Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 300 sampled Steam reviews (245 positive / 55 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing9% mention it
- Visuals & art4% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Bugs & crashes16% mention it
- Controls & UI13% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
50%
38 reviews
5-15h
74%
34 reviews
15-40h
90%
41 reviews
40-100h
79%
62 reviews
100h+
92%
125 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 85 | 33 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 82% | 76 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 83% | 77 | 91 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 260 reviews sampled · 194 total reviews in window · weighted 175.9 up / 34.9 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (68)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“Total War: Three Kingdoms is not an ideal part of the popular series, but still remains a very addictive project with tons of gameplay. The idea of transferring the setting to Ancient China turned out to be a real trump card in the sleeve of talented developers, and the annoying flaws are likely to be corrected by the next updates.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Uniting drama, boldness and character development, Three Kingdoms revigorated the Total War formula in a way that I wouldn’t believe it was possible until now. Every strategy game fan should give this a chance.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Total War: Three Kingdoms is worth your time. To put things in a simple way - it's a superb strategy game that deals with a relatively unknown part of history. There are no flaws in terms of gameplay mechanics, it’s a great Total War game that keeps to the series’ high standards and quality.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“As always, the battles are exciting, and the scope and scale never fails to impress, with the addition of the heroes adding a new dimension to tactics and strategies. This is the game that Romance of the Three Kingdoms fans have been waiting for.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Total War: Three Kingdoms captures the spirit and essence of the time period. It's filled to the brim with unique and thematic detail, with aesthetic beauty that's a wonder to behold.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Three Kingdoms is a good game, and it feels like relearning an old game, it sticks to the Total War formula, but changes so many things around that everything feels different.”
read full review ↗ - 77
“Total War: Three Kingdoms is a definetly a Total War game. It has all the diplomacy, blood and intrigue inside. The game is a hard one if you are just getting into series, but a good step forward for fans.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“If you are a fan of Guanzhong's fantastic tale, there is an undeniable charm to Total War: Three Kingdoms that had me smiling from ear to ear on many occasions. First-time encounters with familiar characters, seeing how the developers envisioned a particular location or watching a scene play out differently in the game from the way it went in the book were all fascinating, enjoyable experiences for me that might not resonate the same way with someone who is unfamiliar with the source material.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“With interesting mechanics and breathtaking visuals, Total War: Three Kingdoms is the most impressive entry in the series to date. The research Creative Assembly have done on the game’s setting and characters truly shines through.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Ambitious and sometimes overwhelming, Three Kingdoms does a great job of capturing the complexity of China's vivid past.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Forget about weak Britannia and online Arena. Three Kingdoms redefines Total War glory in ancient China. ”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Three Kingdoms is the most ambitious that Total War has ever been, featuring an impressive variety of experiences thanks to its hefty source material.”
read full review ↗
GameMAG
Hu3br
GRYOnline.pl
Cubed3
PC Invasion
GameWatcher
Merlin'in Kazanı
Chalgyr's Game Room
Checkpoint Gaming
Eurogamer
SECTOR.sk
GameSpot…and 56 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Boot Issue FixOct 30, 2025
- Total War: THREE KINGDOMS Patch 1.7.2Jan 19, 2023
- Patch 1.7.1 Beta Branch UpdateMay 14, 2021
- Patch 1.7.1 available as beta branchMay 6, 2021
- Total War: THREE KINGDOMS - Patch 1.7.0Mar 9, 2021
- Patch 1.6.1 for THREE KINGDOMS is now live!Oct 8, 2020
- Patch 1.6.1 for THREE KINGDOMS is now in beta!Sep 24, 2020
- The Furious Wild hotfix is now liveSep 10, 2020
- Total War: THREE KINGDOMS Patch 1.6.0Aug 31, 2020
- Total War July Development UpdateJul 29, 2020
- Patch 1.5.3 is now liveJun 24, 2020
- Total War: THREE KINGDOMS 1.5.2 BetaMay 13, 2020
- Total War: THREE Kingdoms 1.5.1 Hotfix UpdateApr 23, 2020
- A World Betrayed 1.5.0 rollbackApr 9, 2020
- Total War: THREE Kingdoms 1.5.1 Hotfix BetaMar 30, 2020
- THREE KINGDOMS Patch 1.5.0 – A World BetrayedMar 12, 2020