Old World

Old World has its moments, but it's a very niche offering. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who isn't hardcore about 4X games because the learning curve is brutal. However, if you've played the rest and you're looking for something new, and especially if the overload of stats is something you find compelling, check out Old World. At the very least, you get to enjoy Christopher Tin's majestic soundtrack.

A thoroughly integrated and refreshing mix of classic 4X turn-based strategy, role-playing elements and varied events.

There's a lot more to Old World than the glib description of "Civ meets Crusader Kings" can convey. Yet it succeeds because it feels like a genuine meeting between the two, a deeply considered merger that applies the strengths of both games to cover their weaknesses. It doesn't feel like you're playing Civ, but with some Crusader Kings characters butting in every now and again with some silly tale or grievance. It feels like you're playing Civ, but with some Crusader Kings characters who grow alongside you, whose relationships to you and each other actually matter, and who prove that the great stories of empires aren't about production rates per turn--they're about the people who lived through them. And their pet monkeys.