Total War: THREE KINGDOMS

Total War: THREE KINGDOMS is widely praised as one of the best Total War games, offering a fresh take on the series with deep strategic layers and a strong narrative focus. Players appreciate the innovative guanxi system, enhanced diplomacy, and the choice between Romance and Records modes, which balance mythic heroism and historical realism. The game excels in character-driven gameplay, with generals having rich personalities and evolving relationships, adding an RPG-like depth to the strategy genre.

Visually, the game features vibrant, painterly art and cinematic battles that bring ancient China to life. However, some players find the map repetitive and the onboarding challenging, especially for those unfamiliar with Three Kingdoms history. The UI receives mixed feedback, with some finding it cluttered or hard to navigate. Despite the game's depth, support has been discontinued, and the DLC model is seen as expensive by many. Performance issues and bugs also affect the experience for some users.

Highlights

Players highly praise the game's deep and innovative gameplay mechanics, especially the guanxi system and improved diplomacy. The dual campaign modes cater to both historical purists and fans of legendary heroes.

The graphics and art style are lauded for their beauty and cinematic quality, while the storyline and character-driven approach immerse players in the Three Kingdoms era. Battles are engaging with versatile unit tactics and general abilities, enhancing replayability.

Criticisms

Common criticisms include a repetitive and limited map design that lacks environmental variety. The UI is often described as cluttered and unintuitive, hindering new players.

Some players find the onboarding and historical context insufficient, making it hard to grasp faction differences. Technical issues such as crashes, long load times, and bugs are reported. The DLC pricing and content unlocks behind paywalls frustrate many, and the early end of developer support leaves some feeling the game was abandoned prematurely.