ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS XIV

Screenshots & trailers

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)	–	63	15
All-time Steam reviews	63%	62	1000
Metacritic user ratings	–	–	0
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)	66%	64	15
Calibration prior (typical game)	–	72	50

Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 44 reviews sampled · 43 total reviews in window · weighted 26.1 up / 13.2 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (28)

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.

40
Hu3br
trust 75Mar 17, 2020
“Romance of the Three Kingdoms always had a big issue with its convoluted interface, but XIV, instead of improving it, strips almost every aspect that made both XI, XII and XIII such gems. What is left is a soulless corpse with very few noteworthy aspects. It’s surely a good base to build upon, but not something worth playing right now.”
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10
PLAY Zine
trust 74Apr 19, 2020
“This game might sound interesting to Chinese history aficionado but it falls short as it was not polished enough as some of its predecessors.”
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50
Cubed3
trust 70Jun 12, 2022
“It would not be fair to harp on a series for sticking to a formula that works; however Romance of Three Kingdoms XIV seems to eschew innovations in its own series for stagnant and cumbersome gameplay effectively for no reason other than to remain needlessly dated. While the improved focus on politics is certainly a positive which may elevate the title for some, it will likely hold little more than niche appeal for others who hold little interest in in the personal engagements of the Three Kingdoms period.”
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60
Capsule Computers
trust 69Mar 11, 2020
“A grand turn-based strategy that seeks to find the Goldilocks zone but misses the mark”
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40
PC Invasion
trust 67Feb 29, 2020
“Eschewing role-playing aspects, depth, and fan-favorite features in favor of simplified pause-and-play automation, ridiculous map-painting mechanics, and lackluster strategic options, Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV is one of the most disappointing offerings from Koei Tecmo's popular franchise. It's the Liu Shan, not the Zhuge Liang, of the series.”
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80
Chalgyr's Game Room
trust 67Mar 9, 2020
“While Romance of the Three Kingdoms XVI is unlikely to unseat more popular strategy titles like the Civilization series, I think this release has focused on a lot of the best aspects of the series. I prefer the focus on rulers over officers, I appreciate the streamlined monthly commands and combat, even if there were a couple of areas where a bit more micromanagement might have been appreciated. Still, this latest release in the series provides many (many, many) hours of satisfying strategy and simulation for those such as myself who are fans of the setting.”
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60
TheSixthAxis
trust 65Mar 4, 2020
“There's a satisfying strategy experience to be had here though one that comes with quite the learning curve. Even once you have a grip on the basics, tangling with ROTK's new grid-based system and overall pacing can often put a few awkward steps between you executing your next cunning plan.”
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60
GameSkinny
trust 63Apr 8, 2020
“Romance of the Three Kingdoms 14 is accessible to casual players, but it sneakily removes the depth Rot3K veterans might expect.”
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59
PC Gamer
trust 63Mar 12, 2020
“An underwhelming strategic take on the Three Kingdoms, especially compared to Total War.”
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70
GamingBolt
trust 63Mar 3, 2020
“Under all of the clunkiness and bad habits picked up over 13 games and 35 years, you will find a surprisingly addictive strategy game unlike anything else on the market - if you can put up with it long enough to get to that stage.”
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88
Gamersky
trust 62Jan 10, 2020
“Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV is the most sophisticated one in the whole series. It not only follows the "easy to start, hard to master" formula but also identifies a lot of innovative gameplay. ”
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68
IGN
trust 61Mar 23, 2020
“A verbose strategic one, with a farraginosa interface, offering a solid, complex and articulated game structure, but also very "hard" to tame: only for fans.”
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…and 16 more tracked reviews.

Patch history

5/27 Updates
May 27, 2021
4/28 Updates
Apr 28, 2021
3/25 Updates
Mar 25, 2021
2/25 Updates
Feb 25, 2021
1/28 Updates
Jan 28, 2021
12/11 patch note
Dec 11, 2020
12/10 Updates
Dec 10, 2020
9/29 patch note
Sep 29, 2020
9/24 Updates
Sep 24, 2020
8/27 Update
Aug 27, 2020
7/30 Update
Jul 30, 2020
6/26 Patch note (1.0.10 ver)
Jun 26, 2020
6/25 Updates
Jun 25, 2020
5/28 updates
May 28, 2020significant · resets scoring window
4/30 updates
Apr 30, 2020significant · resets scoring window
4/9 Updates
Apr 9, 2020
Currently Known Issues (3/23/2020)
Mar 23, 2020
Currently Known Issues (3/19/2020) fixed
Mar 19, 2020
3/19 Update (1.0.4 Version)
Mar 19, 2020significant · resets scoring window
The English version is out today!
Feb 28, 2020
2/13 Update
Feb 13, 2020significant · resets scoring window
Patch notes 1.0.2
Jan 30, 2020
"ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS XIV" playtest version (Japanese only) released!
Oct 11, 2019