When does Stronghold Crusader 2 get good?

Give it 10 hours. In the first 2 hours 1 in 2 reviews are negative (60%); after 20h it's 1 in 7 (14%). Fully opens up by hour 20.

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SimulationStrategy

Stronghold Crusader 2

Sep 22, 2014 Steam: Mostly Positive

Give it 10 hours

Gets good by 10h then rated almost like by veterans

Fully opens up by 20h rated like by long-time players

Started playing 55% of owners

Steam reviews 72% positive of 18,156

What the data shows

In the first 2 hours 1 in 2 reviews are negative (60%); after 20h it's 1 in 7 (14%).
Fully opens up by hour 20.
The opening is criticised more than in 89% of games we track.
The game has no story achievements, so drop-off points can't be measured.
Only 55% of owners have even the first achievement — the rest barely played.

When it gets good

Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.

before it gets good opening up fully opened up

Based on all 18,195 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 299 reviews: 23.6h for positive, 8.6h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.

Where players quit

Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (55.4% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.

This game has no story achievements, so we can't tell where players quit.

All achievements (81)

story milestone ending side

The Killing Joke Kill a jester 100%
Warrior 3rd Class Kill 1,000 troops 85%
Welcome to the Family Sign up to the mailing list 53%
"Preparations" Campaign Complete "Preparations" campaign 48%
No Hanging Around Kill an AI lord in a skirmish match before the end of day 5 42%
Industry Baron Deliver 100,000 resources to the stockpile 39%
Farmer King Deliver 100,000 food to the granary 35%
Skirmish Yeoman Complete "Baptism" skirmish trail 33%
Warrior 2nd Class Kill 10,000 troops 32%
Loyal Companion Complete "Alliance" within the "Breath of the Infidel" skirmish trail without your ally dying 30%
Slam Dunk (Da Funk) Win 5 skirmish matches in a row 28%
Revelation 16:21 Have 10 trebuchets at your command 27%
Animal Antics Fire one of each animal type from a trebuchet in a single game 26%
Four Play An achievement for owning all 4 Stronghold Crusader 2 DLC. Thank you from everyone at Firefly Studios. 25%
Assassin's Deed Kill the enemy lord with an assassin 21%
Skirmish Knight Complete "Breath of the Infidel" skirmish trail 18%
Embargo Win a skirmish match without buying or selling any goods 18%
Atlas Subbed Subscribe to a map using the Steam Workshop 17%
Forge Lord Deliver 10,000 weapons to the armoury 16%
Animal Air Strike Throw 100 animals 15%
Release the Hounds Open 5 war dog cages in the space of 30 seconds 15%
"Lionheart" Campaign Complete "Lionheart" campaign 15%
Conqueror 5 multiplayer wins 14%
Let None Stand in my Way Kill 50 enemy lords 12%
Skirmish Baron Complete "Desert Heat" skirmish trail 12%
You Win or You Die Kill an enemy lord with your lord 12%
All Knight Long Have 100 mounted knights at your command 12%
Trebuchet vs Trebuchet Destroy an enemy trebuchet using a trebuchet 11%
Site your granary, sire Destroy a granary containing more than 500 food 11%
Demolition Man Destroy 1,000 buildings 11%
Warrior 1st Class Kill 50,000 troops 11%
Skirmish Duke Complete "Way of the Warrior" skirmish trail 9.9%
Medic! Heal your lord to half health from the brink of death 9.9%
Millionaire Generate 1,000,000 gold 9.7%
"Saladin" Campaign Complete "Saladin" campaign 9.0%
Iron Will Win a skirmish trail mission only recruiting melee troops 8.1%
Skirmish Prince Complete "A Trail of Tears" skirmish trail 7.8%
Sacrosanct Defeat The Hermit without destroying any of his Mosques 6.5%
Space Invader Capture all the village estates in the "Conquerors" mission before any players are defeated 5.8%
Usurper Defeat The Princess and Richard in a single skirmish match 5.8%
Cannon Fodder Kill 500 Conscripts in a skirmish match against The Emperor 5.6%
Ghost Riders Kill 100 Horse Archers in a skirmish match against The Khan 5.6%
Say My Name, Say My Name Trigger a custom greeting 5.4%
Skirmish King Complete "Hell's Teeth" skirmish trail 5.1%
Arms Dealer Send 500 weapons to allies 4.7%
Listed Buildings Defeat The Emperor on "Uprising" in "The Emperor & The Hermit" skirmish trail without destroying any of his towers 4.3%
Fortification Master Defeat the "Lords of the Desert" invasion in a sandbox game (Difficulty: Hard) 3.8%
Skirmish Hero Complete "The Princess & The Pig" skirmish trail 3.4%
Khan you do the Khan Khan? Win a skirmish match against a team of 3 or more Khans 3.4%
Divine Retribution Complete the "The Emperor & The Hermit" skirmish trail 3.2%
Skirmish Enforcer Complete "The Templar & The Duke" skirmish trail 3.2%
Protector of the Innocent Complete "Surrounded" within "The Princess & The Pig" skirmish trail without losing any hovels 2.9%
Skirmish Legend Complete the "The Jackal & The Khan" skirmish trail 2.9%
That's no Moon Defeat the Emperor in a skirmish match in which he builds his largest castle 2.5%
Content Complete Complete all 4 DLC skirmish trails 2.5%
I'll Huff and I'll Puff Defeat The Pig 1 vs 1 without destroying any of his walls in a skirmish match 2.3%
Men Only Complete "Factions of War" within "The Templar & The Duke" skirmish trail without building any siege equipment 2.3%
Fetchez la Vache! Kill a lord with a diseased cow 2.3%
Highly Offensive Complete "Comradeship" within "The Jackal & The Khan" skirmish trail without building any walls, towers or gates 2.2%
Lion Tamer Kill 5 lions with a slave driver 2.2%
Tactician Complete "The Lion's Den" within the "Preparations" campaign on hard without training any units 2.2%
Inside Job Kill The Khan using a Horse Archer 2.0%
Star of Wars Win a 6 player free for all skirmish match on "The Star" 2.0%
Architect 50 towers, 50 hovels 2.0%
Clear Passage All trade caravans survive in "Robber Baron" within the "Delivering Justice" campaign 2.0%
Speedrun Complete "Antioch" within the "Lionheart" campaign in less than 10 minutes 2.0%
Not So Magnificent Seven Win a multiplayer against 7 other lords with no alliances 1.8%
Stealth is our Defense Complete "Justice" within the "Saladin" campaign without losing any assassins (Difficulty: Hard) 1.8%
The Boy Defeat a team of The Pig, The Rat and The Wolf in a skirmish match 1.6%
Army of One Kill 100 of The Princess' troops with your lord in a single skirmish game 1.6%
Concordat Team up with The Emperor and defeat a team of two Hermits in a skirmish match 1.6%
Master of Darkness Defeat the Hermit in a skirmish match by only training assassins 1.6%
Fruit and Nut Defeat a team of the Sultana and the Hermit in a skirmish match by yourself 1.6%
Rings of Death Start in the centre estate and defeat 6 Emperors on "The Last Stand" in Custom Skirmish 1.6%
Royal Bonus Win a skirmish match against a team of The Emperor, The Princess, King Richard & The Slave King 1.6%
Duke it Out Win a skirmish match against 3 Dukes (not in a team) 1.6%
Surmountable Complete "Insurmountable" within "The Templar & The Duke" skirmish trail before the end of day 60 1.6%
Holy Trinity Win a skirmish match against a team of The Templar, The Emperor and The Hermit 1.6%
Bad Dogs Defeat a team of The Wolf and The Jackal in a skirmish match by yourself 1.6%
Your Own Worst Enemy Win a free for all skirmish match against 7 other DLC AI lords. 1.6%
Take the Bull by the Horns Complete "The Horns of Hattin" within the "Freedom Fighters" campaign in less than 10 minutes 1.6%

Steam page Updated: 2026-10-18.