So the newest Total War game is out, and it appears that Creative Assembly has found a rather popular bit of source material in the epic of the Han dynasty, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Total War: Three Kingdoms is out for PC, and it appears as though the popularity of the strategy franchise has exploded, in a good way.
Total War: Three Kingdoms set a series record for launch player numbers it seems. According to SteamDB, more than 150,000 people grabbed the game and played it during the first few hours after launch. Bearing in mind that the SteamDB user numbers are always a bit off due to privacy of game lists causing inaccurate measurements, it looks as though this game is very popular even with that limitation.
It’s easy to see why this game is a smashing success though. The source material is incredibly popular in the games industry thanks to the pedigree of games which have sustained interest in Imperial China and it’s history for years. It’s impossible to ignore the influence of franchises like Dynasty Warriors and Romance of the Three Kingdoms in this regard. But setting the historical influence aside, the actual game is a great addition to the Total War brand.
The inclusion of additions like the new Romance mode, which massively changes the tone and style of the battles and strategy, is just one layer of this delicious cake of intrigue and violence. The massively revamped diplomacy mechanics which make new playstyles more feasible has also brought new players into the franchise too. One could also mention the much-improved graphics and beautiful world map as an appealing factor. There’s just a lot to like about this new title.
And with Creative Assembly promising character DLC, new possible scenarios and plenty of ongoing support, Total War: Three Kingdoms could be around for a good long while.
