Look, folks. I just escaped from a quick (~2 hour) play through of Crusader Kings III, and I've come to the horrifying conclusion that this similarly quick review might be more about me than the game.

Because the game, by all accounts, is almost flawless for what it is. And what it is is a grand strategy RPG set in the Middle Ages. You get to be a lil' king and romp all around and pretty much control... everything. You fight wars, manage relationships, navigate complicated medieval politics, and so much more, all with the eventual goal of taking over the world, I guess.

Much like Sid Meier's Civilization, the game that coined the modern grand strategy genre, and its many clones, Crusader Kings III presents its player with a staggering amount of management choices in an extremely detail-rich world. It probably sets itself apart by being even more detailed and expansive than its competitors and predecessors. I say probably here because I have no points of comparison. This is the first grand strategy management sim I've played.

Because, as I suspected, I just don't think these types of games grip me like the others that I could be using the time (and, boy, will you spend some time on this game if it gets its hooks into you) to play. Chris Plante, a renowned video game journalist who has gone on-record saying he will never play Civ because it's just not his style of game, recommended Crusader Kings III on my favorite podcast, The Besties, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Yes, I am a bit confused as to why Plante would give this game his blessing after eschewing its genre's pioneering franchise. Yes, I did feel overwhelmed by the second screen of the tutorial. And, yes, I still managed to have some fun.

The good news is that, regardless of what you end up choosing at each fork in your royal road, you're going to be rewarded. Whether that reward comes by eventually taking over the world with your efficient and ruthless bloodline, wrecking your kingdom within its first few rulers by making deliberately destructive decisions for comedic effect, or anywhere in between - Crusader Kings III is ready to deliver.

This Kotaku review even says that it would recommend Crusader Kings III to fans of The Sims, the king (pun-intended) of immersive simulation video games where pretty much anything goes. It's rare that a game can hold the attention of players from across demographic boundaries that are usually bound from playing the same game due to the wildly variable perspectives and goals that such demographic differences precipitate. However, The Sims does just this, all thanks to its open-endedness. This is what made it the most commercially successful PC game series of all time, having sold over 100 million units worldwide.

So maybe I was too straight-laced with Crusader Kings III. After all, one of the game's main selling points is its almost unbelievable ability to respond to any and all player input, and one of my favorite parts about playing The Sims growing up was just messing around.

Yes, I think I was too worried about my courtiers' opinions of me, how quickly I could conquer neighboring kingdoms, and who my son should marry. I think if I had let loose, I would have had more fun. In fact, that would be my main recommendation for any grand strategy rookies like me who might be interested in diving into the world of Crusader Kings III: let loose. Even this advice, though, must come with a caveat.

I'll start it by saying that I don't think my brain in its current state could have existed for more than an hour in the Middle Ages without facing a decision whose implications would rupture my sense of morality and self regardless of what I chose. That became apparent when I was, within my first half hour of playing Crusader Kings III faced with the prospect of multiple adulterous relationships, marrying my precious daughter to a man three times her age to improve relations with a neighboring kingdom, murdering one of my most trusted advisors because he knew that I didn't like God as much as I said I did, and naming my newborn child Pikachu.

That last one may have been my fault, but the others were presented to me by the game as passing choices whose individual implications should not bother someone of my rank and status. And maybe that holds true for Petty King Murchad. But for Jonny, Intergalactic Overlord of This Review, the whole thing made me more than a smidge uncomfortable.

And, from the depths of that discomfort, springs my two ratings for this game. One that rates Crusader Kings III for the grand strategist extraordinaire: 9/10 - it's pretty much flawless, if you like this sort of thing. The other, for Jonny (someone who will probably not be returning to this genre for a while): 5/10 - not really my cup of tea.

It's an interesting sandbox for sure, but who said I wanted to spend so much time getting sandy?

Where it shines:

• The pinnacle of grand strategy
• Accountable for all kinds of player decisions
• Compared to The Sims for its choose-your-own adventure charm
• Endless replayability

Where it fades:

• Jonny doesn't like grand strategy games because he only just recently got over his irrational discomfort of playing video games in his free time because of his deep-seeded and self-destructive belief that he must always conform to society's most rigid norms of being a "good productive little boy," and - of course - that must notinvolve interactive entertainment because it melts young promising minds and it turns out that grand strategy games take a whole lot of time
• He hopes to return to the genre after a bit more therapy