Total War: THREE KINGDOMS

79%
Game Brain Score Based on 31,649 reviews
  • gameplay
  • graphics
  • story
Total War: THREE KINGDOMS Game Cover
Total War: Three Kingdoms uses excellent pacing and strong character mechanics to create a consistently exciting and challenging historical strategy campaign.
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"Total War: Three Kingdoms" is a real-time strategy game that offers both single-player and multiplayer modes, including co-op. Set in ancient China, the game combines turn-based campaigning with real-time battles, allowing players to build and conquer empires while experiencing epic conflicts in an age of heroes and legends. This entry in the series aims to redefine turn-based and real-time strategy gameplay within a rich historical setting.

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Reviews

79%
Audience ScoreBased on 31,649 reviews
gameplay1,171 positive mentions
stability278 negative mentions
  • gameplay3,445 mentions

    The gameplay of "Total War: Three Kingdoms" has received mixed reviews, with many praising its innovative mechanics, particularly the character-driven narratives and improved diplomacy systems, which add depth and complexity to the campaign experience. However, some players find the mechanics overwhelming and poorly explained, leading to confusion and frustration, especially for newcomers. While the battles are engaging and visually impressive, they can feel repetitive, and the AI behavior has been criticized for lacking strategic depth, resulting in a gameplay experience that can become tedious over time.

    • “The gameplay mechanics are both accessible to newcomers and deep enough to satisfy seasoned veterans of the Total War series.”
    • “There are several new mechanics in this game, with improved diplomacy and espionage, supply control for armies, and all of them work really well to improve the overall experience.”
    • “The addition of character-driven narratives adds an extra layer of depth to the strategic gameplay, as you must balance the needs of your faction with the ambitions of your generals and advisors.”
    • “Some mechanics just do not work as intended.”
    • “Too many bugs that are so bad that they get in the way of gameplay.”
    • “Not only are the mechanics shabby and user unfriendly, the tech progression for troops paralleling with the level of a hero is incredibly stupid.”
  • graphics2,110 mentions

    The graphics of "Total War: Three Kingdoms" receive mixed reviews, with many praising the stunning visuals, vibrant art style, and detailed environments that enhance the game's immersive experience. However, some players criticize the graphics as subpar compared to previous titles, describing them as cartoonish or lacking in clarity, particularly during battles. Overall, while the game showcases impressive artistic elements, performance issues and graphical glitches have been noted, leading to a divided opinion on its visual quality.

    • “A political and tactical landscape that’s almost never boring, filled out with gorgeous, stylized graphics, an excellent character system, and massive performance improvements over previous games in the series leave no doubt who the new emperor is around these parts.”
    • “The graphics are stunning, the art style is beautiful, fitting, and very well done.”
    • “The graphics are incredible, the diplomacy is actually viable, the story-lines that create themselves are amazing, and the cast of unique characters - lu bu, zheng liang, cao cao, sun ren, etc. all make the intertwined drama a forefront of the game, meaning that it's no longer faceless armies facing faceless armies.”
    • “The graphics are lousy in my opinion, there is no trace of the stunning beauty of the old game.”
    • “The graphics are also close to Warcraft III level - simply compare the castle walls of Three Kingdoms with the old Medieval II!”
    • “The graphics and the way the game was made, this was a waste of time.”
  • story1,286 mentions

    The story in "Total War: Three Kingdoms" is praised for its rich character development and immersive narrative, drawing heavily from the historical "Romance of the Three Kingdoms." Players appreciate the blend of strategic gameplay with storytelling elements, allowing for both adherence to historical events and personal narrative creation. However, some critiques highlight inconsistencies in story execution and a desire for more dynamic storytelling elements, suggesting that while the game captures the essence of the era, it sometimes falls short in delivering a cohesive narrative experience.

    • “What truly sets Total War: Three Kingdoms apart, however, is its emphasis on storytelling and character development.”
    • “The storyline and its characters were very interesting in the beginning and they interacted with each other in a way I found lovely, harmonious; every faction had its niche and its unique characters and their stories, conquests, defeats, etc.”
    • “This game also does an impressive job at telling the story of the Three Kingdoms and including the most famous characters and some of the events.”
    • “Sadly, it still needs a bit more polishing in the sense of story and characters.”
    • “After the first initial excitement of seeing the legendary heroes fighting on screen, you quickly realize no matter how hard you try, you will never see the actual story of the three kingdoms played out on screen.”
    • “For fans of total war, this is pretty fun, but if you want to reenact the romance of the three kingdoms storyline, you will be very disappointed; the story elements are insanely weak.”
  • optimization650 mentions

    The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players praising it as one of the best-optimized entries in the Total War series, particularly in terms of performance and loading times. However, some users report persistent issues such as stuttering, crashes, and poor performance on higher-end hardware, indicating that while the game performs well on lower-end systems, it still has significant optimization challenges that need addressing. Overall, the game shows substantial improvements over previous titles, but inconsistencies in performance remain a concern for some players.

    • “It is a technically more optimized offering with a fun campaign that dives deeper than other iterations into the immersion of player characters and their social circles.”
    • “The game is beautiful, the music is very well done, the performance on my hardware is quite good.”
    • “This game has set a new standard for future total war titles, in both optimization, and political intrigue.”
    • “Every Total War game since 2013’s Rome 2 has had significant performance issues, even on high-end hardware.”
    • “I was actually shocked at how horrific this game is optimized for higher-end hardware.”
    • “Geez, can I have at least *one* post-Shogun 2 Total War game that's not an abysmally unoptimized, bug-ridden, ever-crashing mess?”
  • music457 mentions

    The music in "Total War: Three Kingdoms" has received widespread acclaim for its immersive and atmospheric qualities, effectively blending traditional Chinese instruments with orchestral elements to enhance the game's historical setting. Many players describe the soundtrack as beautiful and evocative, contributing significantly to the overall experience, although some express disappointment with specific tracks or aspects of the sound design. Overall, the music is considered one of the standout features of the game, with many reviewers rating it highly and noting its ability to draw players into the world of ancient China.

    • “The soundtrack, ambient and presentation are a 10/10.”
    • “Beautiful art and sound design: Three Kingdoms boasts beautiful visuals and an evocative soundtrack that immerses players in the historical ambiance of ancient China.”
    • “The music sets the tone for each scene, enhancing the overall atmosphere and adding an extra layer of depth to the experience.”
    • “The biggest reason why I uninstalled was the horrific and echoey main menu music that plays and runs in the background, disabling the ability to hear anything else.”
    • “To be honest, the soundtrack in TW: Three Kingdoms is decent, but I was expecting better OSTs; I felt underwhelmed with the game's music and I was expecting better.”
    • “Was pretty surprised to see that the soundtrack in this game did not live up to the standard of the Total War series; it was okayish but nothing too memorable.”
  • replayability398 mentions

    The replayability of the game is a contentious topic among players, with opinions ranging from high praise for its diverse faction mechanics and engaging gameplay to criticism for a lack of content and unit variety. While some players report hundreds of hours of enjoyment and unique experiences with different factions, others feel that the similarities between factions and limited base content significantly hinder long-term replay value. Overall, the game offers a mixed bag of replayability, heavily influenced by the use of mods and DLC expansions.

    • “The game is beautiful and sounds amazing, has fun and responsive battles, a decent settlement-building mechanic, acceptable diplomacy mechanics and tech trees, and high replay value courtesy of the different faction mechanics.”
    • “Great game, interesting and diverse faction mechanics and incredible replayability due to various strategies to try and the best AI intelligence and variation I have seen in a Total War game.”
    • “Each faction has unique mechanics, units, and buildings that add to the replayability factor.”
    • “With the low amount of factions included in the base game, replayability is quite low without buying DLC.”
    • “The short time period of the game really hinders its replay value.”
    • “Lack of replayability is also an issue, since it's hard to tell the differences from faction to faction.”
  • stability340 mentions

    The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous reports of frequent crashes, freezes, and various bugs that disrupt gameplay. While some players have experienced smoother performance and fewer issues, the overall consensus is that the game remains significantly buggy, particularly in late-game scenarios and on certain platforms like macOS. Many users recommend modding the game or waiting for patches to improve stability before fully engaging with it.

    • “The game just runs great on the campaign map and in battles.”
    • “It runs great, looks great, plays great, and is not buggy at release like some past Total War titles.”
    • “Almost completely bug free at launch...which is just insane for a Total War product...had one crash to desktop but there was no reason for it and I haven't replicated it since.”
    • “Overall a good game, but extremely buggy and the game crashes quite often.”
    • “The game is still quite buggy; some of them are acceptable, but some of them are game crashing.”
    • “Wayyyyy too buggy, crashes an average of twice every 15 minutes of gameplay.”
  • grinding200 mentions

    The reviews indicate that while the early game is engaging, the late game often devolves into tedious grinding, characterized by excessive micromanagement and repetitive battles. Players frequently express frustration with the lack of variety and meaningful progression, leading to a sense of boredom and a desire to skip content. Overall, the game suffers from a common issue in strategy titles where the excitement diminishes significantly as the campaign progresses.

    • “Empire management isn't tedious (at least not until very endgame).”
    • “Edit: I went back and finished the game and it wasn't as grindy as I thought it would be to complete.”
    • “I would really like to get back to playing this game, because it is actually fun and not tedious, annoying, or lazily designed.”
    • “But once you expand a little bit, most mechanics become somewhat meaningless, and the game turns from fun into tedious.”
    • “The game is unbelievably tedious and needlessly complicated.”
    • “Great early game, boring and grindy af late game.”
  • atmosphere83 mentions

    The atmosphere in the game is widely praised for its immersive and visually stunning representation, particularly of the Chinese setting, enhanced by atmospheric music and detailed graphics. Many players appreciate the lively dynamics, such as AI behavior during battles, which contribute to a more realistic experience. However, some find the visual complexity overwhelming, which can detract from the overall atmosphere.

    • “The music sets the tone for each scene, enhancing the overall atmosphere and adding an extra layer of depth to the experience.”
    • “The battles are beyond beautiful - more importantly than just plain good graphics, the game has a really well done atmosphere.”
    • “This is the first Total War game in a long time that I have actually managed to play from start to finish due to the engaging atmosphere and the simple fact that I'm a huge fan of the era.”
    • “Just trying to pick through the visual noise to figure out what the hell is going on is so stressful that I have a hard time getting into the game, as well as killing any sense of atmosphere.”
    • “The only issue is that I still struggle to get into the Chinese atmosphere, but that's just personal.”
    • “Warhammer might have more fun combat due to sheer variety of units and magic, but Three Kingdoms nails the atmosphere and setting to the tee.”
  • character development82 mentions

    Total War: Three Kingdoms excels in character development, offering a rich narrative experience that emphasizes individual character growth and relationship building, akin to a blend of Game of Thrones and Dune. Players appreciate the depth of character interactions, the impact of character traits on gameplay, and the engaging design of characters, though some feel that further enhancements could be made. Overall, the game revitalizes the Total War franchise by making character development a central and dynamic aspect of the experience.

    • “What truly sets Total War: Three Kingdoms apart, however, is its emphasis on storytelling and character development.”
    • “The character development and relationship building is awesome!”
    • “Three Kingdoms breathes new life into the stagnant Total War franchise, which results in more dynamic gameplay and increasingly focuses on character development.”
    • “A great introduction to classical Chinese history, improved game mechanics and solid gameplay, although character development could use a bit more work.”
    • “Records mode was an afterthought; character development is shallow.”
    • “Character development is probably the only way to make future historical titles playable, so keep tuning this up or else fantasy will be the only way to go.”
  • humor81 mentions

    The humor in the game is frequently described as both intentional and unintentional, with players finding amusement in everything from character names and dialogue to the absurdities of gameplay mechanics and AI behavior. While some aspects, like the English dub and UI, are noted as "hilariously bad," the overall experience is often seen as a source of lighthearted fun, especially in the early hours of play. However, the humor tends to wear thin after a while, with many players suggesting that it can only sustain interest for a limited time.

    • “Im not good at it, my computer can barely run it, but I love it; it's my only wholesome release in this godforsaken world where any genuine communication with friends ends in sad stories or being called a loser and laughing it off. Thank you, video game.”
    • “Very well optimized game with massively fleshed out characters who actually feel alive on the battlefield through some hilarious banter.”
    • “Now that's a funny and smart gameplay.”
  • monetization76 mentions

    The monetization strategy of the game has been widely criticized as a blatant cash grab, with many users expressing frustration over excessive microtransactions, unskippable ads, and significant content locked behind paid DLC. Reviewers feel that the game prioritizes profit over quality, leading to a bare-bones experience that detracts from gameplay enjoyment. While some acknowledge fair DLC pricing, the overall sentiment leans heavily towards disappointment in the game's monetization practices.

    • “I do hope there are more free DLC and no in-game purchases.”
    • “It is concerning that when Creative Assembly starts releasing DLCs without addressing existing issues, it seems like they prioritize monetization over community support.”
    • “I used to like this game, but CA has become nothing but a cash grab company.”
    • “This is a big disappointment and it really made me feel like I was playing a game made by EA with their disgusting cash grab practices.”
    • “In summary, I feel the game has been totally gutted from what it once was, downgraded for reasons I can only guess at (ease of production?) with the game being a total cash grab of the Asian audience and the rest of us.”
  • emotional36 mentions

    Players express a mixed emotional response to the game, with some finding it a wholesome escape that fosters emotional investment in the narrative and character dynamics. However, others feel disconnected due to gameplay issues and a lack of depth in certain aspects, leading to feelings of disappointment and frustration. Overall, while the game has moments that resonate emotionally, technical flaws and gameplay mechanics can detract from the overall experience.

    • “As I progress through the game, I find myself becoming emotionally invested in the narrative, eagerly anticipating the next twist or revelation.”
    • “Character dynamics provide roleplay and emotional investment.”
    • “To see the outpouring of support from all of you is truly touching.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

74% average critic score

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Play time

75hMedian play time
175hAverage play time
20-225hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 205 analyzed playthroughs

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