In this review we are going to discover and analyze Total War: Warhammer 3, the latest chapter in the Creative Assembly strategic saga
The last chapter of one of the most popular strategic-fantasy sagas by the community has recently landed on our PCs. The armies of chaos are preparing again in what promises to be one of the most influential chapters of the saga. But how did he behave in our hands? We just have to start this Total War: Warhammer 3 review to find out together.
A huge prologue
This last chapter proposes how the final narrative arc which closes the circle that began 6 years ago with the release of the first chapter. The trilogy has therefore finally found a conclusion, but… where were we left with the previous titles? We do a fast recap for those who do not remember exactly what happened or for those who have simply never played this title.
In Total War: Warhammer we were the proponents of Karl Franz’s rise to the rank of emperor in a map that stretched from the harsh snowy lands of Norsca to the arid Badlands inhabited by the Greenskins. In the second, however, we witnessed the battle for the domain of the Great Vortex at the center of the continent of Ulthuan, created millennia earlier to drive the demons back into the Kingdom of Chaos.
In this last chapter instead we will have to gain the power of the god Ursun, traveling through the Realms of Chaos. However, before starting our adventure we will be called upon to support a quite full-bodied prologue which will be our tutorial throughout the adventure. Here we will play the role of Yuri, the Hungarian prince in search of the long-lost bear god. During this stage of the story, which will therefore act as a preamble for future campaigns, the basic mechanics that have characterized the Total War saga for years will be illustrated.
To complete the tutorial we will need 3-4 ore. Eventually we will discover that Ursun has actually been trapped by Be’lakor, who will force the protagonist, now corrupted by Chaos, to kill his god. Thus begins the real journey within one completely new map in which we will explore for the first time the kingdoms of the north-east with their peoples.
Campaigns and Factions – Total War: Warhammer 3 Review
This new chapter opens with ben eight playable factions, each of which will obviously be characterized by various strengths. Each of these will then kick off one diversified campaign, as we are now used to from previous chapters. The various playable factions are: Kislev, Demons of Chaos, Grande Catai, Kingdoms of the Ogres, Khorne, Nurgle, Slaanesh e Tzeentch. In addition to taming and dominating the other races, the main task will be to collect the four souls of the Demon Princes to enter the Forge and challenge Be’lakor. But let’s go in order.
As expected, each faction will feature game mechanics that will push us to resort to various strategies based on the one selected at the beginning of the campaign. Each of our choices will have an important weight throughout the adventure and will pave the way for us to rise to power.
The core mechanics are always the same. Our adventure will take place on a map characterized by regions divided in turn into provinces. Anyone who has played any Total War knows exactly what I mean. Conquering a region will, as always, give us the opportunity to issue an edict which, depending on our choice, will affect the adventure. In short, the various mechanics that have always distinguished the various titles.
So although the basis is that, the small differences are the masters. During the game, Ursun’s roar will cause some to open crevices. These will allow you to randomly move an army to another point on the map, or to travel to the Realms of Chaos. This last step though will only be available for the main hero of our campaign. In fact, any other army will not be able to enter these places.
The Four Realms of Chaos – Total War: Warhammer 3 Review
The various realms are each characterized by a different biome and reflect what are the peculiarities of each god of Chaos. There will therefore be a kingdom for each faction of Chaos: Khorne, Nurgle, Slaanesh and Tzeentch. Spending too much time in these realms however will lead us to meet gods malus that will be applied to our hero. These will affect the stability of the provinces that we will cross with the army and beyond. Now let’s see the various Kingdoms in more detail.
The first kingdom, that of Khorne, might seem the simplest of all. Here, in fact, we will not have to do anything else than fight various enemy armies until the Demon Prince reveals himself. Inside we will find areas that will allow us to obtain very useful items during this mini-adventure. The Kingdom of Nurgle instead will feature a miasma nocivo, which will shorten the life of our army in no time. Here we will have to reach the indicated point and collect the designated object before we can challenge the Daemon Prince of this place.
The Kingdom of Slaanesh on the other hand is the closest thing to hell described by Dante. This place is in fact divided into groups and our task will be to get to the center through the various portals that will make us go down through the various circles that characterize the kingdom. Last but not least we find that of Tzeentch. In this place we will risk spending a lot of time if we fail to understand which portal connects us to the citadel of the Demon Prince. Once all four are defeated and their souls are obtained, Ursun will roar again and this time we will have to head to the Forge and defeat Be’lakor.
A technical sector as solid as its demons – Total War: Warhammer 3 review
A separate chapter in this review of Total War: Warhammer 3 should be dedicated entirely to the technical sector. The initial starting point certainly did much of the credit. However, this last chapter of the saga is truly a gem for all players. Excluding the initial biblical times for launching the game the first time you start it, you immediately notice one important solidity of the technical sector.
The graphics are nothing short of sublime, not only as regards the models of the various characters, but also as regards the map itself. In fact, the latter is well detailed and diversified in every single region, making our adventure even more exciting. Then we note the important work done by the developers for streamline screen elements as much as possible. This provided a much cleaner and also organized graphics, avoiding us players to get lost in the maze of weapons, magical items and everything related to the skills and equipment of the heroes.
Although therefore an important step forward is noted in this respect, the AI at times still seemed to lack the necessary intelligence that could make battles truly close and engaging from every point of view. More than once in fact we found ourselves with inactive units during the battle phase, although the enemy was practically in front of them. Also in some rare cases, despite the order to attack a unit, after a few seconds we found ourselves with our soldiers stationary. A small and almost irrelevant factor, but which certainly could have given something more to the game.
Conclusions
We are now at the end of this Total War: Warhammer 3 review and it is time to take stock. The guys from Creative Assembly have truly created a masterpiece. The game looks like the perfect conclusion of a well-structured and solid trilogy which over the years has attracted millions of fans. The solidity of all Total War has poured into this last chapter, which enjoys all the strengths of the genre. Added to this are various improvements that make the experience even more fluid.
Despite a “slow first start”, in the course of the experience we were not affected by serious technical problems, rather. The graphics are nothing short of scary, with models well inspired by the genre. The map also has various very well-structured details making it look different in every single point despite being almost double the previous one. What about the various well-diversified campaigns and that they will test all gamers thanks to different approaches in every single adventure.
The power of this game can already be felt from the prologue which is nothing more than an immense tutorial. Very good the idea of structuring it in that way to bring each user even closer to a well-written story. We remind you that the game is available for PC at a suggested retail price of € 59.99. However you can find it at a slightly discounted price on Instant Gaming. If you want to know instead what are the requirements to see if it runs on your PC, we advise you to read our article. That’s all for this Total War: Warhammer 3 review. In order not to miss future reviews and news related to the videogame universe, keep following the pages of techgameworld.com!
Points in favor
- Graphic compartment
- Solid starting point
- UI improvements
- Replayability
Points against
- Very slow first start
- Not perfect AI