As of the writing of this review, I've put in a couple of long-term playthroughs in the vanilla game, and whilst there is a ton to do, a lot of roleplaying potential, and a robust system of features embedded into this game's DNA, I couldn't help but notice the obvious signs of "Phantom Limb Syndrome" as I began to understand how everything worked together. Being a long-time player of The Sims 4 (from the beginning, no less), I am no stranger to games with rampant "DLC Fever". Where one can notice the lacking in Sims 4 right away, however, one only notices it in CKII after more and more begin to pile up. -"Looks like that one chief next door has a Concubine, and I'm seeing characters with "Child Of a Concubine" as a trait. I wonder if I can..." You'll need a DLC for that. -"There's this new religion/heresy spreading throughout my nation. Wonder what would happen if I tried to convert to that?" You'll need a DLC to engage with it. -"Ooooh, I've always wanted to play as [insert Pagan, Muslim, non-Catholic nation here]" You'll need DLC for that. -"This game is really neat, but I'd like to create my own dynasty and take over the world as myself" You'll need DLC for that. -"I'm of African Descent..." You'll need DLC for that. -"I really wish I could control my ally's army..." You'll need DLC for that. -"This music su-" You'll need DLC for that. Don't get me wrong- I've lost HOURS to this game. It's addicting just making decisions and clicking through the menus, but that's really all it boils down to... clicking through menus and speeding up time to wait for something new to happen. It's the same principle that gets one from 9am to 5pm in a repetitive job, but that isn't my measure of "fun". If it's yours, or you enjoy text adventures and CYA stories (and conquering a somewhat steep learning curve), then this will do, but note that at some point you'll stumble upon a feature, wondering what possibilities it holds, and inevitably... "you'll need DLC for that".
