Total War: SHOGUN 2 - Complete Edition Review Summary

Solid remaster with improved visuals and beautiful map design that can run stably, but bugs remain and performance may be worse than the original.

Improved graphics and visuals: Reviewers consistently note that the remaster delivers noticeably better graphics, including updated lighting, shadows, textures, and models. Many mention the original already looked good but the improvements are welcome.

Good performance and stability: Players report smooth performance with high frame rates in battles and no crashes or bugs. The 64-bit upgrade also contributed to increased stability.

Solid remaster of classic game: Reviewers consider this a good remaster of Shogun 2, often called one of the best Total War games. It combines all released content while preserving the original experience with enhanced graphics.

Beautiful campaign map: The campaign map is frequently praised for its improved visuals, with many calling it gorgeous or beautiful. It stands out as one of the most appreciated visual upgrades.

Improved animations and cutscenes: New and redone animations, especially in cutscenes, are noted as nice and good. They enhance the overall presentation.

Numerous bugs remain unfixed: The game is plagued by a large number of old and new bugs, including visual glitches and gameplay issues. Many of these bugs were carried over from the original release and still occur frequently.

No Steam Workshop support: The game lacks built-in Steam Workshop integration, instead using mod.io which is widely considered inferior. This removes easy access to many popular mods and limits modding capabilities.

Campaign map performance is poor: Campaign map frame rates are severely degraded, often dropping to 20-40 FPS on ultra settings. Many players report lag, hitching, and poor optimization specifically on the campaign map compared to battles.

Visuals worse than original: Many users report that the updated graphics look worse than the original game, with poor direction and minimal improvement. Some even say the game looks terrible compared to the original.

Optimization is lacking: The game is poorly optimized, with many players describing it as a disaster or extremely poor. Performance issues persist even on high-end hardware.

Shogun 2 remastered edition: The game is widely described as a remastered complete edition of Shogun 2, preserving the original gameplay while adding modernized features. It is essentially the same core experience as the original but refreshed.

Multiplayer modes available: The game includes multiplayer matchmaking, LAN multiplayer, and a cooperative multiplayer campaign. These modes add substantial replayability.

Multiple playable factions: Over 50 factions are playable, including minor clans, though minor factions lack bonuses. Players can lead smaller factions to glory.

Campaign and real-time battles: The core gameplay combines a turn-based campaign map with real-time tactical battles. This classic Total War formula remains central.

Modding support via workshop: The game supports mods through a built-in workshop and a separate sign-in system, integrated with Steam Workshop. This allows for community mods and a mod editor.

Campaign map FPS is dreadful: Numerous reviewers report the campaign map running between 20 and 50 FPS even on high-end hardware. This contrasts sharply with battle performance, where framerates are often much higher on the same systems.

General performance is poor: Many players describe the overall performance as terrible, atrocious, or abysmal, even on top-tier hardware. The game is frequently called poorly optimized and unstable.

Battle performance varies wildly: Battle framerates range from a solid 60-120 FPS on high settings to drops as low as 9 FPS or 30 FPS in large engagements. Performance is often inconsistent, especially in 4v4 or unit-heavy clashes.

Some report smooth performance: A number of reviewers report running the game smoothly at high framerates (e.g., 100+ FPS at 1440p or 4K) without major issues. This indicates that performance can be good on certain hardware configurations.

Frequent crashes reported: Players experience frequent crashes during battles, sieges, multiplayer, and menus. Some crashes prevent battle completion entirely, severely impacting playability.

Not Worth Full Price: A strong recurring theme is that this remaster is not worth its full asking price. Players suggest waiting for a deep sale or sticking with the original rather than paying full price.

Owners Should Keep Original: Many reviewers who already own the original Shogun 2 advise keeping it and avoiding this remaster. They see little reason to spend extra money on a version that does not clearly improve on the original experience.

Do Not Buy At All: A large group of reviewers strongly warn against purchasing this game entirely, calling it a waste of money. They do not recommend it even at a discount or for free.

Wait for Discount: Even those who might recommend the game often advise waiting for a discount or loyalty upgrade price. The consensus is that the current value proposition only makes sense at a significantly reduced price.

Play Original Instead: Many players recommend skipping this remaster and playing the original Shogun 2 instead. They argue the original offers a better or equivalent experience without the issues of this version.

Community fair range: $10.00 - $30.00.

Session length: 2.0h.

Reports consistently describe the remaster as failing to become fun: broken multiplayer, poor optimization, and persistent bugs dominate, while positive notes about the tutorial or co-op eventually connecting do not establish a clear time-to-fun transition.

Friction: Multiplayer matchmaking and lobby join failures; Co-op invite and session setup issues; Poor optimization and stuttering; Crashes and freezes in multiplayer menus; Buggy UI and unresponsive unit controls; Unfixed legacy bugs and missing mod support.

Total War Franchise Veteran: Plays long single-player historical campaigns, often on higher difficulties, and has bought across the whole Total War catalog. Motivation: Franchise loyalty and reliving the classic Shogun 2 experience they have already sunk hundreds of hours into. Stance: no buy.

Casual Returnee and Curious Newcomer: Short single-player campaign sessions of a few hours, without mods or deep meta play. Motivation: Nostalgic, low-commitment enjoyment of an accessible historical campaign. Stance: sale.

Multiplayer and Co-op Enthusiast: Focuses on avatar conquest, drop-in battles, custom multiplayer lobbies, and co-op sessions. Motivation: Competitive PvP battles and co-op multiplayer campaigns with friends. Stance: no buy.

Across the returned cohorts, performance ranges from mixed to negative: lower-VRAM groups are mostly negative, the 8-11GB and mid-VRAM/high-RAM groups are mixed, and 16GB+ VRAM is negative. Higher VRAM or RAM does not reliably prevent frame drops, crashes, CPU bottlenecks, or poor optimization.

Windows 8-11GB VRAM: mixed. Reports are split: many users run battles at 60-100 FPS on high/Ultra settings, but others cite campaign-map drops, lag, crashes, and poor optimization, including 25-30 FPS or severe frame drops.

Windows 12-15GB VRAM / 16-31GB RAM: mixed. Several users report 100-150 FPS with DLSS and smooth 1440p play, while others report abysmal campaign/battle performance, CPU bottlenecks, Linux launch failure, and crashes despite adequate VRAM.

Windows <8GB VRAM / 16-31GB RAM: negative. Poor optimization dominates: campaign frame rates often stay near or below 40 FPS, battles drop to 30-40 FPS or crash, and multiple users report crashes in the first battle.

Steam Deck: The Steam Deck audit is dominated by compatibility and stability failures. Multiple users report the game will not launch on SteamOS/Steam Deck under any Proton configuration, and others report frequent crashes, save crashes, poor performance, incomplete UI scaling, and degraded AI-upscaled visuals. The SteamOS/Proton launch failure alone meets the Broken category (70-100), so the score is 100.

Linux and Proton: The filtered reviews consistently report that the game fails to launch on Linux through Proton, including on SteamOS and Bazzite. One user describes it as extremely difficult to get running, and another notes that it would not start in any Proton configuration. The evidence points to a severe Linux/Proton compatibility failure rather than a minor tweak or isolated issue.

Monetization: The reviews for this Shogun 2 remaster repeatedly use the phrase 'cash grab,' but the underlying complaints concern the upfront boxed price ($40) and the $10 owner-upgrade fee, along with technical and quality issues such as unit responsiveness, optimization, and AI-upscaled artwork. The 'cash grab' framing targets a one-time purchase whose price bundles all prior DLC and both versions of the game, and several reviewers explicitly note the deal is fair or even cheaper than buying the content separately. No review provides direct evidence of an in-game store, real-money currency, loot boxes, gacha pulls, battle passes, paid power, or paid convenience. The Real Money Gate is not passed, so gameplay and pricing frustration cannot be scored as predatory monetization.

External guides: The audit centered on the 'Wiki Tax' external data dependency. The dominant feedback theme is the in-game encyclopedia (the 'Shogun 2 Wikipedia'), which users rely on as reference/instructional data for unit stats and game content, but which they find outdated, incomplete, and low quality - driving them toward external wikis. A secondary cluster reports alt-tab crashes, bugs, and lost settings. No farming, drop-rate, loot-table, inventory, crafting, or blueprint complaints were present, so Tier 1 and Tier 2 do not apply. Because the leading barrier is the need for data to look up and learn in-game content and stat explanations, the strict priority hierarchy lands on Tier 3.

Performance worse than original Shogun 2: Reviewers repeatedly report lower FPS and worse optimization than the original Shogun 2, especially with anti-aliasing enabled. Some say the original ran smoothly while this version struggles even after reducing settings.

Shogun 2 comparison dominates feedback: Most discussion compares this release directly to the original Shogun 2, with many calling it a prettier but technically weaker remaster. Recurring complaints mention worse performance and visuals despite updated assets and UI.

Complete Edition includes base game and DLC: Buying the Complete Edition grants access to the original game and all DLCs. This is seen as the main way to obtain the original title now that it is delisted.

Limited-time loyalty discounts for owners: Existing owners of the original Shogun 2 receive a temporary 75% discount on this release. Many criticize that the offer is time-limited rather than a permanent upgrade path.

Steam Workshop replaced by mod.io: The removal of Steam Workshop support in favor of mod.io is a frequent complaint. Many players feel this makes modding less convenient and are waiting for Workshop integration.