Gamers don't even need to look too far into other fictional game genres and settings. Our very own history is full of interesting conflicts. Some of them have even inspired our favorite works of fiction. So, when developer Creative Assembly introduced the games to the PC gaming community back in the year 2000, it was a dream come true for many of us history diehards.

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It's like seeing and experiencing the greatest battles and wars you read in books. It's even better than a documentary since you get to participate in all the action and even change the course of history in the games. Of course, the developers had to take countless liberties since they're still games and need to be fun. Nevertheless, they're about the closest thing we can get to coming, seeing, and conquering — all in the safety of our gaming chairs.

Updated December 29, 2023 by Quinton O'Connor: We have returned to this list four years after its creation, adding the two newest historical Total War games in this sprawling series!

13 🌄 Shoꦛgun: Total War

Shogun Total War gameplay

It has been nearly a quarter-century since the first Shogun: Total War came out, but it is still being played to this day. Surprisingly enough, its graphics were barely even 3D and most of the units appeared to be texture sprites. That didn't matter to the most hardcore and faithful Total War fans, however. Back then, that was all the rage and the nostalgia is well-remembered.

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While the gameplay has aged fairly well, the graphics and the artificial intelligence don't hold up well these days, with plenty of techniques that can utterly bewilder your AI foes into submission. But Shogun started something special.

12 ꧙ 𝓰 Medieval: Total War

Medieval Total War gameplay

After the success of Shogun, the developers just had to keep Total War coming. So they did, and fashionably so with the first Medieval: Total War. It's a pretty obvious choice for their next setting; the Medieval era of Europe was quite well-documented (relatively) and had huge battles and political intrigue to boot.

The graphics seem to have been marginally improved-- it was released two years after Shogun and that's to be expected. However, it's still quite a pain in the eyes to look at the pixelated units, especially when they clash in a melee. Unlike the "modern" Total War titles, your soldiers in Medieval (or Shogun even) turn into a pixelated blob which looks like censorship when you zoom out while they're fighting.

11 Total W▨ar Saga: Thrones Of Britannia

Total War Saga Thrones of Britannia gameplay

Fast-forward to 2018, and we were given Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia. It's also set in the Medieval era but much earlier in the Middle Ages, specifically 878 AD — soon after the death of the legendary Viking Ragnar Lothbrok. As a result, the budding kingdoms of feudal Europe had one heck of a power struggle to see who came out with the most lands.

Unlike Total War titles that came before this one, Thrones of Britannia has a smaller scope and a less ambitious setting. You probably know that by the title already, but the game only takes place in the British Isles. Beyond the graphics, A.I., and gameplay changes, it doesn't have many advantages over the first two games above, which have had better sequels than Thrones of Britannia.

10 Total War: R🤪ome II

Total War Rome II gameplay

To say that Total War: Rome II had a rough release in 2013 is an understatement. It was quite a disaster, to be honest. The A.I. was embarrassing, the graphics were unstable and demanding, and the bugs, glitches, and oversights were just insulting for a full-priced game. What's even worse was it was supposed to be a successor to the first Romewhich was conside﷽red a mꦆasterpiece when it was released.

Over the next five years, the developers fixed the game's main flaws, and even rereleased an Emperor Edition of Rome II in 2018 with a graphical upgrade.

9 ▨ 🃏 Total War: Attila

Total War Attila gameplay

Total War: Attila was, in many ways, a refinement of Rome II's formula. It came a year after Rome II's rough release and wrestled with a gloomy time period near the fall of the Roman Empire. Of course, it also featured Attila the Hun himself, who swept through Europe and Asia like a plague made out of blades, spears, and arrows.

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The gameplay on the battle and campaign map are pretty much similar to Rome II's, save for the horde mechanic in Attila. The horde mechanic introduced a new playstyle in the campaigns and allowed you to focus more on battles and causing all sorts of hell for enemy settlements without having to worry too much about borders or buildings.

Such a fresh spin on the formula would later make significant waves in t⛦he Total War: Warha💟mmer titles.

8 💟 Empire: Total War ಌ

Empire Total War gameplay

For many fans of the Total War franchise, Empire: Total War (released back in 2009) was as alien as Warhammer. Empire made a 𝓰huge departure from the hammer-and-anvil melee battles of the pre-gunpowder age Total War titles. It was set in the colonial period (around the 16th to 18th century) where mosꦓt European countries were scrambling to get as many third world colonies as possible.

For that matter, Empire probably had the grandest scale. The campaign involved nearly the whole world end-to-end, and it can get rather chaotic and confusing managing your international colonies. Additionally, Empire first inꦜtroduced naval warfare to the franchise, which was impressive and commendable but could have had better execution. Fin🐓ally, Empire also explored the American Revolution — there are lots of new shiny things in this game.

7 ♈ Total War Saga: Troy

A Total War Saga Troy
A Total War Saga Troy

Akin to its predecessor in the Total War Saga sub-series, Troy centers on a more narrow landmass and timeframe. The Bronze Age's Trojan War contains many unsolved mysteries, but Creative Assembly Sofia does an admirable job weaving together everything we know for a fact within a tapestry of semi-mythical elements. Expanding into the greater Aegean Sea helps, too.

Post-launch support proved robust, with five downloadable content packs adding Amazons, Ajax, and more. It's a well-assembled game - pun unintended, but Troy's more limited scope and relative lack of recognizably new embellishments keeps it around the middle of the pack.

6 Napol�🥀�eon: Total War

Napoleon Total War gameplay

Empire was ambitious... perhaps even too ambitious for conventional gameplay and it often got confusing or dizzying. Thankfully, Napoleon: Total War got released in 2010 and provided some much-needed focus. Instead of partaking in a campaign that spans the whole world, Napoleon focuses on the French general and emperor's campaigns in Europe.

You can choose to play as Napoleon Bonaparte himself (who wasn't short for his height back then, mind you) or his enemies. Being set in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, it also features line infantry warfare and naval battles with no shortage of gunpowder. However, it has been notably improved compared to Empire's.

5 ♑ Total War: Pharaoh

A massive army attacks the walls of an Egyptian city in Total War Pharaoh.

Any fan of pre-antiquity - who also happens to be a fan of the Total War series - must have been pinching themselves upon the announcement of Total War: Pharaoh. The game, which as of late 2023 is the most recent title in the franchise, is set during the Egyptian New Kingdom. 'New' is in relative terms here - the late Bronze Age collapse, much theorized-over for its somewhat enigmatic origins, is the historic backdrop.

It's a golden pitch, and it works reasonably well for what it is. Criticisms have been leveled toward Pharaoh for showing the proverbial cracks in the decades-old Total War IP, as fans and critics urge Creative Assembly to take greater risks going forward.

Our own reviewer, Harry Alston, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:quite enjoys Pharaoh. Bring on the Sea Peoples!

4 ⛄ Medieval II: 🌺Total War

Medieval II Total War gameplay

Medieval didn't age well as a game and its time period deserves more than one title anyway. That means Medieval II: Total War was just a matter of time. Fortunately, it only took four years from the original Medieval before Medieval II was released in 2006. Of course, as expected, the graphics were vastly improved and are now fully 3D. It might still be outdated, but it's still good to this day, especially with the right mods.

Aside from visuals, Medieval II was simply fun. Picking a feudal kingdom in Middle Ages Europe and conducting a crusade to retake Jerusalem is just one of the many things you꧂ can do here.

Sometimes you can also piss off the Pope, marry your princesses to some far-flung dukes for alliances, or even overtax your peasants until they rebel. In other words, Creative Assembly wasn't far off the historical mark with this one.