Total War: Three Kingdoms - Eight Princes

All in all, Eight Princes is a surprisingly sizeable expansion, especially given CA’s penchant for releasing faction packs this close to release. It packs enough changes and new mechanics and feels novel enough for another playthrough, while keeping mechanics and the basics as feasibly close to the original as possible. If you can’t get enough of Three Kingdoms and just wants a bit more of almost the same, Eight Princes is the right expansion for you.

It might have been too much to expect incredibly new and diverse mechanics so soon after the release of the base game. Instead Eight Princes represents a few little changes and a nice dose of added re-playability. I think that in time we will receive DLC that does significantly change things and offer new and incredibly fresh mechanics, but Eight Princes isn’t that. I would however recommend it if you enjoyed the campaign experience of the original game.

Eight Princes is a nice addition to an incredible game but it is not a game-changing DLC, just one that can add few hours of play. We expect more from Creative Assembly.

So while the new wrinkles of Alignment present some fun twists on gameplay, and being able to become the Emperor yourself is another cool twist, it’s not going to be enough to bring you over if Total War isn’t your jam already. It’s more of the same with some changes throughout to keep it pretty fresh. If you enjoyed the main game and have an itch to come back, I recommend picking up Eight Princes if you were aiming to do another playthrough. If you are waiting for something different and novel to come along and really shake up Three Kingdoms, then I would say hold on to your dynasty hat for the time being.

Three Kingdoms' first piece of DLC is largely more of the same, but that's no bad thing when the base experience is so good.

Total War: Three Kingdoms - Eight Princes feels familiar, although, sadly, also a repeat of what you've already gone through in the past. Although you can choose from eight princes, your overall experience (especially if you've put in hundreds of hours into the base game) would be more like a "7" instead.

Another journey through the ancient Cina history, but in terms of gameplay it doesn't innovate the core system.

Eight Princes is therefore not an unmissable expansion, but rather a slight variation on the theme to be received with lukewarm interest.