Paradox’s Crusader Kings 2 has allowed me to be a French Duke. I have wandered the deserts of Araby as a Muslim Sultan. I have traded goods as a Venetian Doge. And I have battled invading Aztecs and warded off their plagues. Yet any truly complete Medieval experience must include a stint as a Viking. The fearsome longships, battle axes and horned helms of the Vikings are burned into our cultural lexicon. The society of the Medieval Era was borne largely out of the necessity of protection from Viking raids, their place in history one of legend and of terror. In order to mark their place in the gaming world, Crusader Kings 2 places these fearsome warriors in the hands of gamers everywhere, with its most recent expansion, The Old Gods.
The blend of grand strategy combines with the Viking flavor to result in an expansion that feels remarkably authentic. Armies can be raised at any time and ordered to “pillage.” They can be dropped in any territory of a different religion, without a declaration of war, and then begin to loot the countryside. Loot is carried back to the Viking longships for transportation home. Stay long enough, and your Vikings will be able to take local towns, castles and abbeys by siege, for a huge prestige and financial bonus (not to mention the potential of taking hostages). Of course, Viking armies tend to be small, and the longer you tarry, the better the odds are that your victim will raise up an army and come after you. Then, it’s easy to hop back into the longships, and sail home with your plunder. It just feels right; the Vikings with their ships are quicker than their opponents and able to raid with relative impunity.
The Old Gods allows you to play as any Pagan ruler, but the Vikings are given a rightful head billing. Viking rulers can sacrifice prisoners to their gods in an elaborate ritual for significant combat and prestige bonuses. Or, even better, they can take their female prisoners as concubines. I once managed to take the wife of the king of West Francia (the French were not happy with me). As Christian bishops arrive to attempt to convert your heathens to their religion, you can arrest and imprison them (to await execution). Or, if you dare, you can adopt Christianity. As more of your citizens adopt Christianity, and as you conquer more Christian territory via means of the free Casus Belli for coastal territory, you’ll be under remarkable pressure to switch religion. Eventually, one of your heirs may just decide they wish to be Christian. Then that decision will be made for you.
The expansion rolls back the start date of the game to 867 A.D., revealing a stunning post-Charlemagne world. The Holy Roman empire is fractured, Great Britain is a mess of small warring states, and Byzantium is still a force to be reckoned with. This is a starkly different world from the 1066 and later start dates, presenting to players what fundamentally is a completely different game. You will endure the spread of Christianity, a power struggle for dominance on the European continent, and the arrival of power Turkic peoples, endeavoring to assert themselves in the Middle East. It is a very colorful era, one which broadens the flavor of Crusader Kings 2 in the broadest terms.
Additionally, The Old Gods provides some new gameplay mechanics that will leave you both struggling to survive and marveling at the historicity. Individuals without countries may make claims to thrones, assembling armies of volunteers to assert their claims. Rebellions are now led not by nameless AI characters but by individuals who may have, days earlier, been present at your court. The sense of betrayal led me, more than once, to summarily execute captured rebel leaders. How could they fight at my side and then raise arms against me?
An expansion should, ultimately, provide a player with a sense that their game has been renewed, and at the highest levels, offer a completely complimentary gameplay experience. The Old Gods does this with gusto, somehow reflecting the rapine and pillage of the Viking hordes in a grand strategy game with utterly satisfying level of detail. Sacking cities, and carrying off loot and women never felt so good.
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