Deal | Total War alternative hits rock-bottom price: Beginner-friendly medieval strategy game 70% off on Steam

Knights of Honor II: Sovereign transports players to medieval Europe between the 12th and 14th centuries, where they step into the role of a king, prince or chieftain to guide their realm through political intrigue, religious conflict and military campaigns. The detailed world map spans Europe, North Africa and parts of the Middle East, divided into more than 200 regions including principalities, kingdoms and sultanates. Central to the game are the titular Knights of Honor: up to eight advisors who lead armies, govern provinces and carry out covert operations.

With its blend of grand strategy and real-time battles, Knights of Honor II draws clear parallels to the Total War series – though with one key difference: instead of turn-based gameplay, time flows continuously, with options to pause or speed things up as needed. This keeps even complex scenarios manageable. The game features a wide array of strategic systems, including resource and dynasty management, diplomacy through marriage, and religious and cultural dynamics, all of which make ruling a large empire particularly demanding. Compared to genre heavyweights like Crusader Kings III, Knights of Honor II is more approachable: its mechanics are less intricate and more intuitive – though newcomers should still expect a bit of a learning curve.

In its review, the German gaming website GamersGlobal awarded Knights of Honor II a solid 8 out of 10. The editors praised the engaging blend of grand strategy and real-time tactics, the beautifully crafted world map and the intriguing dynasty system. They noted that the game feels less cluttered than many of its genre rivals while still offering significant strategic depth. However, criticism was directed at inconsistent AI behavior, a limited unit roster and somewhat dated visuals. The lack of a proper tutorial was also seen as a drawback – relying solely on text pop-ups can make the initial learning phase unnecessarily challenging.

On Metacritic, Knights of Honor II holds a Metascore of 76, with a slightly lower User Score of 7.4. The Steam community echoes this sentiment: 77% of over 6,300 user reviews are positive. While the game is marked as “Playable” on the Steam Deck (currently priced at $675 on Amazon), the lack of native controller support could make strategic gameplay on the go significantly more challenging.

First-ever 70% discount on Steam

Knights of Honor II: Sovereign was developed by Bulgarian studio Black Sea Games and released by THQ Nordic in December 2022. The strategy title is normally priced at around $45 on Steam. A current 70% discount brings the price down to just under $13.50 until February 9. According to SteamDB, previous sales peaked at 67% off – making this the game’s lowest price to date.

Disclaimer: Notebookcheck is not responsible for price changes carried out by retailers. The discounted price or deal mentioned in this item was available at the time of writing and may be subject to time restrictions and/or limited unit availability.