The trend for 4X games is often to become bigger. They’ll try to encompass the entirety of human history, taking us from stick-wielding tribespeople to star-faring superpowers. Some games take the opposite view, deepening the experience rather than broadening it. Old World is one such game, taking aim at a particular time period with more focused and in-depth options available to you.
Released back in 2022, Old World has gone from strength to strength with several pieces of DLC expanding the game with new ways to play. The latest of these, Behind the Throne, has just launched and it expands the game’s most intriguing and unique feature. If you were simply passing by Old World you’d maybe think it’s a simple Civilization 6 clone, hex-based tiles and all. The greatest achievement of the game is how it blends a traditional 4X game with a Crusader Kings-esque approach to intrigue, family dynasties, and political machinations.
The biggest new introduction in this piece of DLC is a huge amount of events which you’ll encounter, all tackling the more political aspects found within the game. These range from family events and those incurred by your own personal ambitions to events you’ll have to handle in your royal court.
In addition, a ton of real-world historical characters have been added, each altering your game in their own way. It’s up to you to decide how to use them, or dispose of them, as you see fit. Some may become trusted advisors, others may even be granted titles and lands to rule in your name, but you should be warned. Any ruler should know that trust is a deadly weapon as it’s possible for your allies to betray you, quite literally stabbing you in the back or splitting off from your empire to form their own realm.
There’s plenty to chew on here with new gameplay mechanics which all deepen the political and dynastic schemes you’ll have to pull off to keep your family in power along with several new projects and improvements you can build. Behind the Throne is a hefty piece of DLC which promises to make Old World as much an anecdote generator as the Crusader Kings series before it.
Old World – Behind the Throne is out now and you can grab it with 10% off until Tuesday, June 11. Head over to the Steam page to check it out for yourself.
If you want something else in this genre, we can definitely recommend our guide to the best strategy games you can play as well as the best political games on PC to keep your wits sharp.
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