Though CA may have unceremoniously and bafflingly wrapped up Three Kingdoms’ post-launch life cycle with many bugs and issues unaddressed, it still remains a high quality, vibrant, and innovative title for the series. While the character system may not be as deep or involved as Crusader Kings, it’s still plenty entertaining and has a strategic and tactical effect on the player’s decision-making. Out of all of Creative Assembly’s games, Three Kingdoms does its best to put characters front-and-center, as well as their relationships to each other.

Characters have always been a part of Total War’s DNA (Medieval 2 is a great alternative) though not to the same extent as Paradox’s monster. Total War is known for its compelling blend of strategic campaigns and large-scale real-time tactical battles, the latter of which Crusader Kings omits. Unlike the older pre-Warhammer entries, Three Kingdoms is the first Total War game to explicitly focus on romanticized history, using the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” by Luo Guangzhong as its source material, which leads to the game accentuating the mythical and legendary. The first entry in the list takes players back to the Three Kingdoms period of Ancient China, when the ruling Han dynasty crumbled and led to the rise of powerful warlords. Total War: Three Kingdoms Total War: Three Kingdoms Nobunaga’s Ambition: Spheres of Influenceġ0.

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