Thinking about the words "medieval grand strategy," most people will probably jump straight to Crusader Kings 2, the essential example of the form since 2012. THQ Nordic is stepping into Paradox's demesne next year by resurrecting a franchise that's been dormant for 15 years: Knights of Honor.
Knights of Honor 2—Sovereign is a modernized take on the original game, and THQ says they plan on making it an accessible entry point to the grand strategy genre. In it, you'll be making the same kinds of decisions you might in a Paradox game like Crusader Kings or Europa Universalis, but Knights of Honor II is presenting them in miniature, without all the dense menu text to parse. While it's THQ Nordic publishing the game this time rather than Paradox, the original developer, Black Sea Games, has returned to create the sequel.
But like its older siblings, Knights of Honor II is a real-time game without turns. It's also adding in RTS battles, that players new to the genre may find more appealing or at least immediately comprehensible. It looks lovely, too, as you can see in this trailer that shows off the world map:
Knights of Honor II–Sovereign will launch for PC in 2020. You can wishlist it now on Steam.
