Ancient Warfare: The Han Dynasty

About

"Ancient Warfare: The Han Dynasty" is a strategy game set in the Western Regions during the Han Dynasty. As a commander of the Expeditionary Army, your mission is to expel the invading Xiongnu and ensure the safety of your people. With various strategies available, players can choose between endless conquest or political art to secure victory. The game is filled with challenges, sacrifices, and struggles, making each decision crucial for the survival of your dynasty.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Ancient Warfare: The Han Dynasty screenshot

79%

Audience ScoreBased on 68 reviews

gameplay8 positive mentions

optimization1 negative mentions

The game offers a unique take on the Total War formula, with a strong emphasis on Chinese history and culture, making it appealing to fans of the genre.
Unit customization is a standout feature, allowing players to equip and modify units extensively, which adds depth to gameplay.
The development team is actively working on improvements, showing potential for future updates and enhancements to the game.

The game suffers from significant AI issues, with poor management and unbalanced difficulty, making it frustrating for players.
Combat mechanics are often shallow and unresponsive, particularly with ranged units being overpowered, leading to a lack of strategic depth.
The game defaults to Chinese language settings, which can alienate non-Chinese speaking players, and the overall optimization is lacking, resulting in performance issues.

gameplay
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
46%
23%
The gameplay features innovative campaign mechanics, such as resource management and equipment customization, which encourage strategic use of units. However, it suffers from clunky controls and balancing issues, particularly with ranged units being disproportionately powerful. While the foundation is solid and reminiscent of classic titles, the game requires further refinement and expansion to reach its full potential.
- “The equipment system is the second most interesting mechanic in this game, as population is a very scarce resource and you can't recruit indefinitely. This means you have to use your already recruited units to the fullest. You can change their weapons, armor, and shoes to transform them into other units, forge equipment using resources, or steal equipment from enemies by looting the battlefield for one turn after a battle.”
- “To me, the most impressive thing is that most campaign mechanics would work nicely with a Total War experience. In fact, this game goes back to some of the wonderful systems of Rome 1 and Medieval 2, which is the reason I give this game such a high score.”
- “Really cool improvements over the standard RTS systems with a lot of time period relevant units and mechanics.”
- “Gameplay is a bit arcade/strange; ranged units are significantly stronger, even against heavily armored and shielded infantry.”
- “Its clunky, simple gameplay.”
- “The core of solid gameplay is there, but balancing and quality changes would go a long way.”
story
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
62%
13%
The story mode is praised for its engaging narrative and effective storytelling, with players appreciating the visual novel style and the integration of gameplay elements. However, some users expressed frustration with the lack of guidance on certain quests and suggested that a simple index or FAQ feature would enhance the experience. Overall, the story is seen as a strong aspect of the game, generating excitement for further exploration.
- “This is a very engaging game with good storytelling.”
- “The music was fun but kind of sporadic, and I did really appreciate a well-narrated, visual novel type approach to the story.”
- “Very fun, and I'm excited to see the rest of the game after playing the story campaign.”
- “There's a quest telling me to train a soldier, which I don't know how to do.”
- “I played for twelve minutes, was introduced to the story, and fought one battle...”
- “Simple index/FAQ feature should help better rather than sequential story gameplay.”
graphics
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's graphics are generally considered unoptimized and not particularly impressive, earning a low score of 4/10. However, the artwork is highly praised for its quality, showcasing the developers' strong artistic skills.
- “The artwork is absolutely stunning; these artists really know how to create beautiful visuals.”
- “The graphics are impressive and add a lot to the overall experience of the game.”
- “The attention to detail in the graphics is remarkable, making the game world feel immersive and alive.”
- “Considering there are not mind-blowing graphics, the game seems quite unoptimized.”
- “Graphics, 4/10”
- “Graphics, 4/10”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is generally well-received, described as enjoyable and fitting, though somewhat sporadic. Additionally, the integration of a well-narrated, visual novel style enhances the overall experience.
- “The OST is really nice too.”
- “The music was fun but kind of sporadic, and I did really appreciate a well-narrated visual novel type approach to the story.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Despite the game's lack of impressive graphics, players have noted that it feels poorly optimized, leading to performance issues.
- “Considering there are not mind-blowing graphics, the game seems quite unoptimized.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the humor in the chaotic presence of bandits during battles, as they unpredictably attack both sides, leading to amusing scenarios where defeated enemies inadvertently fall victim to the bandits. This unexpected twist adds a layer of comedic relief to the gameplay.
- “Bandits are a very chaotic third wheel for most battles, where they will attack both sides. It's funny to defeat most of your enemy army and then see them running into the bandits and getting killed.”