Total War: THREE KINGDOMS
Total War: THREE KINGDOMS screenshot 1Total War: THREE KINGDOMS screenshot 2
ActionStrategyHistoricalWarTurn-Based StrategyGrand StrategyRTS

2,459 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 7,917

Peak in the last 7 days: 8,959

Total War: THREE KINGDOMS Steam store

Game description

Unite Ancient China under your rule through a thrilling blend of turn-based empire building and real-time battles. Use the Guanxi System and diplomacy to forge alliances, and build powerful armies with hundreds of unique infantry, cavalry and war machine units.

Basic info

DeveloperCREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux)
PublisherSEGA, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux)
PlatformsWindows · macOS · Linux
Steam DeckPlayable
Release dateMay 23, 2019
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows 7 64 Bit
ProcessorIntel Core 2 Duo 3.00Ghz
Memory4 GB
GraphicsGTX 650 Ti 1GB|HD 7850 1GB|Intel UHD Graphics 620
Storage60 GB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 387 reviews from the past 1 year

70.8/ 100
Bottom 30%

Steam rating: Very Positive (82%)

Metacritic: 85 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 22, 2026)

Grand campaigns across ancient China meet unfinished support in this strategy game, which earns 70.8 from 387 analyzed reviews.

👍 Strengths

37 reviews praise the visuals, with an ink painting style, striking battle effects and well designed maps. 36 enjoy its strategic depth, with systems that reward careful planning and factions that bring different playstyles, and some say it holds up for dozens of hours without boredom. Gameplay ranks 550th of 1396. Several fans still call it the best take on this historical era they have played. Story & World ranks 764th of 1096.

👎 Where it falls short

Tech & Support appears in 34% of analyzed reviews and ranks 1287th of 1399. 49 reviews criticize developer support, saying updates stopped while the campaign was still incomplete and long standing bugs stayed unfixed. 45 report crashes, black screens and purchased DLC that stops appearing, and some got refunds. 21 say the unit balance is off, with overpowered cavalry or archers and factions that feel too strong. Pricing & Fairness ranks 1040th of 1399, and Content Volume ranks 695th of 1351.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“emotionally moved by gameplay experience, memorable moment with grandfather's memory” · 108 reviews
“CA stopped updates and maintenance angered many players” · 49 reviews
“top-tier art presentation, excellent battle system and strategic framework” · 37 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 45% of reviews · Top 40% of the games we've analyzed

Strategy +2.18 · Depth of builds, tactics, and meaningful choices
Positive “gameplay itself is wonderful” · 36 reviews
Negative “army limited to six units per commander breaks familiar strategy and feels small-scale” · 11 reviews

Progression 6% · Difficulty 6% · Onboarding 13% · Freedom 6% · Controls & feel 5%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 28% of reviews · Bottom 40% of the games we've analyzed

World +2.64 · Lore, atmosphere, and how immersive the setting is
Positive “immersive atmosphere, feels like coming home, water-ink art captures the era perfectly” · 18 reviews
Negative “lacks realism compared to Rome 2, unrealistic portrayal of generals” · 1 review

Story 10% · Characters 9%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 23% of reviews · Bottom 50% of the games we've analyzed

Replayability +3.22 · Reasons to play again — runs, randomness, New Game+
Positive “mod support provides lasting replayability despite update issues” · 12 reviews
Negative “tactical variety diminishes after 100 hours as optimal strategies converge” · 2 reviews

Volume 10% · Variety 10%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 20% of reviews · Bottom 50% of the games we've analyzed

Visuals +2.80 · Graphics, art style, and animation
Positive “top-tier art presentation, excellent battle system and strategic framework” · 37 reviews
Negative “arrows look like pebbles being thrown, no weight” · 7 reviews

Audio 4%

Playing with others, the community and servers

Not enough data — only 8% of reviews mention this.

Community +2.22 · Who you play with — how many, and how friendly

Playing together 4% · Servers & Connection 1%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 21% of reviews · Bottom 30% of the games we've analyzed

Balance -0.27 · Whether classes, weapons, and builds are evenly matched
Negative “cavalry too overpowered, infantry severely weakened, dominates every battle outcome” · 21 reviews
Positive “functional political system and balanced endgame” · 4 reviews

Anti-cheat 0% · Pricing 10% · Matchmaking 1%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 34% of reviews · Bottom 10% of the games we've analyzed

Developer support -0.77 · Updates, patches, and how devs respond to players
Negative “CA stopped updates and maintenance angered many players” · 49 reviews

Stability 16% · Performance 8%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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