Ambitious new Crusader Kings 3 expansion All Under Heaven is a win for Paradox, right when it needed it most

It's been a rough few months for Paradox, but it's looking like new Crusader Kings 3 DLC All Under Heaven might be the glimmer of light it desperately needed. Performance woes have driven the latest Stellaris expansion into the red on Steam, development on Civ rival Millenia was recently brought to a close, Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 launched to a rather damp reception, and the last CK3 add-on fell horribly short of expectations. But now its giant, Asia-themed expansion has just landed, perhaps the most ambitious for the grand strategy game yet, and the early signs are very good.

In its apology for the standard of the Coronations DLC, Paradox explained that the Crusader Kings 3 QA team had been concentrating almost entirely on All Under Heaven. While that's not really an excuse, it's clear why those priorities were put in place. The expansion is one of Paradox's boldest additions in quite some time, making the strategy game "about 30 to 40% bigger, in the sense of the amount of playable land and playable living characters."

All Under Heaven lets you take charge of Japan and weave through the rise of the Shogunate, navigate the ministries of China's Celestial Government, or step into several other nations across Southeast Asia. This allows you to use another new method of rule, a mandala government that's focused more on tributaries than the more traditional options of vassals and domain expansion. This also allows you to appoint a designated 'god-king,' able to radically influence neighboring territories through their faith.

The good news is that early responses from players are largely very positive, with 85% of initial reviews giving it a thumbs up. Out of the gate there are almost no obviously broken aspects, and reports of performance (something Paradox highlighted as a key focus) either say the game runs better than before, or only marginally worse, despite the dramatic expansion to the available land mass. Players on Linux do warn that they're having some notable struggles when zoomed in, so keep that in mind if you don't play on a Windows OS.

There's lots of praise for the additional systems, and in particular how distinct they feel from what's come before. "This is the standard that all Paradox DLC should follow," one user writes. "Don't sell us a couple of buttons or some clothes, give us an entire platform that transforms and restructures the entire game from start to finish." Another adds, "This is what people have been asking of Paradox DLC for a while now. An addition that feels fundamentally different from the base-level gameplay."

Even if you haven't bought the DLC, Crusader Kings 3 patch 1.18, known as the Crane update, brings a lot to the table. Hegemonies can be created under certain situations when playing as the likes of India and Rome. Natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes can impact regions of the world. A 'religious exiles' system allows smaller faiths to stick around for longer, with the ability to invite them into your empire in some cases.

Great projects allow multiple factions to pool together resources for vast tasks such as building the Great Wall of China, with all investors earning rewards. A 'lenient gender equality' setting lets you switch traditionally male-only succession laws to be just a preference for men, which Paradox says exists "primarily so women can be governors in China." Then there's the expanded map, with 2,721 new baronies, 41 cultures, 30 faiths, and over 20,000 additional historical figures in the database.

Crusader Kings 3 All Under Heaven and the 1.18 'Crane update' are out now on Steam. The DLC is priced at $29.99 / £24.99 standalone, or available as part of the $43.99 / £37.15 chapter four expansion bundle. The base edition of CK3 is 70% off until Thursday November 6, so expect to pay just $14.99 / £12.59 if you don't already own it. You can read through the full patch notes courtesy of Paradox Interactive.

We've also rounded up the best Crusader Kings 3 mods to give you plenty more ways to spice up your next campaign, along with providing a rundown of the best gaming monitor to show off all those maps in their full glory.

What do you think of CK3's newest addition? Is it the hit you were hoping for, or are you feeling less enthusiastic than the general responses? Join the PCGamesN Discord and you can share your thoughts on All Under Heaven with our staff and community.