. Khans of the Steppe is a solid entry in what is looking to be an exciting season of new DLC for Crusader Kings.

***PC code provided by the publisher for review***