Crusader Kings III

I enjoyed CK2 but I have to admit, I never really knew what I was doing when I played it.
CK3 is much more accessible to me and I actually feel I know what I'm trying to accomplish and how to accomplish it. If that means the game has been dumbed down, well, I'm dumb enough to be OK with that.

The year is 1176. I am playing as Alberto, King of Italy and Tuscany, and holder of many other titles. Events are progressing well. I am well on my way to my ultimate goal of creating the Empire of Italia, bringing Italy, Corsica, Sardinia and Croatia under my heel. As Alberto I have used my stewardship ability to build up the power of my realm to rival the Papacy, my next target. I fully intend to pass on a legacy to my son and heir, Sinibaldo, a promising child of many talents.
It was my occasional practice to grant titles to my children. This always carries the danger of them falling victim to some battlefield accident, but I sleep better knowing those titles are in the hands of close family. Sinibaldo has his own dukedom and is waging war on my vassal Duke Ugo, who is not a family member but who is a true asshole. The war does not go well for Sinibaldo and he becomes a prisoner of Duke Ugo. An unfortunate event, but surely he will simply be ransomed and we will all move on with our lives.
But several months later I get the shocking news: Sinibaldo has been executed! My only son, struck down at the tender age of 14 by the vile Duke Ugo--how can this be? I am enraged. In the heat of passion I move to revoke Duke Ugo's title, but he rises up in rebellion against me. The impudence! As I rally my troops the true extent of my mistake becomes clear--my other powerful vassals have also rebelled. With growing desperation I realize there is no path to victory. My last army is destroyed and I lose the war, my kingdoms stripped away, I am deposed.
I lean back in my chair and think about the rash idiocy of my actions. My son dead, my titles gone. I now have to play as my daughter and heir Benedetta, an eleven year old girl. It is time, I think, to pull the plug on this game.
But what of Duke Ugo? Can he be allowed to go on, after the vile murder of my son? No, I must bend every effort to see him brought down. And so I forge on.
As Alberto I had paid little attention to my daughter. Her guardian was some knight or other, and under her tutelage she had become rowdy, a warrior in a world of men who would never accept her as an equal. This, I thought, did not bode well.
As Benedetta my reign was immediately disturbed as the vassals of Tuscany formed a faction to remove me as Queen. But wait, this faction wanted to install a new king in place, none other than my own father, Alberto! I suddenly realized that as his only child, unless he fathered another male heir I would inherit his titles upon his death and once again the kingdoms of Italy and Tuscany would be part of the same realm. And so when the faction presented its demands I simply capitulated. Alberto was now King of Tuscany and I was Queen of Italy.
Yet my power was still not enough to challenge the evil Duke Ugo. To keep him close I appointed him my steward, but I also sent my spymaster to dig up dirt in his court.
Years passed. I got married, had children, quashed several rebellions, organized my realm and bided my time. When a Crusade was launched I led my troops against the infidels attacking my cousin King Mario of Jerusalem, returning in triumph and finally impressing even the most retrograde of my male vassals. The waifish eleven year old girl had become a warrior Queen.
But Ugo continued to plague me. As my steward he was often in my presence, always there to remind me of his evil treachery. I hosted a feast and there he was again, even trying to strike up a friendship! I coldly refused him, and he became my rival. The stress of dealing with him was almost unbearable.
And then the miracle--my expert spymaster had uncovered gold. Duke Ugo was a deviant!
This changed everything. I now had the key to bringing down my brother's murderer. But it must be done carefully--Ugo was still powerful, and I could not take him down as long as he and the other vassals of my realm opposed me. So I only blackmailed him, getting a strong hook that I would use to ensure his loyalty while I consolidated my position.
In 1211 I received news of my father's death. After the messenger left my chambers, I went to the family shrine and knelt in prayer, vowing to my father's spirit that his son, my brother, would finally be avenged.
More years passed. As both kingdoms were now mine, I slowly amassed enough gold and troops to take on my entire realm. A careful campaign of pacification had made my vassals compliant.
It is the year 1218, and time to put my plan into action. I expose Duke Ugo's deviancy. He is now a criminal. As my father did twenty years before, I revoke his title, and again, he rises up in rebellion, but this time no one will stand with him. My troops outnumber his four to one. With laughable ease I storm his palace and win victory. My knights drag him out and throw him down in the mud before me.
I arrest him and throw him in the dungeon. I revoke all of his titles and grant them to a distant toddler cousin. Years of emotional stress are wiped away in an instant--Ugo, my rival, murderer of my brother is now mine to do with as I will. Shall I torture him? Execute him? Shall I simply leave him there to rot in filth and misery? I ponder this choice, and the sweetness of vengeance.

Got married to a lady with high martial skills. She did not moved to my court. Turns out she was made a Marshal (General) by her father king from a far away land. Got betrayed by one of my own vassal and had to deal with multiple revolts. My own army was crushed and I'm on the brink of defeat. Capital is under siege. Wife suddenly arrived with a huge army. She single-handedly defeated the rebels. 11/10 will marry her again.

sacrificed the pope to odin and was immediately killed by 50,000 catholic troops 10/10

Look up at the clock. Ten hours have passed. That kind of game.

I'm about 20 hours into this game, so I wanted to drop a quick First Impression:
BE AWARE OF WHAT YOU'RE GETTING. Based on my perspective, CK3 is a more of a hybrid wargame/management system. Like many of the CIV games, you have opportunities to build and improve provinces... and you can certainly raise military forces (I think strictly land-based; naval seems to be abstracted or nonexistent so far).
But the builder/wargame aspect is only 50% of the game experience, and I estimate that liberally. All of these things are tightly wrapped up in a decision-based management system that produces causes and effects; with some of the effects being far-reaching.
EXAMPLE: your head of clergy doesn't like you, so he accuses you of having an incestuous relationship. You decide to Deny it. He gets even madder. One of your courtiers hears a rumor that the clergyman is plotting to kill your daughter. So you secretly arrange for him to be murdered. The neighboring Lord finds out through spies that you're responsible, so he blackmails you. Even though you pay him off, his cousin, the Lord in the OTHER neighboring county decides you're weak and decides to lay claim to YOUR title... armies march, wars get fought, etc....
YES, this gets THAT complicated. And the levels of all of these interactions get very deep and very complicated, like a spider web.
So far, I'm loving it (although to be frank, the "new" hasn't quite worn off yet). The biggest advice I can give anyone thinking about buying CK3 is what I said up front: Make Sure You Know What You're buying.
If you buy it looking for only a wargame, you'll be disappointed. If you buy it only looking for an empire builder (like CIV), you'll be disappointed.
Respectfully submitted as my humble opinion; take it or leave it.

Do you enjoy staring at a map for 10 hours in a single day?
Do you enjoy growing and raising a family?
Do you enjoy political intrigue?
Do you enjoy going from nothing and making a name for your family?
Do you enjoy cheating on your wife?
Do you enjoy torturing your cousin?
Do you enjoy murdering every single person in a family and entirely exterminating their family tree?
Boy do I have the game for you.