Octopus Overlords

I know this is dated now but I have it and never played it.
What did you all think of it?

I played it and enjoyed it overall, but I do remember how complex it was to really get into it. I feel like the learning curve was pretty rough, especially with all of the major DLC packs adding more rules and variables to the game. I enjoyed the character aspect of the game more than the dry EU IV. More of a ruler simulator than a wargame. But I got into the game during the late stages too, and didn't play it enough to really get familiar with all of its intricacies.

That said, I find CK3 easier to play and therefore, more fun. It seems more polished and the tool tip info really helps guide the process. But if I were you, and I already had the game, I'd install it and see if I enjoyed it.

Thanks!

I agree with what Baroquen said, I put in a hundred hours on CK2 but never felt I really understood a lot of what was happening. I've got in over 260 hours on CK3 and have enjoyed it right from the beginning. CK3 has a better tutorial campaign with lots of help and guidance. Also the way you can use mouseovers and a click to keep a popup open and then explore the linked words in that popup makes it easier to drill down to figure out more information.

But there's no reason not to give CK2 a try since you own it. You may like the gameplay enough to step up to CK3 at some point or you may just wish to stay with CK2. And if you find you don't really enjoy the style of gameplay of CK2 then you'll know not to invest in CK3 since the core concepts are the same.

While I agree that CK2 will expose the general idea of the game play - the ideas about being lost in CK2 vs. knowledgable in CK3 are strong enough for me to feel like saying: "Don't let CK2 make you think you wouldn't like CK3". I mean, obviously, if the whole thing of CK2 is not your thing - yes CK3 is a good deal like it. But also not.

I'm no expert at all, I struggled with CK2. I struggle with CK3 too, but nothing like CK2.

I'm thinking of going back and getting back into this as well. I struggle with armies so I start to lean on too many of the other outlets but ultimately fail for army reasons.