14 DAY TRIAL // Crusader Kings II has always been about stories, even for the players who were more focused on living through a historical period trying to simply increase their fame or their power or the territory they control.
With such an open ended title, there’s no way to objectively evaluate success, and Way of Life muddles the water even more by basically giving more value to the life of each ruler than to the success of the dynasty as a whole.
Because players can choose the Focus for the characters they control, they will become more invested in their actions and in their desires, especially when choosing seduction or intrigue, which seems to be the most engaging of the possible paths.
This does enhance the role-playing elements of the game for each individual ruler, but I feel that it might detract from the bigger picture.
Crusader Kings II is about the dynasties and their ability to survive and to thrive in the very long term, moving from one era of history to another, trying to patiently build assets, from alliances to territory and prestige, which can be used to acquire even more.
One ruler, however successful he might be for the 30 or 60 lives that he leads, is just one piece in a much bigger puzzle and players should keep their focus on how their choices affect the future of their family.
Quest chains and moment-to-moment decisions
The Focus does offer some small bonuses to abilities, but its biggest impact in Way of Life is the event chains they launch, some of which affect a character over more than one year.
They are cool to experience but they also bring players into the present more than ever and ask them to think about one life as being important, which is not true given the structure of the game.
I put off an assassination attempt on a weak nephew who could have taken the throne for a while because I was trying to seduce his mother, which is not a good idea in Crusader Kings II.
Way of Life does manage to increase role-playing elements, but it does so by running against some of the core elements of the grand strategy experience.
The expansion is not required to get the most out of the title, but I like the way it makes Medieval Europe an even weirder place than before.
