Crusader Kings II: The Reaper's Due Content Pack Review (Forbidden Garfield)
A return to form for CK2. The team that made this dlc understands the core design philosophy of the game and I really appreciate the work they've put in over the past few months. The features they've added might need a bit of tweaking at the moment but I can see them fitting in perfectly as soon as they've been polished a little.
Epidemics are tense and truly deadly to the unprepared. Precautions are costly but a badly timed epidemic can totally ravage your court without protection. A bunch of new traits have been thrown into the mix that add character to your ruler. Interesting events involving your court physician and quarantine spice up peacetime and give you a few more reasons not to paint the entire map as quickly as possible. Everything you'd expect from a disease-focused expansion is here, a lot of new flavour has been added to the game and you're getting good value for your money.
But here's what I really came here to say. If you're coming back to CK2 after quitting during the Conclave patches like me, you'll find the game is pretty much fixed. The devs have offered a ton of useful options to modify your experience when you start a new save file. Notable options (i.e the ones that made me really happy) are:
*Shattered retreat can be turned on or off (works with ironman and doesn't even disable achievements!)
*Defensive pacts can be turned on or off (like the above, works on ironman!)
*Interfaith marriages (I've been wanting these back since forever)
*Turn off AI seduction focus. For the first time since way of life released, you can expect to have a child that's actually yours.
*Changing world event timings. Prefer to start in the 9th century but never manage to play until the mongol invasions? Now you can make them arrive earlier. Want to see the new black plague in action but don't want to play the late start dates? Got you covered.
I'm so happy that I can finally enjoy the latest version of CK2 again. Even if you liked Conclave and the accompanying changes then you can keep playing with all of it turned on. (not judging, whatever you let the game do to you in the privacy of your own dungeon is none of my business) Best of both worlds. This new expansion and its patches allow you to remove a lot of the restrictions that made the game lose its charm for a lot of people. I couldn't be happier with the direction Paradox has taken.