Best Total War Games

Key Takeaways

• Total War
  games blend turn-based empire simulation with real-time wars, creating a unique and engaging experience for dedicated fans.
• Spin-off games like
  Total War Battles: Shogun
  offer simplified versions of the gameplay loop, catering to different preferences and platforms.
• Each
  Total War
  release, from
  Shogun
  to
  Warhammer,
  offers its own historical or fantastical setting, unique factions, and gameplay mechanics.

Total War is a big name in the PC gaming world. Much like Sid Meier’s Civilization or the Command and Conquer franchises, Total War stands as a pillar of the strategy genre. It has been running for two full decades now. In that time, there have been no fewer than 16 core releases, as well as several spinoff games. Naturally, there’s a lot of talk in the community about which game best represents the series and which is the best Total War game.

Regardless of which Total War game players get into for the first time, there’s no denying that these titles just have something special going for them that really resonates with fans when things just click. From the turn-based empire simulation to the real-time wars that require the best tactics possible for players to succeed, it’s easy to see why the best Total War games have such a dedicated and passionate fanbase who aren’t afraid to speak their minds.

Updated on November 11, 2024, by Mark Sammut: Total War is a franchise that seems destined to last forever. While Sega does not typically release annual games, entries are common enough that fans nearly always have something new on the horizon. This article has been updated with galleries and more specs for each game.

18 Total War Battles: Shogun

A Decent Mobile Alternative That Should Have Stayed On Apple Devices

It was only a matter of time before the rampant popularity of the Total War series led the developers to try and cash in on a mobile spin-off featuring a condensed version of this gameplay loop. This led to the rise of Total War Battles: Shogun, which let players enjoy a simplified version of this title.

While this gameplay loop worked on mobile, the PC port was far from successful. The game simply wasn’t made for anything other than touchscreens and suffers as a result. Still, fans who want to check out a simpler, stripped-down version of what Total War is all about will find this game to be right up their alley.

17 Spartan: Total Warrior

A Hack And Slash Spin-Off That Has Impressive Scale But Uneven Combat

Trying to emulate the grand scale of battles in the Total War series to work in a real-time action format would always be a huge challenge. Despite Spartan: Total Warrior missing the mark in some ways, fans were still impressed to see the scale of the game’s battles and how multiple enemies could be decimated with a single attack if players timed their moves properly.

The button-mashing gameplay never evolved all that much, which made the game feel rather mindless at times. Still, it’s a fun action-oriented spinoff that fans of Total War can enjoy if they don’t mind the simplistic gameplay. The power fantasy fans can enjoy with this title more than makes it worth the price of admission.

16 Total War: Pharaoh

Somewhat Paint By Numbers, But The Core Formula Is Still Generally Enjoyable

The most recent entry in the series sees Creative Assembly heading to Ancient Egypt, crafting a campaign revolving around three factions that each have a few select leaders. In some ways, Total War: Pharaoh is one of the franchise’s more stripped-down projects in terms of units and options, which comes courtesy of the time period. Conversely, it is also among the most polished and accessible, with the game demonstrating why the IP has remained popular for decades.

At its heart, Pharaoh is a prototypical Total War release, albeit one that has just enough novel ideas to justify its existence. Some changes are quality-of-life improvements, while others are designed to take advantage of the era’s unique potential. However, the poor interface and lack of features meant that fans were less than enthused about this release.

15 Total War Saga: TROY

A Smaller-Scale Effort That Is Still A Very Good RTs Experience

Most Total War games are epic sagas that last generations, letting players enjoy how things develop as the sands of time keep flowing. This grand strategy approach has worked quite well for the series time and time again, but some players didn’t mind checking out a version of Total War that focused on a solitary period in history instead of trying to be as epic as possible.

This led to the rise of the Total War Saga series, which decided to reign in the series’ scope to make for a more personalized, engaging, and informative experience. Total War Saga: TROY takes place during the Trojan War and is a fascinating retelling of events, with the gameplay being fresh and engaging even for fans who are already well-versed in what the Total War series is all about.

14 Total War: Rome 2

A Good RTS Game In Isolation, But A Disappointing Follow-Up To An All-Time Great Entry

Total War: Rome 2 narrowly lands above the joint-bottom position, though it is by far the most disappointing entry into the franchise. Following on from one of the most critically acclaimed and beloved strategy games of all time in Rome: Total War was never going to be easy, though not many expected to be as underwhelmed as they were.

Despite being released nearly ten years after Rome: Total War, the second game suffered from numerous rudimentary issues, such as frequent technical problems and a poor camera. It was a shame, since the legacy of the first game in the series was massive, and fans were ultimately disappointed with a sequel that never lived up to the hype.

13 Empire: Total War

Push Through The Problems To Find A Solid Game

Empire: Total War had a troubled launch. Players had issues with major bugs, crashes, and even install errors. Once some of those issues were patched out, though, the game’s core managed to shine through. Empire: Total War marked a slight departure from the series formula. Since the game starts in the 18th century, players have access to a large array of artillery, cavalry units, and rifling squads. Dedicated melee units are few and far between, with each serving a specialized purpose.

Empire has a mixed reputation that has mostly stuck around, even if it is nowadays considered an OK option with heavy mod support. The base game received enough updates to be playable, but it still has underwhelming AI and a pretty unsatisfying campaign that does not compare favorably with most of the franchise’s other releases. Still, Empire had impressive scale for its era, and for all of its historical issues, it is still worth a playthrough.

12 Total War: Attila

While Not A Technical Marvel, Attila Was And Still Is An Impressive Effort With Strong Factions And A Memorable Overworld

Released in 2015, Total War: Attila begins in 395 AD, nine years before the birth of Attila the Hun. The game was an extremely important entry into the franchise, as it was the first release after the aforementioned Total War: Rome 2. Following the disappointment of the second Rome game put a weight of expectations on Attila‘s shoulders, as a poor release could have seen an end to the series.

Total War: Attila was heavily praised upon release for providing one of the franchise’s best overworlds, as well as offering exciting playstyle varieties with its new factions. The game had its fair share of criticism, though, particularly with its interface and technical performance. Still, Total War fans had a lot of fun with this period in history, even if the game itself could’ve benefited from a few months in the oven.

11 Napoleon: Total War

Good Campaign That Is Still Fun To Revisit

As the name suggests, Napoleon: Total War takes place between the 18th and 19th centuries and has three campaigns following the military career of the former King of Italy and Emporer of the French, as well as a campaign allowing players to attempt to defeat Napoleon. It was a fun period in history that the game does a lot of justice to in the eyes of most fans.

Napoleon: Total War was praised for its improved emphasis on historical accuracy and immersion, but it was also criticized for its lackluster A.I. While perhaps not a must-play in this day and age, the 2010 entry’s campaign holds up well and is still pretty ambitious even all these years later. While not one of the absolute best Total War games, Napoleon is a very solid one.

10 Total War: Three Kingdoms

Very Good Vanilla Experience That Is Enhanced By A Great DLC

Total War: Three Kingdoms is Creative Assembly’s take on a Total War game set during this rich period in China’s history. While it’s widely considered to be good, many fans and critics hoped for more from the title — especially after the over-the-top Total War: Warhammer games.

Fortunately, the Mandate of Heaven DLC does an excellent job of rounding out the game’s core features and even adds legendary characters similar to the legendary lords from Total War: Warhammer. Despite falling towards the lower end of ratings for a Total War game, Three Kingdoms is definitely worth checking out, especially with the improvements this title received over time that addressed most major complaints.

9 Total War: Shogun 2 – Fall Of The Samurai

A Fantastic Expansion That More Than Justifies Its Standalone Release

Total War: Shogun 2 – Fall of the Samurai is a standalone expansion for Shogun 2. It added six new warring clans and three foreign imperial powers (Britain, France, and the United States) and greatly expanded the scope of Shogun 2‘s campaign map. Suffice it to say, the sheer amount of content added to this title makes it clear why some people consider it to be an excellent addition to the Total War series instead of a minor extension.

These changes, plus the new rifling and cannon units, generally made for a more interesting campaign. Still, the game drew criticism for its lackluster ocean battles, which became more important with the addition of naval bombardment. Regardless, for a standalone expansion, Fall of the Samurai is one of the most impressive titles on this list.

8 Total War: Warhammer 3

A Glorious Ending To A Glorious And Over-The-Top Trilogy

Following the success of the previous two Total War: Warhammer games, Creative Assembly and Sega teamed up once again to combine the real-time and turn-based strategy gameplay of the Total War series with Games Workshop’s Warhammer universe. It may be the weakest entry in the trilogy, but that’s a pretty high bar to reach for three games that pushed the Total War series in new and interesting directions.

Although the gameplay in Warhammer 3 is similar to the game’s predecessors, the 2022 release makes a plethora of quality-of-life improvements that make for a more seamless playing experience while also adding an impressive range of new units that add further depth to the gameplay. The campaign takes place in the Realm of Chaos and boasts a significantly larger map than the previous Warhammer game.

Total War: Warhammer 3 was released on day one on the PC version of Game Pass, letting subscribers of Microsoft’s gaming service play the new release at no extra cost.

7 Shogun: Total War

A Masterpiece For Its Era, But It Is Difficult To Revisit In This Day And Age

Shogun: Total War set the stage for the series back in 2000. At the time of its release, there just weren’t that many strategy games that were as large-scale or ambitious as Shogun. The game’s turn-based map layer and real-time strategy battles drew heavily from the likes of Risk and tabletop wargames.

In 2001, The Warlord Edition was released, which included The Mongol Invasion expansion with the base game. These updates brought with them new factions and units and a new campaign mode. For a debut title. Shogun: Total War did a lot of things right and set the foundation for a series that is still going strong to this day. Shogun: Total War – Collection is readily available nowadays, for those who want to experience this all-time classic.

Historically,
Shogun: Total War
is among the most important entries in Sega’s franchise; however, nowadays, there is little reason to play this game over, for example,
Shogun 2
.

6 Total War: Warhammer

An Unexpected Move Towards Fantasy That Paid Off Instantly

Warhammer and Total War seem like a match made in heaven. One is a series about tactics and war on an epic scale and the spectacle of large-scale combat. The other is pretty much the same, which combined to give fans one of the best and most imaginative Total War games to come out in quite some time. Players who were worried that the shift from actual history to fantasy wasn’t going to be executed silently were happy that their worries didn’t come to pass when this title was released.

One of Total War: Warhammer‘s biggest strengths lies in the diversity of its factions. For instance, the Dwarf Realms field heavily armored infantry and siege engines, while the Vampire Counts rely on a mix of undead fodder units, monstrous creatures, and potent spellcasters. Because of this, every army poses unique tactical challenges; players have to consider their strengths and their enemy’s advantages before engaging in battle.

5 Medieval 2: Total War

Shows Its Age In Places, But The Core Mechanics Are Still A Lot Of Fun (However, Some Modern QOL Elements Are Missing)

Medieval 2: Total War was the first full-bodied sequel in the franchise. On top of that, Medieval 2 has also been a source of memes in the Total War series. Most notably, fans recall cheats that added Elephant Artillery and Elephant Rocketeers to the campaign — and they’re about as fun as they sound.

Medieval 2 is also a favorite game for modders. In fact, Total War: Warhammer is rumored to have been inspired by the full conversion mod, Call of Warhammer: Beginning of the End Times, which proves just how malleable this title’s game engine was. Players who loved the first Medieval: Total War game were more than happy to see the sequel improve upon this title’s mechanics while adding new features for fans to mess around with.

4 Total War: Warhammer 2

The Peak Of The Warhammer Trilogy

Total War: Warhammer 2 is more than just a sequel to Total War: Warhammer. Both games have similar strengths and weaknesses, but Warhammer 2 is generally considered to be more fleshed out. The game also has a ton of downloadable content. It’s easy to say that Total War: Warhammer 2 is the most expansive Total War game ever released.

However, Warhammer 2 is single-handedly the largest and most diverse game in the series, benefitting from all of the content from Total War: Warhammer and seventeen unique content packs. Warhammer 2 also does an excellent job of expanding on features and factions from the first game through new scenarios, new tech options, and new warlords.

3 Medieval: Total War

A Great And Important Evolution Of Total War’s Original Formula

Even at its time of release in 2002, Medieval: Total War wasn’t the prettiest game, but it expanded heavily on Shogun‘s foundation. It helped that the game was a blast to play through, and players had to be ready for any curveballs in the campaign that could derail their progress quite a bit.

Generally, critics and fans praised the game’s AI, which put up a good challenge on any difficulty setting. The campaign world was also larger and included numerous factions and religions, giving the game excellent replay value and turning it into a classic that many fans still remember fondly to this day.

2 Total War: Shogun 2

A Masterpiece That Represents Total War At Its Best

While a lot of games in the Total War series focused on expanding the play space with new factions, larger landmasses, and a broad selection of tactical units and abilities, Total War: Shogun 2 simplified things quite a bit. Fortunately, that led to an overall tighter and more polished experience.

One of Total War: Shogun 2‘s flagship features was the Realm Divine—a crucial step towards a victory that would cause all AI factions to declare war with players in the campaign. Players either loved it or hated it, but it was structured in a way that it could always be planned for. Overall, it helped put the idea of “total war” to the test. Overall, Shogun 2 is one of the franchise’s most completed packages, offering a detailed, addictive, and challenging campaign that will (hopefully) never grow out of fashion.

1 Rome: Total War

The Definitive Total War Game

If there is just one common theme for Rome: Total War reviews, it’s that the game is engrossing. In fact, many would say the game does a better job of putting players in the shoes of historical leaders than any other game in the series.

It has the perfect balance of speed, politics, and tactics to give players the drive to go “one more turn.” For many, Rome is the definitive Total War title and is still played heavily to this day. Even after the many ways in which the Total War series has progressed over time, this title still holds a special place in the hearts of many fans.