ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS XIV

Under all of the clunkiness and bad habits picked up over 13 games and 35 years, you will find a surprisingly addictive strategy game unlike anything else on the market - if you can put up with it long enough to get to that stage.

52%Game Brain Score

gameplay, graphics

optimization, grinding

62% User Score Based on 1,202 reviews

Critic Score 60%Based on 3 reviews

Platforms

Buy Nowfrom $31.89

Buy NowGet on Steam$59.99

About

"Romance of The Three Kingdoms XIV" is a turn-based strategy game that allows players to experience the epic Chinese historical period of the Three Kingdoms. The game offers a "Diplomacy and Strategy Expansion Pack" which includes new content and a Season Pass. Players can choose to purchase the game alone or in a bundle with the expansion pack and Season Pass. The game requires tactical skills and diplomacy to manage officers, form alliances, and expand territories.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS XIV screenshot

62%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,205 reviews

gameplay24 positive mentions

optimization4 negative mentions

The game offers a unique blend of turn-based and real-time strategy, requiring players to anticipate enemy moves.
The graphics and character designs are praised for their quality and detail, enhancing the overall experience.
The game introduces a supply line mechanic that adds depth to strategic planning during battles.

Many players feel the game lacks depth and complexity compared to previous installments, particularly in terms of character interactions and tactical battles.
The user interface is criticized for being cumbersome and unintuitive, making it difficult to manage resources and troops effectively.
There are significant performance issues, including lag and crashes, which detract from the gameplay experience.

gameplay
116 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
69%
10%
The gameplay in this iteration of the series is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its strategic depth and addictive mechanics, while others criticize it for being overly simplistic and lacking innovation compared to previous entries. While the introduction of features like supply lines and hybrid battle mechanics adds some complexity, many feel that the overall experience suffers from poor AI, repetitive UI, and a lack of engaging character interactions. Despite these criticisms, the game still offers enjoyable empire-building elements and potential for future updates.
- “However, once the player is able to grasp a hold of its many complex systems, it can provide one of the most satisfying and addicting strategic gameplay in the market.”
- “Great empire building gameplay, you can micromanage a small unit to take control of the surrounding city.”
- “If you liked XI, then you’ll love this, with some time to get used to all the new systems, plus AI is much better than XI by far and all around deeper gameplay.”
- “The gameplay in this iteration is perhaps overly simple.”
- “This game is simply too simplistic given that almost everything is done via automation from economics to the battle mechanics.”
- “Gameplay is disappointing in a sense that it has not improved since 11.”
graphics
112 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
64%
11%
The graphics in Rotk 14 have seen notable improvements, with enhanced character designs, detailed maps, and beautiful artwork, yet many players feel that the overall visual experience remains basic compared to modern standards. While some appreciate the aesthetic upgrades, there are complaints about the interface and performance issues, leading to a mixed reception regarding the game's graphical fidelity. Overall, the visuals are considered decent but not groundbreaking, with calls for further enhancements in future installments.
- “The aesthetics, graphics, character designs, and map details are also superb.”
- “My first impression is that the new 3D map is stunning, geographically accurate!”
- “The graphics are great, with excellent leader pictures.”
- “The graphics have improved, but the interface is far more lacking than the original.”
- “There is no impressive graphics or visual excitement though, like most of the games on the market today.”
- “The graphics are from the year 2000.”
story
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
71%
8%
The story aspect of the game is a mixed bag, with some players praising the depth and replayability offered by various scenarios tied to historical events, while others criticize the execution and completeness of key story elements. Customization options for backstories and skills add a personal touch, but some feel the narrative lacks cultural authenticity and engaging music. Overall, while the Three Kingdoms setting is beloved, opinions vary on how well the game captures its essence.
- “The story, as usual, is fantastic; the amount of scenarios you could play gives options to replay the game for months, if not years.”
- “Every scenario corresponds to a specific event, for example, the Oath under the Peach Tree, that asks you some mini-missions to recreate the story.”
- “I started a new campaign on 'Anti-Dong Zhuo' as Liu Bei on normal, and the events that trigger in this scenario are worth my purchase... it's so much fun to see how things are playing out in the story by fulfilling the requirements.”
- “I love the Three Kingdoms story, and Koei has had some hits and misses; sadly, this one is a miss for me.”
- “But the story is pretty much the same; some of the gameplay is kind of the same, and the look and feel is kind of the same.”
- “Story events are incomplete, such as the Red Cliff battle and Liu Bei moving to the west.”
optimization
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
77%
13%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant performance issues and bugs, while others report smooth gameplay on mid-range hardware. Many users suggest adjusting NVIDIA settings to improve performance, and there is hope that future updates will address the optimization concerns. Overall, while some players find the current optimization lacking, others believe it is manageable and expect improvements.
- “No stuttering at all on a medium level gaming laptop from 2018.”
- “The performance will continue to improve as updates come out.”
- “It runs smoothly on my GTX 980 & i5 6600k combination.”
- “Bad optimization”
- “Poor quality control, can’t run the game at all, tons of bugs, awful optimization, don’t buy until Koei fixes it.”
- “The game is very slow and not smooth when I first launched it. I suggest quitting the game and going to Control Panel > NVIDIA Control Panel > 3D Settings > Manage 3D Settings > under Global Settings - Preferred Graphic Processor: change to High Performance NVIDIA Processor, and restart the game!”
grinding
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
93%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, characterized by micromanagement that often feels overwhelming and repetitive. While some appreciate the added depth and realism in managing territories and resources, many feel that the interface and mechanics detract from the overall experience, making it difficult for those with limited time to engage meaningfully. Overall, the grinding is seen as a mixed bag—improved in some areas but still frustratingly cumbersome.
- “I don't have time to tediously wade through a morass of unnecessary confirmations, officer portrait popups (sadly in a Dynasty Warriors art asset vein), and slow response from programming that treats 4 cores as 1 like it's still 2012.”
- “This game focuses heavily on tedious micromanagement until you lose your patience and use the macromanagement features for the AI to automate the work for you.”
- “"Reward" is so repetitive and tedious you almost have to do it every turn or two to keep all your officers' loyalty at 100 or they will start getting poached by other forces.”
music
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
46%
15%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its repetitive nature and lack of cultural relevance, which detracts from immersion and the overall experience. While some appreciate the quality of the soundtracks and character illustrations, others criticize the stagnant background music and the inclusion of generic Western ballet themes. Overall, the music is seen as a nostalgic element for long-time fans, but it fails to innovate or align with the game's historical context.
- “Of course, like other Three Kingdoms series, character illustrations and soundtracks are still excellent in terms of their quality.”
- “Its not my favorite addition to the series, but I've been playing since SNES, and I love the entire series; nostalgic and relaxing is the music, the lore of the officers is just great.”
- “Astounding soundtrack, great portraits, and nice flowing gameplay create an epic series where you can experience things from any force or create your own.”
- “Stagnant background music (BGM): the BGM remains unchanged from many versions ago, which contributes to a feeling of stagnation in the game's overall experience.”
- “Needs more period and culturally appropriate music matching the content and the story.”
- “The artwork of the officers is beautiful, the music is sweeping, but extremely repetitive and ill-fitting for the era of the game.”
replayability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
40%
20%
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability due to numerous scenarios, although some players feel that simplified controls and excessive confirmation pop-ups detract from the experience, making it feel more like an arcade or mobile port than a true strategy game.
- “So much replay value.”
- “Great replay value!”
- “Great replay value.”
- “The many scenarios give replayability, but the lack of tactical battles, simplified controls, and countless confirmation pop-ups make the game feel more like an arcade/mobile port than a true strategy game.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
Reviews indicate that while the game's aesthetics, graphics, and character designs are impressive, it falls short in terms of RPG character development, leaving players disappointed with a lack of depth in both character progression and combat mechanics.
- “This version is lacking in the RPG character development aspect, which was what we expected. The combat seems really dumbed down and shallow; there's not much depth to it at all.”
- “The character development feels underwhelming and fails to meet the expectations set by previous installments.”
- “I was disappointed with the lack of meaningful character progression; it feels like the developers neglected this crucial aspect.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's stability has received mixed feedback, with some users reporting frustrating freezes and poor gameplay experiences. However, others note that while the game is streamlined, it is not particularly buggy, suggesting a generally acceptable level of stability despite the issues.
- “Overall, it's an okay game; not buggy, but really streamlined, which is not too bad.”
- “I am quite disappointed with how the game freezes and how horrible the gameplay is.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV" has been criticized for being overly simplified, which detracts from the unique historical ambiance of the Three Kingdoms era and reduces the experience to that of a basic city-building simulation.
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
Users consistently highlight the humor in the game, describing it as very funny and enjoyable.
- “Because it is very funny.”
- “Because it is very funny.”
- “Because it is very funny.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy is widely criticized as a lazy cash grab, indicating a lack of effort and creativity in generating revenue from the game.
- “A very lazy cash grab at best.”