One of the best Total War games
Mentioned in ~1 in 3 positive reviews
“This is the quintessential Total War game. All other Total War games should be compared to this.”
Steam review · 3652.6 h played ↗
Total War: SHOGUN 2
Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.
Very Positive · 92%Very Positive · 92%The Creative AssemblyTurn-Based Strategy · RTS · Strategy
The verdict
A beloved, focused Total War set in feudal Japan with great battles and atmosphere. Skip it if you want unit variety or deep diplomacy, and note the original is being delisted for a paid Complete Edition.
Great for
Strategy fans and Total War newcomers who like tight tactical battles and a feudal Japan setting
Main risk
Repetitive units and factions, plus crashes on modern hardware, and the original is being delisted
What changed in the last 30 days
162 recent reviews
Recent negative reviews mostly protest the original being delisted for a paid Complete Edition, DLC removal and mods being lost, not the game's quality. Fairly confident.
162 recent reviews
What players love
Excellent tactical battles
Mentioned in ~1 in 8 positive reviews
“the battles are so good i cannot get bored of them.”
Steam review · 187 h played ↗
Atmosphere, art and soundtrack
Mentioned in ~1 in 8 positive reviews
“I would be remiss to not specifically mention the art style and the soundtrack, which really immerse you into the experience of a Japanese total war!”
Steam review · 161.8 h played ↗
Challenging late game and Fall of the Samurai
Mentioned in ~1 in 14 positive reviews
“The difficulty of the late game make it the most "total war" of all the total wars in my opinion”
Steam review · 161.8 h played ↗
Great for newcomers, focused and balanced
Mentioned in ~1 in 14 positive reviews
“Honestly the best beginner Total War for newcomers as well because it is Total War at its most basic.”
Steam review · 1246.8 h played ↗
Strong mod scene
Mentioned in ~1 in 17 positive reviews
“The mods are incredible.”
Steam review · 67.1 h played ↗
What players complain about
Delisting and paid Complete Edition backlash
Mentioned in ~2 in 5 negative reviews
“removing it from the store? Just so that everyone has an opportunity to purchase it again?”
Steam review · 176 h played ↗
Crashes and instability
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 negative reviews
“Unplayable on an M1 MacBook Air. The game crashes almost every single turn.”
Steam review · 109.1 h played ↗
Mods broken or lost by the new edition
Mentioned in ~1 in 7 negative reviews
“Losing All my mods and thus any reason to play this game.”
Steam review · 602.8 h played ↗
Cheating, weak AI and Realm Divide
Mentioned in ~1 in 12 negative reviews
“the shamelessly cheating AI removes any sense of enjoyment or strategy from this game.”
Steam review · 14.2 h played ↗
Co-op and multiplayer desyncs
Mentioned in ~1 in 19 negative reviews
“CA broke coop campaign, after 20 turns your coop game will desync and it will brick.”
Steam review · 112.5 h played ↗
Repetitive units and factions
Mentioned in ~1 in 19 negative reviews
“Because the game is set in feodal Japan, everyone share the same units; as a result the battles end up being a boring games of paper-stone-cisors with no surprises.”
Steam review · 19.6 h played ↗
System requirements
From the Steam store page
Steam Deck: Playable
Steam doesn’t list requirements for this game.
More games to check
Other games we’ve read the reviews for
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Very Positive · 93%+ Timeless classic that still holds up
− Brutal, unfair-feeling RNG hit chances
analyzed 7 h ago
Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition
Very Positive · 87%+ Great mod support, especially Divide et Impera
− Crashes and freezes on modern PCs / Windows 11
analyzed 7 h ago
Total War: SHOGUN 2
Very Positive · 92%+ One of the best Total War games
− CA delisting and paid Complete Edition
analyzed 16 h ago
Braveland
Very Positive · 81%+ Cheap on sale, easy achievements
− Shallow, simplistic strategy
analyzed 18 h ago
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