Total War (Series)

Total War (Series)

The Total War series is a popular strategy video game franchise developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega. The games combine turn-based campaign strategy with real-time tactical battles set in various historical time periods.
Total War (Series) image
turnbased-strategy realtime-tactics historical warfare 4x

Total War Series: Historical Strategy Gaming

The Total War series is a popular strategy video game franchise developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega. The games combine turn-based campaign strategy with real-time tactical battles set in various historical time periods.

What is Total War (Series)?

The Total War series is a series of strategy video games developed by British developer Creative Assembly and published by Sega. The games combine turn-based strategic gameplay taking place on a campaign map with real-time tactically-oriented battles.

The first game in the series, Shogun: Total War, was released in 2000 and set in feudal Japan. It was praised for its blend of complex campaign strategy and large-scale real-time battles with thousands of troops. Over the next two decades, Creative Assembly went on to develop over a dozen more games in the series set across a wide range of historical settings such as Medieval Europe, the Roman Republic, Napoleon's Europe, and the Three Kingdoms era in ancient China.

Key features that define the Total War series include:

  • Turn-based overworld campaign map where players manage diplomacy, economy, settlement management, army movement, and other high-level strategic decisions.
  • Real-time 3D battles with tactical pausing where players command thousands of troops to defeat the enemy army.
  • Attention to historical aesthetics and detail in graphics, units, maps, and more to provide an immersive experience.
  • A blend of empire building strategy with exciting battlefield tactics and maneuvers.
  • Different factions, cultures, geography, goals, units, abilities, and playstyles to provide a wide variety of replayable experiences.

With its fusion of deep strategic gameplay and impressive real-time battles, the Total War series has become one of the most acclaimed strategy game franchises in PC gaming history, appealing to armchair generals and history buffs alike.

Total War (Series) Features

Features

  1. Turn-based campaign map
  2. Real-time tactical battles
  3. Asymmetric factions and units
  4. Historical settings and campaigns
  5. RPG elements for generals and agents
  6. City and settlement management
  7. Diplomacy and politics
  8. Siege battles
  9. Naval combat

Pricing

  • One-time Purchase

Pros

Immersive historical settings

Epic real-time battles

Challenging and deep strategy gameplay

High replayability and variety

Great mod support and active modding community

Cons

Steep learning curve

Performance issues on low-end PCs

AI can be exploitable at times

Games are very system resource intensive

DLC policy seen as aggressive by some


The Best Total War (Series) Alternatives

Top Games and Strategy and other similar apps like Total War (Series)


FreeCol icon

FreeCol

FreeCol is an open-source turn-based strategy game based on the classic board game Colonization. In FreeCol, the player takes on the role of a colonial governor who is sent by their home country to explore, colonize, and develop the New World.The game takes place on a map inspired by the...
FreeCol image
Europa Universalis icon

Europa Universalis

Europa Universalis is a grand strategy video game developed by Paradox Interactive that was released in 2000. It is set during the early modern era, from the late 15th century to the early 19th century.In Europa Universalis, the player controls any contemporary nation from the time period and guides its...
Europa Universalis image
War Strategy icon

War Strategy

War Strategy is a real-time strategy (RTS) video game focused on recreating epic historical and fictional battles. Players take control of one of several available factions from throughout history ranging from the ancient Roman Empire to a futuristic robotic army.The core gameplay revolves around gathering resources, building a military force,...
War Strategy image
Landrule Strategy of War icon

Landrule Strategy of War

Landrule Strategy of War is a complex and immersive turn-based strategy game set in a sprawling medieval fantasy world. As the ruler of one of several warring kingdoms, the player must balance economic growth, technological research, kingdom expansion, diplomacy, and military conquest.Gameplay takes place on an expansive overworld map dotted...
Landrule Strategy of War image
WebDiplomacy icon

WebDiplomacy

WebDiplomacy is an online web-based version of the classic board game Diplomacy. It offers features to play Diplomacy with other players over the internet, including:Real-time matches and turn-based Diplomacy gamesAbility to play casually or ranked for an Elo scorePublic and private game listingsIn-game messaging and forumsPlayer profiles with statistics, rankings,...
WebDiplomacy image
Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator icon

Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator

Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator is a 3D, real-time battle simulator game that provides players with incredible flexibility to customize battles between medieval armies at an epic scale. Developed and published by Brilliant Game Studios, the game utilizes advanced physics and graphics engines to recreate realistic warfare physics between thousands of...
Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator image
Tropico (Series) icon

Tropico (Series)

Tropico is a long-running series of city-builder simulation video games developed by PopTop Software and later by Haemimont Games and Realmforge Studios. The games focus on managing an island nation in the Caribbean during various historical eras. The player assumes the role of 'El Presidente', the dictator of the island,...
Tropico (Series) image
Advanced Strategic Command icon

Advanced Strategic Command

Advanced Strategic Command is a turn-based strategy war game developed by Blitzkrieg Games and released in 2008. It is considered one of the most comprehensive and realistic strategic-level wargames ever created.The game spans the years 1935-1955 and allows players to command the armies, air forces, and navies of the major...
Advanced Strategic Command image
Bos Wars icon

Bos Wars

Bos Wars is an open-source, cross-platform real-time strategy (RTS) game with elements of simulation, featuring a 3D sci-fi setting. The gameplay revolves around gathering resources, building bases and units, and commanding units to defeat enemy forces.In the single player campaign, the player takes control of the Boson faction and leads...
Bos Wars image
Hegemony (Series) icon

Hegemony (Series)

Hegemony is a series of turn-based strategy video games developed by Longbow Games and published by Paradox Interactive. The series currently consists of two main games:- Hegemony: Philip of Macedon (2010): Set in ancient Greece, the player controls Philip II in his conquest to unite the Greek city-states under the...
Hegemony (Series) image