Total War: Three Kingdoms

 PC
  • Publisher: Sega
  • Release Date: May 23, 2019
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 400 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 282 out of 400
  2. Mixed: 52 out of 400
  3. Negative: 66 out of 400

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. druout1944
    Sep 16, 2019
    1
    This is the second worst Total War game after Thrones of Britannia, that I have ever played. It's all looks and 0 depth. Still missing the emergent traits and mass of RTW1/MTW2. This is the culmination of idiocracy.
  2. Godagesil
    Sep 9, 2021
    1
    This game is awful. I've played every one of the Total War series since the first release. This is by far the worst. It is aimed at role playing pogues, not war gamers.

    The battle algorithm makes it impossible to win. The predicted outcome is predetermined it seems. No matter what tactics you use, you units will break and run to ensure the predicted outcome is the one that occurs.    This game is awful. I've played every one of the Total War series since the first release. This is by far the worst. It is aimed at role playing pogues, not war gamers.

    The battle algorithm makes it impossible to win. The predicted outcome is predetermined it seems. No matter what tactics you use, you units will break and run to ensure the predicted outcome is the one that occurs.

    Since when do you win battle points and a great victory, when you outnumber the enemy two to one?

    How do you lose when everything is going your way, you're inflicting more casualties and have nearly twice as many men after the battle than the loser does? The fix is in, obviously.

    WTF are the superhero characters about? Are they impervious to arrows? They can single handedly cause a unit of seasoned combat troops to rout? This is a cartoonish game for fanboy role playing geeks and not a true war game.

    It is nothing like Shogun Total War. The game tweaks are idiotic and the algorithms are biased. Avoid it and save your time and money.    … Expand
  3. Cannily
    May 14, 2022
    0
    This game is rubbish. It is not enjoyable to play at all.

    When it came out, it was a different take on a historic total war game. I did not mind the romantic hero based armies, and I really enjoyed the new and improved diplomatic system. But since then, with every DLC, new bugs were introduced. For instance, the load times between rounds are now a minute or longer on a high-end CPU.    This game is rubbish. It is not enjoyable to play at all.

    When it came out, it was a different take on a historic total war game. I did not mind the romantic hero based armies, and I really enjoyed the new and improved diplomatic system.

    But since then, with every DLC, new bugs were introduced. For instance, the load times between rounds are now a minute or longer on a high-end CPU.

    Will CA fix these bugs and fulfil the Three Kingdoms timeline? Of course not. CA gave up on this game and works on the successor instead. The officially said so. DO NOT BUY IT.

    This game is a hit in the face of honest buyers, who expected to play in the Three Kingdoms based
    China. If you really want to try it out, buy it directly at Steam, so you can give it back or take other means to play it for free. It is not worth a single dollar.    … Expand
  4. Turbo823
    May 31, 2019
    0
    Worst AI of the Total War series.

    The battles are too fast and the AI is easy to beat. The strategic AI isn't much better. The factions have similar unit models and are uninteresting. The graphics are a cartoony look, which I detest.
  5. BoredGamer42
    Jun 24, 2019
    0
    Game's bloody awful. Negative fun. Save your money.

    Exploits aside (like free no upkeep cavalry units that kill everything - I'm sorry, did I say exploit? Working as intended), there is zero strategy to Rock Paper Scissors when Rock beats everything (Cavalry or Catapults). Infantry are an afterthought, and archers are useless. They don't even have Chinese trebuchets, but Western    Game's bloody awful. Negative fun. Save your money.

    Exploits aside (like free no upkeep cavalry units that kill everything - I'm sorry, did I say exploit? Working as intended), there is zero strategy to Rock Paper Scissors when Rock beats everything (Cavalry or Catapults). Infantry are an afterthought, and archers are useless. They don't even have Chinese trebuchets, but Western trebuchets with counter-weights (hey, maybe that's why they work so well?).

    The voice acting SUCKS. This is a Three Kingdoms game, which's all about passion, romance and characters, and your voice choices are sniveling dweeb or girl with testicles. Expect a hefty dose of PC bullcrap, with characters who could've been interesting, like Sun Ren, dropping her plotting shrew wife schtick and becoming a general (with stats like Sun Ce's for no good reason), and the "Bandit Queen" who only exists in two sentences in the original records that probably were about two different people. Every other general is female, even though all of the citizens of cities are men, so go figure that one out (Maybe they're all home cooking?).

    The game is boring lategame. It's scripted early game. It's unfun. Avoid.    … Expand
  6. Tornan
    Jun 2, 2019
    0
    There are improvements in campaign yet most fans just play TW for battles and in Three Kingdoms there is nothing exciting for people who played previous titles. I had high hopes for that one but CA's DLC lust makes every new reelase feel empty.
  7. ChumaGG
    May 28, 2021
    0
    Este juego se encuentra abandonado e incompleto. Es un juego de lo 3 reinos que no cuenta la historia completa de los 3 reinos.
    La razon es que a la desarrolladora se le hizo muy facil abandonarlo y comenzar a hacer una secuela, ¿para que?, para sacarle mas dinero a la gente.
    Ni siquiera han podido arreglar algunos bugs de salida. Por no decir que cancelaron las ultimas expansiones para    Este juego se encuentra abandonado e incompleto. Es un juego de lo 3 reinos que no cuenta la historia completa de los 3 reinos.
    La razon es que a la desarrolladora se le hizo muy facil abandonarlo y comenzar a hacer una secuela, ¿para que?, para sacarle mas dinero a la gente.

    Ni siquiera han podido arreglar algunos bugs de salida.

    Por no decir que cancelaron las ultimas expansiones para hacer esto.    … Expand
  8. Kadirov
    Jul 5, 2019
    0
    This is for not allowing allowing adult mods. Totalitarism must be punished.
  9. lone_dissident
    Jan 29, 2020
    0
    For those of you who are critical of this game, I'm here to wake you up. That's right, ever wonder why it always seems that, as quoted from one of the reviews below, WHY "The creators of Total War have a tendency of taking 1 step forward, 1 step backward for every Total War release."? It's because it's on purpose.

    It's really quite simple. On a basic marketing level, TW games are    For those of you who are critical of this game, I'm here to wake you up. That's right, ever wonder why it always seems that, as quoted from one of the reviews below, WHY "The creators of Total War have a tendency of taking 1 step forward, 1 step backward for every Total War release."? It's because it's on purpose.

    It's really quite simple.

    On a basic marketing level, TW games are actually designed to be digital hamster wheels. People will argue with you tooth and nail over the things that make this game bad, namely the all-around incompetent AI, auto-spamming of garbage troops, AI cheating, etc;. But these things have already been formally established as known fact among the TW community as evidenced by the tropes, memes and colloquial references among said community that lament, mock, and caustically celebrate those very flaws.

    So therefore, bearing in mind that there's already an established consensus as to the existence of all those recurrent flaws, why is this game so popular?

    Because it was actually discreetly designed under the principles of something called "Behavioral Game Design", something adapted from the work of psychologist CF Skinner, and it's a method used to make video games that hook players, whether they like it or not.

    Don't believe me? Look it up. Think about it-- Why else would people be willing to put up with so many flaws, for so long considering all the many things that are wrong with every reiterated version of this game? Why do you think these games get consistently high ratings on game review websites despite the overwhelming flaws that leave the games unplayable?

    Because this game wasn't designed with you to have fun in mind. That was never the idea. It was designed, it was always designed to reinforce addictive behavior.

    I just want you who criticize the game and wonder why they release the same **** with the same issues over and over again to know it's because Creative Assembly doesn't have to give you anything else. They're never going to give you the game you want because the skinner box method is the perfect way to create, and sell their games. By exploiting players expectations and never delivering on the illusory promise of their games, they can keep players mindlessly captivated, having a fake strategy game that functions as a digital drug that keeps people blind to both the fact that this a broken game series and always has been, and that they're hooked.

    I know the only reason many players still play is because you think the next game is going to be better. Then you buy it, are disappointed, can't get a refund, and end up playing it anyway because you have to settle for whatever crap Creative Assembly churned out.

    It's obvious that this game is just designed to exploit your dopaminergic system and feed into addiction. Why do you think you see 900+ hour reviews on Steam still giving this game negative reviews? This game is JUST pervasive and exploitative enough for the devs to have plausible deniability yet keep players hooked on the drip feed cycle of Total War.

    It's shameful that this game series receives awards due to to the brainwashed masses being seduced into failing to realize they're not really rating a game, and they're being subliminally controlled. This game is digital smack. That's why you are always disappointed by this games series despite the hype, that's why no one seems to be criticizing it. Because people are being stimulated and sedated by this crap without even realizing it.

    CA treats their fanbase like hamsters in a cage, and they don't expect you to wake up and stop buying their games, stringing you along on a string of empty promises and making you chase the Total War dragon because they know the main oversight most of you make when engaging with them is the presupposition that they have your best interests in mind, that you share some commonality. I'll tell you you don't. The only thing you have in common is you have money and THEY want it. This game series is designed to get money out of your pocket. This is a fraudulent game series designed to make you chase the Total War dragon and Creative Assembly are a deceitful and immoral publisher. Not that this stuff is anything new. But the way which Creative Assembly does it is just blatant and insulting. It's one thing if you're addicted to something because it's fun. But this is just intentionally designed, blatant manipulation.    … Expand
  10. nitocris
    Jun 1, 2021
    0
    Greedy CA. Abandons game after 2 years. Don't buy this game. They've ended all support.
  11. Misaka_Complex
    Jun 22, 2021
    0
    This so called "three kingdoms" game doesn't even have a three kingdoms starting date as the last starting date of the game is only 200, the official Three Kingdoms period begins from 220. Furthermore CA has left the game in a terribly bugged state and even dropped support for future patches, and this is completely unacceptable. RNM 退钱！！
  12. denisc205
    Nov 10, 2021
    0
    насколько я знаю это единственная Total War: которая нельзя по сражаться на кораблях
  13. humansoul
    Aug 14, 2023
    0
    i know must of the people are not agree
    but this game is one of the best total war for me
next
Page:

Awards & Rankings

20
#20 Best PC Game of 2019
39
#39 Most Discussed PC Game of 2019
5
#5 Most Shared PC Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 64 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 57 out of 64
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 64
  3. Negative: 0 out of 64
  1. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Aug 2, 2019
    88
    There’s a definite focus shift from tactics to strategy – which is risky, considering that tactical combat had always been a staple of Total War series. It couldn’t be avoided, though: unlike Medieval and Rome settings, China simply lacks variety in troops types. So fights end up being very predictable – while Chinese politic field is anything but! [Issue#239, p.48]
  2. The Overpowered Noobs
    Jul 24, 2019
    70
    The Total War series finally takes on land wars in Asia with this latest installment, bringing its signature RTS/TBS hybrid gameplay to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Series veterans will find a lot to love about this new iteration, and fans of the source material will find this a great jumping on point.
    Read full review
  3. PLAY! Zine
    Jul 8, 2019
    90
    One of the best entries in the series yet, deep enough for veterans and approachable for the new players.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »