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

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  1. G4MR
    May 23, 2019
    10
    Amazing game, definitely my favorite Total War! The epic setting, the character focus and most engaging campaign gameplay to date -highly recommend it!
  2. DukeJon
    May 23, 2019
    10
    After a few hours play I am already getting a sense of how deep this game is. Running flawlessly as well, performance is a marked improvement over previous games.
  3. Black-Templar
    May 26, 2019
    10
    I started from Rome (the first one, not the disaster that is Rome 2). I played every single Total War from then (perhaps over 8 thousands hour of gameplay accumulated).

    I was extremely sceptical about 3 kingdoms. I still remeber the sore deception of Rome 2 and was wondering how it was possible to go from a polished and well refined game such as Shogun 2 to the sorry sh*t that is Rome    I started from Rome (the first one, not the disaster that is Rome 2). I played every single Total War from then (perhaps over 8 thousands hour of gameplay accumulated).

    I was extremely sceptical about 3 kingdoms. I still remeber the sore deception of Rome 2 and was wondering how it was possible to go from a polished and well refined game such as Shogun 2 to the sorry sh*t that is Rome 2.

    Seeing many gameplay of 3 kingdoms, I had Rome 2 ptsd flashbacks all over again. The graphics looked cartoonish, the Combat IA looked horrible. I though it was a way for creative Assembly to test the terrain for the mobile game industry.

    Well, Ive seen released content gameplay of the game ans decided to give it a chance.. Turns out, it was a good decision. Three kingdoms is the best Total war game Ive played since Shogun 2. While the combat IA can be exploited in siege battles and can make the mistakes of puting some of its unit in questionnable situation, it is not as drastic as I feared for. And is even somewhat better than Shogun 2 (land battle,not sieges wise).

    But... it comes at no one surprise to know that the game shines at the campaign part. Even the greatest Total war veteran will have to spend dozens of hours to learn every single features. I am extremely satisfied with how the game turned out to be. With its Romance and Record mode, the game should satisfy both the historical and the Dynasty warrirors' fans.

    I've seen a bunch of review criticizing the game about its campaign complexity.. I will never understand this kind complains. Isnt it good when a game turns out to be both complexe and rewarding instead of being casual? The player has the choice to set the difficulty of the campaign to easy or medium if they just want a straightforward campaign. But please, let the gamers enjoy a game that finally takes minimal time of investment to master the game instead of just being spoonfed by simplistics features. A lot of works has been made by the devs and you can just feel it by experiencing the best campaign game since Rome 1 or Shogun 2.    … Expand
  4. Hugothester
    May 23, 2019
    10
    Praised be CA for listening to the community.
    This game does not only have the most deep and complex dillomatic system ever in a total war game, with a capable AI that does work, but also looks beautiful as hell, with changes to the graphic engine that make this one of the most amazing pieces of art of gaming map design.
    Cities look amazing, battles feel more reponsive than ever,    Praised be CA for listening to the community.
    This game does not only have the most deep and complex dillomatic system ever in a total war game, with a capable AI that does work, but also looks beautiful as hell, with changes to the graphic engine that make this one of the most amazing pieces of art of gaming map design.
    Cities look amazing, battles feel more reponsive than ever, characters feel alive and, most importantly, stuttering is gone and the game runs better than any other total war game.
    This is without a doubt the best total war title by far, so even if you do not like the tine setting give it a chance if you like total war.    … Expand
  5. alex_dragon
    May 23, 2019
    10
    I would like to thank Creative Assembly on listening to the Community's Feedbacks and Suggestions.

    I have been following CA and following all 3K's content since launch, and also have written feedback and suggestions for the game, most of the issues and concerns were fixed during the delays of the game, and the game is in a much more polished state compared to Rome 2 The Developers    I would like to thank Creative Assembly on listening to the Community's Feedbacks and Suggestions.

    I have been following CA and following all 3K's content since launch, and also have written feedback and suggestions for the game, most of the issues and concerns were fixed during the delays of the game, and the game is in a much more polished state compared to Rome 2

    The Developers also have streams over 30+ hours of content on their Total War Live Channel, as well as hours and hours of gameplay available from content creators. Unlike in Rome 2 where we only saw a trailer and some battle that's it

    The delayed have proved to have done the game justice, thank you so much to CA for listening to the fans    … Expand
  6. stgreylv
    May 23, 2019
    10
    God bless CA for creating this amazing game. Total War forever in my heart.
  7. deltahost
    Dec 21, 2019
    10
    Pros:
    +Excellent diplomacy for the first time in Total War
    +Excellent RPG elements +New setting/story with excellent potential for expansion through DLCs +Excellent international modding community Cons: -Lack of unit diversity in base game (this has been and will likely continue to be addressed in DLCs) -Missing features in base game from previous titles (i.e., naval combat; siege    Pros:
    +Excellent diplomacy for the first time in Total War
    +Excellent RPG elements
    +New setting/story with excellent potential for expansion through DLCs
    +Excellent international modding community

    Cons:
    -Lack of unit diversity in base game (this has been and will likely continue to be addressed in DLCs)
    -Missing features in base game from previous titles (i.e., naval combat; siege weaponry and deployables were missing at launch but will soon be added in new DLC)
    -Too repetitive at end-game (likely to be addressed in future DLCs spanning the later years of the campaign)

    Recommendation: Get it on sale and/or wait for more DLCs before buying. Great game with a high likelihood of becoming even better in the future.    … Expand
  8. Madgad
    Jun 1, 2019
    10
    This is the best part of Total War series with deep mechanic and fresh ideas. This game is a result of hard work developers and community. Good job!
  9. NEAMf1337
    May 25, 2019
    10
    Just excellent game, nothing to say more, probably best game in the series.
  10. tomflanders
    May 13, 2020
    10
    Best game ever. Combines classic total war with Three Kingdoms history and is very character driven
  11. Dionisio50
    May 27, 2019
    10
    Simplemente el mejor TW que han hecho, maravillosa compra, espero ver muy pronto los Dlc´s
  12. Ruairi
    May 24, 2019
    10
    Definitely one of the better total war games out there, and I've been playing them for years, a surprising amount of detail, runs like a charm, and has a lot of little nice touches that add up to a great game. One example having the option to have all the game's dialogue in Chinese or English, or the other having the game have more historically accurate battles or more romanticisedDefinitely one of the better total war games out there, and I've been playing them for years, a surprising amount of detail, runs like a charm, and has a lot of little nice touches that add up to a great game. One example having the option to have all the game's dialogue in Chinese or English, or the other having the game have more historically accurate battles or more romanticised battles, where your generals behave like they did in Total War Warhammer.

    Would definitely recommend!    … Expand
  13. Shadow1234
    May 29, 2019
    10
    This game is great, as both a Total War fan and as a Three Kingdoms fan. My favorite thing about this game believe it or not is how smooth it runs. As long as you meet the game requirements which I am right on the limit, with the GTX970 and it still looks and runs smooth.

    I love the games romance mode which die hard fans of Three Kingdoms will surely enjoy, as it is the more story based    This game is great, as both a Total War fan and as a Three Kingdoms fan. My favorite thing about this game believe it or not is how smooth it runs. As long as you meet the game requirements which I am right on the limit, with the GTX970 and it still looks and runs smooth.

    I love the games romance mode which die hard fans of Three Kingdoms will surely enjoy, as it is the more story based version of the game. For those that want a more Total War experience then you can do the regular mode instead of romance.

    I love the building tree and the tech tree, everything seems simple and is easy to learn. I like that as sometimes games get to complicated with their learning curve. I really enjoy the court/family aspect of the game.

    I like everything about this game.    … Expand
  14. bryce_lx
    May 27, 2019
    10
    Positive:
    Basicaly,
    good understanding of the novel 'three kingdom'
    good map for old china
    good simulation for war and generals
    good view for chineses cutule

    Negative:
    random crash.
    obscure view sometimes.
    lack of guide for economic system
  15. Coldhandsyo
    May 25, 2019
    10
    I'm not giving this game a 10 lightly, this isn't simple a case of I like it so it's a 10. I will argue why it deserves a 10. I want to break this review down for three types of people. Those who have never played total war/Those that have/and those on the fence.

    Before that a quick review. It's fantastic, the campaign map, characters, diplomacy, interactions all just have such great    I'm not giving this game a 10 lightly, this isn't simple a case of I like it so it's a 10. I will argue why it deserves a 10. I want to break this review down for three types of people. Those who have never played total war/Those that have/and those on the fence.

    Before that a quick review.

    It's fantastic, the campaign map, characters, diplomacy, interactions all just have such great depth. When I first loaded up the game, I was expecting an 'ok' experience, something that ends up in a backlog, ToB had been a let down and Rome 2 had been pretty meh for me. I enjoyed the warhammer series a lot and the older historical games, but the newer historical games not so much.

    I look through the various factions and come across the bandit queen, rather than build up China she wants to tear it down. I like that idea and role with that. I also choose to go for romance mode as I like my characters having more 'character' to them and being single solo units.

    I load in, I don't start with a province which is cool, I am free to roam, I explore the UI and it's so much more expansive than any other total war, so much more diplomacy options, faction options, character options and interactions like them having bonds and relations, there is just so much good stuff there.

    I get into a battle and decide to charge my bandit queen solo into a unit to see how she does, I was expecting an initial good hit as she rode in on her horse, only to be bogged down in fighting slowly like warhammer can be.

    I was wrong, she smashes into that unit and then goes mental swinging her axes and just tearing the unit apart, before chasing them down and wiping them out. It was fantastic.

    As I explored the game more, it plays like you are almost writing a novel, with how the characters are, the various faction interactions, coalitions forming, betrayal and back stabbing it's brilliant.

    Now for those of you who have never played a total war, I will say Shogun 2/Warhammer are better starting points in terms of how easy it is to learn but if you're willing to spend a bit of time learning, you will love this game, there is truly nothing really like total war. Building an empire and having massive battles you fully control. If you've never played a total war, I say go for it and you most likely will love it and end up 100 hours deep into this game.

    For those who have played a total war, it's brilliant, it's just much more expansive than any total war before it imo, there is just so much more depth to bite down on and get invested in, the campaign map is great, the battles are great. It's a really unique total war and well worth full price.

    Those on the fence, go for it, it's brilliant and if you get it on steam and don't like it within 2 hours you can always refund.

    Overall I give it a 10 because it really is a unique total war, which I can already see having over 100's of hours and great enjoyment to have and how many games really offer that?

    Buy it, have fun!    … Expand
  16. Black_Ryudo
    Feb 14, 2021
    10
    10! Thanks for the game!

    Original, very beautiful game design. Please draw characters in this spirit for other parts of the series.

    A very elaborate and interesting system for pumping the personal qualities of characters. Items. Diplomacy. All at the highest level!

    One of the best games in the series!
  17. Denerion
    May 23, 2019
    10
    Thanks to CA for listenning community's feedbacks.
    It proves the delay is a true success.
    This game is by far the better and the most appreciated by the fans. I really enjoy the new gameplay's mechanics, the diplomatic system is really improved and deeper, the possibility to play as Romance or Historic Mode is a nice idea to let players choose the way they like to play and live this    Thanks to CA for listenning community's feedbacks.
    It proves the delay is a true success.

    This game is by far the better and the most appreciated by the fans.

    I really enjoy the new gameplay's mechanics, the diplomatic system is really improved and deeper, the possibility to play as Romance or Historic Mode is a nice idea to let players choose the way they like to play and live this story.

    A tons of hours in view.    … Expand
  18. Viranto
    May 23, 2019
    10
    Best total war so far. Amazing new features and runs smoother than any total war. It's a big success
  19. StrykeI
    May 24, 2019
    10
    After an hour or two of getting familiar with things, this game has totally hooked me in. I didn't think Three Kingdoms would be able to match Warhammer 2, but it has. The world feels far more alive than any recent title, the depth of diplomacy is a joy, the character-driven nature of the game feels great. At first it's hard to relate to all these Chinese characters you've likely not heardAfter an hour or two of getting familiar with things, this game has totally hooked me in. I didn't think Three Kingdoms would be able to match Warhammer 2, but it has. The world feels far more alive than any recent title, the depth of diplomacy is a joy, the character-driven nature of the game feels great. At first it's hard to relate to all these Chinese characters you've likely not heard of, but after a few hours you get a feel for your faction's place in the world, find friends and rivals, and see all sorts of dynamic events. Like I said, it's a living world - in my campaign the "big bad guy" Dong Zuo actually died to Lu Bu within the first 15 turns, leaving a significantly weakened faction that never became a threat. I was worried the battles would be a let down, but these are also top-notch; I've fought a number of tough battles already. At first the retinue system feels strange, but once you get used to it it works incredibly well, and you find yourself using your heroes in a complimentary fashion; Champions diving in to snipe generals; Vanguards helping to smash the enemy lines, and so forth.

    In almost every way, 3 Kingdoms has improved upon the series. I wrote this review because I want CA to know that what they've done is fantastic, and the vocal minority who complain it's too complicated can bugger off. Most of us want a deep game. The only criticism I do have is the campaign map UI; every city has quite a large name tag, and this overwhelms the screen a little unless you zoom out. There doesn't seem to be an option to change this at all. I'm getting used to it, but it does feel a bit much to have a dozen or so tags getting in the way of the beautiful scenery.    … Expand
  20. TotalWarrior
    May 24, 2019
    10
    its great buy it. I have had 0 bugs so far 0, its amazing, and runs so buttery smooth, It looks and runs better than rome 2 does right now, its good to see CA in a return to form.
  21. Swrunsdeep
    May 24, 2019
    10
    Best Total war by far. Extremely fun to play campaign and awesome real time battles. Hope that in the future will ad much more unique characters in the game.
    Really enjoyed playing this game.
  22. United84
    Nov 13, 2019
    10
    Pros:
    1. New setting.
    2. A lot of innovative ideas.
    3. Character is very detailed.
    4. The best pre-medieval setting you can get for a game.
    5. Massive wars, diplomacy and faction management.

    Con
    1. Developer lacked a long-term vision. Came out with a cookie cutter content, Eight princes.
  23. 4xGamer
    May 27, 2019
    10
    I've been playing TW3Kingdoms for the past two days straight since its release, and I figured I'd let people know what I've found. I'll start by telling you the end... this is by far the best total war game CA has ever made (IMHO), and I've played all of them, with the exception of the first shogun game. Let me explain why this is the best, first off and most critically, the game is veryI've been playing TW3Kingdoms for the past two days straight since its release, and I figured I'd let people know what I've found. I'll start by telling you the end... this is by far the best total war game CA has ever made (IMHO), and I've played all of them, with the exception of the first shogun game. Let me explain why this is the best, first off and most critically, the game is very stable, it actually works after you download it which means CA didn't force the development team to birth an unfinished Turd into the world just because some executive wrote a date on the calendar with the word RELEASE on it (several prior TW titles had this problem), so THANK YOU CA.

    Second, this game has exceptional depth, which translates not only into intriguing game-play but also an exceptional amount of re-playability. Although the game is deep, CA did an excellent job with the campaign UI to make it so the game isn't excruciatingly confusing or just a boring list of stats. They have artfully used a color scheme to help gamers easily identify what items pair best together. For instance, Blue background colored Generals pair best (due to their buffs) with Blue background colored units. Also, the campaign has much, much, much greater depth than any other TW game. For instance, when you build-out a town or city you now should look at the entire province (called commanderies) in order to maximize gains since the regions all work together. The regions also use a color-coded system for ease as well so you don't follow the same simple pattern of prior TW games where every province was nearly identical with its build-out -- #1) Build farm, #2) build up town, #3) build squalor reducing building, #4) repeat. There is much more variability in province building in TW3K, which is a very welcome addition and makes the game much more interesting.

    Additionally, generals now interact with one another so some of your generals will like or dislike other generals dependent on their personality stats, which really adds some character and complexity to the game since an unhappy general may leave or start a rebellion. There are also unattached wandering generals who will wander through your provinces looking for work. Again, this is a great mechanic that adds variability and depth to the game. To go along with that, your generals can be used as Spies, so you can push one of your generals into the "Wandering Generals" pool in the hope that he becomes employed by an enemy faction, which will give you great incite into the enemies machinations. This is a brilliant mechanic that fixes the old, sometimes OP mechanic of spies from prior TW games.

    Also, for all you TW game fans, CA finally made great improvements to AI diplomacy so now campaign faction diplomacy has many more options and the AI behaves in a reasonable manner. I'm sure it's incredibly difficult to program a desktop computer to behave like a person, so a big thumbs up to CA & Sega on this one.

    As usual, the campaign map and battles are amazing in regards to how they look, which was always a big selling point for prior TW games and CA came through again in this regard. Unit pathing and the battle AI are very good, where the AI will perform quite well and function in a reasonable manner in most battle situations. It's good to see the battle AI improving along with the campaign AI.

    Ship and Sea battles have been removed from this TW. This is mostly a good thing. Live-action sea battles in prior TW games were beautifully rendered, like looking at a work of art, but often the ships were slow moving, difficult to path and control, and, because of that, I used to auto-resolve nearly every sea battle, which means that developers probably wasted years of development time making a function that hardly anyone used. I think it's a good thing that CA used that valuable development time to make a complete and outstanding land battle based game. I like the idea of sea battles, and maybe they can come back in a future TW game, but only if someone can figure out how to make them interesting... a difficult task, so I commend CA on making a difficult yet good call with the no-sea-battle in TW3K.

    There's so much more I could say that is good about this game but I'll stop here. There are a few (minor) things that would be nice to fix in this game. CA changed the layout of how unit stats are read, using icons to denote battle stats, for instance, a gold sword indicates armor-piercing damage, so you're constantly having to scroll over the icon to see what the stat is since there are about 15 of them. The method from TW Warhammer 2 was better with the actual wording of the stat so you could see what it was. This is a minor problem considering the game just released.

    Overall, this is an outstanding 4x game. CA actually listened to their fan-base and made the game changes requested by gamers. If you like 4x, go buy this game.    … Expand
  24. Vaughn15203
    May 26, 2019
    10
    no contest This game here is my game of the year. The total war game that i have been waiting for since shogun 2. Great job Creative Assembly.
  25. Locolotion
    May 29, 2019
    10
    It was worth of waiting nearly 1 year release delay, For westerner this historical events and characters are not familiar but for East Asians digs it and love this historical event.
    However, AI is stunning and General's battle action is beautiful and THE TURN SPEED!
  26. Falkee
    Jun 2, 2019
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Well i played total war games from Rome 1 and i finished all games on hard/very hard difficulty .I can say i like this total war game more than any of them , i didn't have a bug or a problem , i played the game in hard difficulty i conquered all the map and i had a lot of fun , i can say the fights where well balanced and the game its self , and the map is huge and full of beauty , so far i can tell the game is worth to play i really recommend anyone to buy this game and try it. And a warning this is a comment from a player that played the game on hard , maybe the game is to ez for normal or easy and is **** but i don't play on lower difficulties this comment is for fans that like to be challenged and have fun doing it.… Expand
  27. elKuarlos
    Jun 1, 2019
    10
    Really, really good.

    It takes the slogfest that was Warhammer and refines it. It adds elements from the original Shogun and merges them perfectly with the journey the creative team have been on. Total War often messes up releases, they didnt here. The game isnt just about swinging armies, its about managing them. To add this element to the game so well isn't just impressive, its    Really, really good.

    It takes the slogfest that was Warhammer and refines it. It adds elements from the original Shogun and merges them perfectly with the journey the creative team have been on.

    Total War often messes up releases, they didnt here. The game isnt just about swinging armies, its about managing them. To add this element to the game so well isn't just impressive, its ground breaking. The team have paid service to long term fans, I'm hours in and not even close to knowing how to truly do well in it.

    Would have been a 9 but you guys brought me right back to Shogun days. Have the ten ya gits.    … Expand
  28. HMercante
    Jun 2, 2019
    10
    Tons of gameplay features to love, 10/10. Just play it and be in awe of how much diplomatic options this gives the player
  29. Shamsi
    Jun 10, 2019
    10
    One of the best series of total war no words to describe it of how huge impact got on me i played all the total war games but i never felt so connected until three kingdoms came on you can feel you are engaging with real people in the game also i am a huge dynasty warriors fan i can say it beat all of them its like everything we dream about it how real it can be
  30. ExoDeploy
    Mar 25, 2020
    10
    This game is, without doubt, the best of the whole Total War series. As a matter of fact, it's one of the best strategy games there is, period. An exquisite mix of real-time battles, turn-based strategy, diplomacy, alliances, family tree, and heroes. That game is simple to play but can get super hyper deep if you want to beat normal and harder modes. Playing in normal difficulty is alreadyThis game is, without doubt, the best of the whole Total War series. As a matter of fact, it's one of the best strategy games there is, period. An exquisite mix of real-time battles, turn-based strategy, diplomacy, alliances, family tree, and heroes. That game is simple to play but can get super hyper deep if you want to beat normal and harder modes. Playing in normal difficulty is already a good challenge for newcomers, and it goes up to Legendary for real battle masterminds. It delivers great gameplay, great storytelling, follows the real 3K story while taking some liberty that is also very much welcome. The only downside is that you will get addicted, big time. It took me some time to explain the wifey how educational and important playing this game was. Top 5 ever for me, right up there with AOE2, BFME 2, SWGB and Starcraft 2 (and Rome Total War).… Expand
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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

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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
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