Total War: NAPOLEON – Definitive Edition

Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.

Very Positive · 91%Very Positive · 91%2010

The verdict

A focused, cinematic Napoleonic Total War with great artillery battles and strong mod support. Skip it if you want a big sandbox campaign, smart AI or stable play on modern PCs.

Great for

Napoleonic history buffs who like line battles, artillery and modding, and can overlook dated AI

Main risk

Old engine crashes or won't launch on modern PCs, and the AI and campaign scope are weak

What players love

Authentic Napoleonic atmosphere

Mentioned in ~1 in 8 positive reviews

“this game makes you feel like Napoleon”
Steam review · 8.2 h played ↗

“it's still the gold standard for Napoleonic combat and tactics simulation”
Steam review · 12 h played ↗

“the game has a lot of historical notes, descriptions and interesting facts”
Steam review · translated · 79.1 h played ↗

Active modding scene extends lifespan

Mentioned in ~1 in 8 positive reviews

“Game is still very much alive and has an active mod community even in 2026.”
Steam review · 838 h played ↗

“so many flaws in vanilla but with mods, the game is addicting.”
Steam review · 1321.7 h played ↗

Satisfying cinematic battles and artillery

Mentioned in ~1 in 9 positive reviews

“Battles feel impactful, artillery is incredibly satisfying”
Steam review · 5.4 h played ↗

“the battles are cinematic, immersive and realistic, one of the best.”
Steam review · 42.8 h played ↗

“I enjoyed the whole game how the artillery booms and the infantry fires”
Steam review · translated · 155.8 h played ↗

Better and more polished than Empire

Mentioned in ~1 in 13 positive reviews

“More polished than Empire but with a smaller map.”
Steam review · 29.7 h played ↗

“Basically Empire TW but better ai, better units and a better campaign.”
Steam review · 53.1 h played ↗

Strong naval battles and multiplayer

Mentioned in ~1 in 13 positive reviews

“This Total War has the best naval gameplay I've seen in a strategy game.”
Steam review · 30.6 h played ↗

“even after all the years still holds up in the multiplayer”
Steam review · 593.1 h played ↗

High replayability with many campaigns

Mentioned in ~1 in 17 positive reviews

“it is its insane replayability.”
Steam review · 241.2 h played ↗

“Numerous campaigns and battles to choose from.”
Steam review · 248.4 h played ↗

What players complain about

Crashes, freezes and unstable on modern PCs

Mentioned in ~1 in 5 negative reviews

“the games freeze and crash for no reason.”
Steam review · 38.1 h played ↗

“Crashed the very first time opening the game. Good start. 20 hours in, 10-15 crashes later.”
Steam review · 20.9 h played ↗

“constantly crashes or just freezes”
Steam review · translated · 1 h played ↗

Multiplayer chat removed and online issues

Mentioned in ~1 in 7 negative reviews

“On April 25th 2023, CA released an update which removed the in-game chat feature.”
Steam review · 2399 h played ↗

“I cannot play with my family or friends due to a constant no response from host error”
Steam review · 15.1 h played ↗

Weak, exploitable or cheating AI

Mentioned in ~1 in 8 negative reviews

“just how atrociously bad the battle AI and pathfinding are”
Steam review · 1011.6 h played ↗

“the ai is so braindead it takes most of the fun away”
Steam review · 23.2 h played ↗

Clunky unit control, pathfinding and bugs

Mentioned in ~1 in 8 negative reviews

“Your own cannon crews will randomly de-crew their own guns”
Steam review · 29.3 h played ↗

“Walk is a default command, you have to manually hit "run" button when micro during the battle”
Steam review · 5 h played ↗

Won't launch on 12th gen+ Intel CPUs

Mentioned in ~1 in 10 negative reviews

“DO NOT BUY THIS GAME IF YOU HAVE A 12th Gen Intel CPU!!!! The game will not launch”
Steam review · 210.6 h played ↗

“it's clear that this is the -only- total war title available on steam that no longer works with current/recent gen processors”
Steam review · 11.2 h played ↗

Limited, France-centric campaigns and small map

Mentioned in ~1 in 10 negative reviews

“Empire reskin with an extremely limited scope.”
Steam review · 34.6 h played ↗

“Seems like it tries to force you to play as the French which is kind of boring and lame.”
Steam review · 3.9 h played ↗

System requirements

From the Steam store page

Steam Deck: Unsupported

Minimum

OSMicrosoft® Windows Vista®/XP®/Windows® 7

Processor2.3 GHz CPU with SSE2

Memory1 GB RAM (XP), 2 GB RAM (Vista®/Windows® 7)

Graphics256 MB DirectX® 9.0c shader model 2b compatible GPU

Storage21 GB free space

Recommended

OSMicrosoft® Windows Vista®/XP®/Windows® 7

Processor2.6 GHz Dual Core CPU

Memory2 GB RAM (XP), 4 GB RAM (Vista®/Windows® 7)

Graphics256 MB DirectX® 9.0c shader model 3 compatible GPU

Storage21 GB free space

OSMicrosoft® Windows Vista®/XP®/Windows® 7

Processor2.3 GHz CPU with SSE2

Memory1 GB RAM (XP), 2 GB RAM (Vista®/Windows® 7)

Graphics256 MB DirectX® 9.0c shader model 2b compatible GPU

Storage21 GB free space

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