Every Total War Game, Ranked

Highlights

• Total War is a beloved strategy game franchise known for its epic scale and focus on tactics, with a dedicated fanbase.
• Some spinoff games, like Total War Battles: Shogun and Spartan: Total Warrior, offer a simplified or action-oriented version of the Total War experience.
• Total War Saga: Troy and Total War: Pharaoh offer more focused and personalized experiences within the Total War series, offering new perspectives on historical events.

Total War is a big name in the PC gaming world. Much like Sid Meier’s Civilization or the Command and Conquer franchises, Total War stands as a pillar of the strategy genre. It has been running for two full decades now. In that time, there have been no fewer than 16 core releases, as well as several spinoff games. Naturally, there’s a lot of talk in the community about which game best represents the series and which is the best Total War game.

Regardless of which Total War game players get into for the first time, there’s no denying that these titles just have something special going for them that really resonates with fans when things just click. From the turn-based empire simulation to the real-time wars that require the best tactics possible for players to succeed, it’s easy to see why Total War games have such a dedicated and passionate fanbase who aren’t afraid to speak their minds.

Updated February 16, 2024 by Ritwik Mitra: Total War is one of the greatest strategy video game franchises of all time. The massive scale of the simulations that take place in the overworld coupled with a focus on proper tactics in each battle makes things a blast in every way, with players loving how the series never ceases to amaze them with a combination of brilliant gameplay coupled with memorable moments that will stick with players no matter which game they decide to play.

Of course, some Total War games are bound to be better than others for a bevy of reasons, but chances are that fans will get their money’s worth from any title they pick out in a series known for upping the ante every single time.

18 Total War Battles: Shogun

Metascore: 59

It was only a matter of time before the rampant popularity of the Total War series led the developers to try and cash in on a mobile spin-off featuring a condensed version of this gameplay loop. This led to the rise of Total War Battles: Shogun, which let players enjoy a simplified version of this title.

While this gameplay loop worked on mobile, the PC port was far from successful. The game simply wasn’t made for anything other than touchscreens and suffers as a result. Still, fans who want to check out a simpler, stripped-down version of what Total War is all about will find this game to be right up their alley.

17 Spartan: Total Warrior

Metascore: 73

Trying to emulate the grand scale of battles in the Total War series to work in a real-time action format would always be a huge challenge. Despite Spartan: Total Warrior missing the mark in some ways, fans were still impressed to see the scale of the game’s battles and how multiple enemies could be decimated with a single attack if players timed their moves properly.

The button-mashing gameplay never evolved all that much, which made the game feel rather mindless at times. Still, it’s a fun action-oriented spinoff that fans of Total War can enjoy if they don’t mind the simplistic gameplay. The power fantasy fans can enjoy with this title more than makes it worth the price of admission.

16 Total War Saga: Troy

Metascore: 75

Most Total War games are epic sagas that last generations, letting players enjoy how things develop as the sands of time keep flowing. This grand strategy approach has worked quite well for the series time and time again, but some players didn’t mind checking out a version of Total War that focused on a solitary period in history instead of trying to be as epic as possible.

This led to the rise of the Total War Saga series, which decided to reign in the series’ scope to make for a more personalized, engaging, and informative experience. Total War Saga: Troy takes place during the Trojan War and is a fascinating retelling of events, with the gameplay being fresh and engaging even for fans who are already well-versed in what the Total War series is all about.

15 Total War: Pharaoh

Metascore: 75

The most recent entry in the series sees Creative Assembly heading to Ancient Egypt, crafting a campaign revolving around three factions that each have a few select leaders. In some ways, Total War: Pharaoh is one of the franchise’s more stripped-down projects in terms of units and options, which comes courtesy of the time period. Conversely, it is also among the most polished and accessible, with the game demonstrating why the IP has remained popular for decades.

At its heart, Pharaoh is a prototypical Total War release, albeit one that has just enough novel ideas to justify its existence. Some changes are quality-of-life improvements, while others are designed to take advantage of the era’s unique potential.

14 Total War: Rome 2

Metascore: 76

Total War: Rome 2 narrowly lands above the joint-bottom position, though it is by far the most disappointing entry into the franchise. Following on from one of the most critically acclaimed and beloved strategy games of all time in Rome: Total War was never going to be easy, though not many expected to be as underwhelmed as they were.

Despite being released nearly ten years after Rome: Total War, the second game suffered from numerous rudimentary issues, such as frequent technical problems and a poor camera. It was a shame, since the legacy of the first game in the series was massive, and fans were ultimately disappointed with a sequel that never lived up to the hype.

13 Total War: Attila

Metascore: 80

Released in 2015, Total War: Attila begins in 395 AD, nine years before the birth of Attila the Hun. The game was an extremely important entry into the franchise, as it was the first release after the aforementioned Total War: Rome 2. Following the disappointment of the second Rome game put a weight of expectations on Attila‘s shoulders, as a poor release could have seen an end to the series.

Total War: Attila was heavily praised upon release for providing one of the franchise’s best overworlds, as well as offering exciting playstyle varieties with its new factions. The game had its fair share of criticism, though, particularly with its interface and technical performance.

12 Napoleon: Total War

Metascore: 81

As the name suggests, Napoleon: Total War takes place between the 18th and 19th centuries and has three campaigns following the military career of the former King of Italy and Emporer of the French, as well as a campaign allowing players to attempt to defeat Napoleon.

Napoleon: Total War was praised for its improved emphasis on historical accuracy and immersion, but it was also criticized for its lackluster A.I. The game picked up the Best PC Game award at the Milthon European Game Awards, as well as the Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Video Game Score.

11 Total War: Three Kingdoms

Metascore: 85

Total War: Three Kingdoms is Creative Assembly’s most recent mainline Total War game. While it’s widely considered to be good, many fans and critics hoped for more from the title — especially after the over-the-top Total War: Warhammer games.

Fortunately, the Mandate of Heaven DLC does an excellent job of rounding out the game’s core features and even adds legendary characters similar to the legendary lords from Total War: Warhammer. Despite falling towards the lower end of ratings for a Total War game, Three Kingdoms is definitely worth checking out.

10 Total War: Shogun 2 – Fall Of The Samurai

Metascore: 86

Total War: Shogun 2 – Fall of the Samurai is a standalone expansion for Shogun 2. It added six new warring clans and three foreign imperial powers (Britain, France, and the United States) and greatly expanded the scope of Shogun 2‘s campaign map.

These changes, plus the new rifling and cannon units, generally made for a more interesting campaign. Still, the game drew criticism for its lackluster ocean battles, which became more important with the addition of naval bombardment. Regardless, for a standalone expansion, Fall of the Samurai is one of the most impressive titles on this list.

9 Total War: Warhammer 3

Metascore: 85

Following the success of the previous two Total War: Warhammer games, Creative Assembly and Sega teamed up once again to combine the real-time and turn-based strategy gameplay of the Total War series with Games Workshop’s Warhammer universe.

Although the gameplay in Warhammer 3 is similar to the game’s predecessors, the 2022 release makes a plethora of quality-of-life improvements that make for a more seamless playing experience while also adding an impressive range of new units that add further depth to the gameplay. The campaign takes place in the Realm of Chaos and boasts a significantly larger map than the previous Warhammer game.

Total War: Warhammer 3 was released on day one on the PC version of Game Pass, letting subscribers of Microsoft’s gaming service play the new release at no extra cost.

8 Total War: Warhammer

Metascore: 86

Warhammer and Total War seem like a match made in heaven. One is a series about tactics and war on an epic scale and the spectacle of large-scale combat. The other…well, that’s both franchises in a nutshell.

One of Total War: Warhammer‘s biggest strengths lies in the diversity of its factions. For instance, the Dwarf Realms field heavily armored infantry and siege engines, while the Vampire Counts rely on a mix of undead fodder units, monstrous creatures, and potent spellcasters. Because of this, every army poses unique tactical challenges; players have to consider their strengths and their enemy’s advantages before engaging in battle.

7 Shogun: Total War Warlord Edition

Metascore: 87

Shogun: Total War set the stage for the series back in 2000. At the time of its release, there just weren’t that many strategy games that were as large-scale or ambitious as Shogun. The game’s turned-based map layer and real-time strategy battles drew heavily from the likes of Risk and tabletop wargames.

The Warlord Edition was released in 2001 and included The Mongol Invasion expansion with the base game. These updates brought with them new factions and units and a new campaign mode.

6 Medieval 2: Total War

Metascore: 88

Medieval 2 Total War was the first full-bodied sequel in the franchise. On top of that, Medieval 2 has also been a source of memes in the Total War series. Most notably, fans recall cheats that added Elephant Artillery and Elephant Rocketeers to the campaign — and they’re about as fun as they sound.

Medieval 2 is also a favorite game for modders. In fact, Total War: Warhammer is rumored to have been inspired by the full conversion mod, Call of Warhammer: Beginning of the End Times, which proves just how malleable this title’s game engine was.

5 Total War: Warhammer 2

Metascore: 87

Total War: Warhammer 2 is more than just a sequel to Total War: Warhammer. Both games have similar strengths and weaknesses, but Warhammer 2 is generally considered to be more fleshed out. The game also has a ton of downloadable content. It’s easy to say that Total War: Warhammer 2 is the most expansive Total War game ever released.

However, Warhammer 2 is single-handedly the largest and most diverse game in the series, benefitting from all of the content from Total War: Warhammer and seventeen unique content packs. Warhammer 2 also does an excellent job of expanding on features and factions from the first game through new scenarios, new tech options, and new warlords.

4 Medieval: Total War

Metascore: 88

Even at its time of release in 2002, Medieval Total War wasn’t the prettiest game, but it expanded heavily on Shogun‘s foundation. It helped that the game was a blast to play through, and players had to be ready for any curveballs in the campaign that could derail their progress quite a bit.

Generally, critics and fans praised the game’s AI, which put up a good challenge on any difficulty setting. The campaign world was also larger and included numerous factions and religions, giving the game excellent replay value and turning it into a classic that many fans still remember fondly to this day.

3 Total War: Shogun 2

Metascore: 90

While a lot of games in the Total War series focused on expanding the play space with new factions, larger landmasses, and a broad selection of tactical units and abilities, Total War: Shogun 2 simplified things quite a bit. Fortunately, that led to an overall tighter and more polished experience.

One of Total War: Shogun 2‘s flagship features was the Realm Divine—a crucial step towards a victory that would cause all AI factions to declare war with players in the campaign. Players either loved it or hated it, but it was structured in a way that it could always be planned for. Overall, it helped put the idea of “total war” to the test.

2 Empire: Total War

Metascore: 90

Empire: Total War had a troubled launch, and it shows in the User Reviews. Players had issues with major bugs, crashes, and even install errors. Once those issues were patched out, though, the game’s core managed to shine through. Empire: Total War marked a slight departure from the series formula.

Since the game starts in the 18th century, players have access to a large array of artillery, cavalry units, and rifling squads. Dedicated melee units are few and far between, with each serving a specialized purpose.

1 Rome: Total War

Metascore: 92

If there is just one common theme for Rome: Total War reviews, it’s that the game is engrossing. In fact, many would say the game does a better job of putting players in the shoes of historical leaders than any other game in the series.

It has the perfect balance of speed, politics, and tactics to give players the drive to go “one more turn.” For many, Rome is the definitive Total War title and is still played heavily to this day. Even after the many ways in which the Total War series has progressed over time, this title still holds a special place in the hearts of many fans.