Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII

68%
Game Brain Score Based on 905 reviews
  • gameplay
  • story
  • graphics
Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII Game Cover
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"Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII" is a strategy game that immerses players in the historical drama of the Three Kingdoms period. With playable heroic characters, spectacular battles, and dynamic 3D land exploration, players can forge their own unique history through actions and decisions. Experience human drama, intricate battles, and territorial expansion in this ultimate depiction of the Three Kingdoms.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Windows
  • Cloud
  • NVIDIA GeForce NOW
  • Play​Station
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

68%
Audience ScoreBased on 905 reviews
gameplay15 positive mentions
stability19 negative mentions
  • The game offers a unique blend of RPG and strategy elements, allowing players to create their own characters and experience the story of the Three Kingdoms.
  • The character creation system is extensive, enabling players to shape their role and relationships within the game.
  • The graphics and artwork are beautiful, enhancing the immersive experience of the game.
  • The game suffers from frequent crashes and bugs, making it frustrating to play.
  • The AI is often predictable and can lead to unbalanced gameplay, especially in battles.
  • The price is considered too high for the content offered, especially without the expansion pack.
  • gameplay119 mentions

    The gameplay of this title is a mixed bag, offering a blend of strategic depth and character-driven mechanics that some players find engaging, while others criticize it for being overly simplified compared to earlier entries. The introduction of RPG elements and a hero mode tutorial helps new players acclimate, but many feel that the gameplay lacks depth and can become repetitive. Overall, while some appreciate the fresh approach and complexity, others are disappointed by the execution and the removal of beloved features from previous games in the series.

    • “The gameplay here is deeply engaging, combining the strategic depth that defines the series with a more personal, character-focused experience.”
    • “The heroes mode functioning as a tutorial and a proper campaign is a great feature and really helped me get into the gameplay.”
    • “The gameplay is solid, building up a force and the borders of those forces: economically, militarily, and culturally.”
    • “From a gameplay standpoint, my biggest knock is that this game is much more simplified than some of the earlier entries in the series.”
    • “The game still has some rough edges, like gameplay elements not explained very well, some inconvenient controls, and repetitive generic events.”
    • “After less than 2 hours in the game, I have decided to give up on the boring and messy gameplay.”
  • story99 mentions

    The game's story aspect is a mixed bag, appealing primarily to fans of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" narrative, with many players appreciating the immersive storytelling and character interactions. However, some reviewers criticize the repetitive quests and lack of depth in the overarching plot, suggesting that the game could benefit from more substantial story elements and better integration of player choices. Overall, while the game offers a nostalgic experience for long-time fans, its storytelling may feel lacking or tedious for those unfamiliar with the historical context.

    • “I think this game is great so far and if you love the Romance of the Three Kingdoms story, then you will like this game.”
    • “The storytelling and art really make the game shine.”
    • “In this game, you experience the story of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms through the eyes of any of the interesting and unique characters involved.”
    • “This game seems to be a bunch of repetitive item delivery quests and basic battles.”
    • “Imagine playing a 4x strategy game where, no matter what you did, everything you accomplished would get completely overwritten and invalidated by a progressing story that was disconnected from what actually happened in the game.”
    • “The game feels like bits and pieces of programmed game code were jammed together without a real feel for flow of playability and continuity of plot and action.”
  • graphics83 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the stunning character artwork and immersive visuals, while others criticize the overall graphical quality as sub-par and outdated compared to modern standards. Many users report technical issues, such as graphical glitches and performance problems, particularly when using higher settings. Overall, while the artwork is appreciated, the game's graphics are seen as needing significant improvement to match contemporary expectations.

    • “Passed inspection: very immersive, excellent graphics, beautiful music and visuals, models almost every aspect of Han Dynasty military and court life.”
    • “The artwork is very themed towards Chinese culture of the first century AD, and is done beautifully, and now the portraits show the head in menus, but the whole body on character sheets, and the character portrait art has never been better.”
    • “Graphically speaking, it's just stunning.”
    • “The graphics need to be improved so personal interactions are not just images of the characters but actual 3D reactive ones.”
    • “During some parts of the game, some weird graphical bug occurs that causes the screen to flash red and blue.”
    • “The graphic is horrible and looks too simple.”
  • music25 mentions

    The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players praising its immersive quality and beautiful soundtrack that enhances the overall experience. While some find it repetitive at times and lacking the epicness of previous titles, the majority appreciate its ability to complement gameplay and evoke the atmosphere of the Three Kingdoms era. However, a few critiques mention a disconnect with the expected cultural sound, particularly in the use of Western-style music.

    • “Overall, very enjoyable; can be a bit repetitive at times, but easy to play in the background while you work on other stuff. The music is absolutely great.”
    • “The music is incredible.”
    • “Another positive is the soundtrack for this game; it is very good and I enjoy listening to every piece within the game.”
    • “The game's soundtrack is broken up into ill-defined regional areas.”
    • “Too bad we don't get the soundtrack released in the states.”
    • “Music is not invested enough.”
  • stability23 mentions

    The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting persistent bugs, crashes, and glitches that significantly impact gameplay. While some users have experienced a smooth experience without issues, the overall sentiment leans towards frustration due to the game's frequent instability and poor AI performance. Despite some positive feedback, the game's buggy state remains a major concern for a significant portion of the player base.

    • “They used to sell you full games instead of piecemeal DLC sets, and their final products were 95% bug-free.”
    • “So far, the game is bug-free and interesting in general, with lots of strategy.”
    • “Everything looks and runs great.”
    • “Major glitches persist after 2 years of release, stupid AI which can't even attack and occupy a single castle, poor diplomatic commands which are almost non-existent, and overall, boring.”
    • “Alas... it's a bug-ridden game that will crash extremely regularly.”
    • “The game is fun, but the biggest problem is that the game is very buggy.”
  • grinding19 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game is a mixed bag; while some players find the character and city development engaging, others describe it as tedious and repetitive, especially in the mid to late game. The ability to delegate tasks helps alleviate some of the grind, but many still feel that the farming and building mechanics can become overly simplistic and clunky. Overall, the experience varies significantly among players, with some enjoying the depth and others frustrated by the time-consuming nature of progression.

    • “They have made this game so complicated, grinding and boring.”
    • “The first two thirds of the game is redundant farming, building up, etc., and hoping that you don't get attacked and ruined before you build up your city.”
    • “The game is a bit grindy on social standings and stat building, but that's part of the fun in a world where you're competing with or against the likes of Lu Bu for strength, Zhuge Liang for intelligence, or Cao Cao for political power.”
  • replayability17 mentions

    The game boasts extremely high replayability due to its diverse playable archetypes and RPG elements that allow players to create unique experiences. Customization options, including the ability to set up ruler factions and select starting years, further enhance replay value. While some critiques mention a lack of challenge, the overall consensus is that the game offers significant depth and variety, especially with the expansion pack that adds new quests and systems.

    • “The replayability factor is extremely high due to the number of ways to play - lone officer/ronin, mid-level governor, war minister, ruler, bandit, or even merchant are some examples of the playable archetypes.”
    • “I find that this game has a lot of replay value given all of the different ways that the player can more or less create their own experience for themselves.”
    • “Ability to build a personal fictional scenario (set up ruler factions manually, select starting year) this could create untold replayability, being able to customize each game and still follow many of the historical settings while still being an entirely fictional game.”
    • “The game is a bit easy and doesn't have much replay value.”
    • “Allowing us to upload our generals and own scenarios to Steam would have given the game a tremendous amount of replay value.”
    • “Overall, although the original is playable with a rating of 6.5/10, it is highly recommended with a rating of 8.5/10 to get the PUK bundle which improves some poorly made features in the original, increases the playing value with more exciting features added, and enhances replayability in the RPG element with the prestige class added.”
  • optimization8 mentions

    The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with players reporting significant issues such as poor performance on high-end PCs, frequent bugs, and a lack of overall polish. Many users express frustration over the game's optimization, describing it as the worst they've encountered in a AAA title, which detracts from the overall experience.

    • “Based on your performance, receive dynamic rewards and merit.”
    • “A ruler of a city, you need to entertain multiple requests and supervise the workings of a city while fulfilling more 'performance targets'.”
    • “Of course there are some issues such as incessant pop-up events, and at times it feels like it is nowhere near optimized for a PC (even on my fully-loaded Lenovo 7i).”
    • “Worst PC optimization ever.”
    • “Totally no optimization with a ton of bugs.”
  • character development4 mentions

    Character development in the game is highly praised for its depth and interactivity, creating a vibrant and immersive world. Reviewers note its strong role-playing elements, likening it to Crusader Kings 2, with multiple layers of character influence and growth. Additionally, there are expectations for further development in aspects like town and economy management, enhancing the overall experience.

    • “While Total War has overall better battles, building tree, and tech tree, this game has powerful character development, a truly living world, and amazing depth when it comes to interacting with other people.”
    • “RTK XIII has the best role-playing capabilities, character development, and graphics.”
    • “Some of the character development reminds me of Crusader Kings II, with the ability to influence and alter a wide range of characters.”
    • “Some of the character development reminds me of Crusader Kings 2, with the ability to influence and alter a wide range of characters.”
    • “There appear to be several layers of character development, and I expect to learn about town development including raising your economy, building new town sections, and developing your army in the next aspects of the hero mode.”
  • humor2 mentions

    Players find humor in the absurdity of overwhelming victories, particularly when they can easily decimate enemy forces at choke points, leading to amusingly one-sided battles. However, this humor is tinged with a sense of sadness due to the lack of strategic depth in these encounters.

    • “I thought it was funny when I was basically wiping out all of Wei's forces in a few battles. They would send all their armies from all cities to one battle, but I would decimate them at a choke point.”
    • “The humor in the game can be funny at times, but it can also be kind of sad because there is really no strategy here.”
  • monetization2 mentions

    The monetization of the game is heavily criticized, with users labeling it as a blatant cash grab that fails to deliver on its advertised RPG elements, leading to disappointment among players who had high expectations.

    • “This is a rant and review as this game is just a cash grab.”
    • “I bought this game with so much expectation, because the ads emphasized RPG elements of the game which reminded me of 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms X PK'. I thought I could play something similar...”
  • emotional1 mentions

    Players appreciate the emotional depth of the game, suggesting that it offers a rich and nuanced experience that resonates on a deeper level than initially perceived.

    • “Overall, I feel the game has more depth than I'm touching on here, which I think is a good feeling.”
    • “The emotional journey the characters go through really resonated with me and made me reflect on my own experiences.”
    • “I was genuinely moved by the story; it made me laugh, cry, and feel a connection to the characters.”
  • atmosphere1 mentions

    The atmosphere in ROTK 13 is richly immersive, effectively capturing the essence of the Three Kingdoms era through its engaging strategy gameplay and RPG elements, such as character relationships and conflicts. The game's sound and music further enhance this experience, allowing players to truly feel the historical setting.

    • “Not only does ROTK 13 offer a compact strategy game set during the Three Kingdoms era, combined with some nice RPG elements like creating bonds and friendships with other characters, even to the extent of marrying and having an archenemy, but it also features great sound and music that allows you to truly feel the atmosphere of the Three Kingdoms.”
    • “The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking the depth and immersion I expected from a game set in such a rich historical context.”
    • “Despite the interesting premise, the overall ambiance is dull and fails to capture the essence of the Three Kingdoms era.”
    • “The sound design is underwhelming, making it hard to feel connected to the world and its characters.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

43hMedian play time
59hAverage play time
2-100hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

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