Info about A Total War Saga: THRONES OF BRITANNIA:

Official game description:
Total War Academy
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THRONES OF BRITANNIA – Steel & Statecraft Update
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Today we’ve released a new update for A Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia. The Steel and Statecraft update builds on some existing mechanics and also address some player feedback from the last update.  
Among other things, the update implements a new Political Difficulty option. We understand that some players like to challenge themselves with political manoeuvring, while others prefer to stay away from such back-stabbing. You can now tweak this area of the game separately from Campaign Difficulty. The politics system is also undergoing some other changes, particularly in the events that come about as the result of political actions.  
Here are some more highlights of the changes that have been made.  
**Estates Overhaul**  
The purpose of Estates was to add challenges in managing a kingdom where each noble is playing the game of intrigue, looking to grab more power and land for themselves. However, the system didn’t have as much impact as we’d have liked, which is why Estates have received a rework to better represent a king granting land to his more important lords, thus ensuring their devotion to the crown. With the power of land ownership comes a responsibility for the owner to properly tend to his holdings – each Estate will offer a positive effect if given to the proper lord, or a negative one if the noble is not suited to presiding over such lands.  
The nobles in turn do not sit idly, hoping for deeds to fall in their lap. The Estate Desire traits, which characters previously gained, have been replaced with requests, directed towards the crown in the form of missions. Every so often a lord in your faction will ask to be granted Estates, offering a reward in return. But if you deem the noble ineligible or sense malicious intent, and you ignore their request, their loyalty will start to waiver.  
We’ve added more weight to managing your Estates, and to help with that we’ve reorganized the Estates interface. Each lord will list the effects that they provide from Estates they own. Moving Estates around has been made easier – clicking on an Estate will grant it to the selected character on the left. Beware, however, of dealing with Estates that are not in the king’s possession – nobles are quite attached to their lands and will rarely part with them without repercussions.  
**Traits**  
Traits depict the story of each character; their upbringing, their personality and the events that have occurred in their lifetime. Sifting through each character’s history can be cumbersome, which is why we’ve stacked traits into groups. Each trait group is now represented by a banner, with all effects of the traits within listed underneath. Clicking on a banner will list all traits within that group, giving a detailed account of the noble’s qualities.  
As mentioned previously, each trait group will list how it affects a character’s Estates. The group with the most traits will be marked with a large yellow icon, showing the lord’s dominant characteristics and what effects they grant to the noble’s land ownership.  
**Recruitment Revamp**  
Recruitment in Thrones of Britannia is chance based, similar to the way in which mercenaries worked in previous titles. While it’s an interesting challenge to build armies with imperfect composition and size, it has downsides too, such as elite units appearing scarcely, and losing your painstakingly assembled army can be a devastating blow to your campaign.  
We’ve replaced this chance-based system with cooldowns. When a unit type is recruited, there’s now a set number of turns before another becomes available. This retains the sense of choice limitation, but rewards planning and removes the random punishment of not having enough units simply because they didn’t appear in the recruitment pool.  
The time it takes to build a full army can be lengthy, so recruitment events have been added, granting a quick supply of units to help with defending territories, or adding a helpful push to your conquering.  
Buildings, technologies and faction mechanics have all received new effects to improve the recruitment times of units. We’ve also eased the unlock requirements of military technologies, to make meaningful choices in army management more accessible.  
**Book of Traits (Trait Browser)**  
With the added importance of character traits, we believe there is more purpose to managing your characters, seeking their best development. All traits present in the game are now listed in the Book of Traits along with the condition of their acquisition.  
The details of a trait will be locked until the player acquires that trait for the first time. (We still want players to experiment and discover traits on their own, but unlocked trait information will now be readily available).  
The Book of Traits is persistent between campaigns, allowing players to hunt for a specific trait in a later playthrough.  
**Buildings & Settlement Maps**  
Villages are getting a second, alternative building path straight from level 2. This should give players the opportunity to fine-tune their economy through minor settlements. The existing paths are vastly unchanged (safe for some minor balance tweaks) for an easier transition.  
We’ve also created some new buildings that will feature on all settlement maps (both major ones and villages).  
• Viking Gatehouse  
• Viking Long Hall  
• Viking Turf-roof Hall  
• Viking Drinking Hall  
• Viking House 1  
• Viking House 2  
• Viking House 3  
• Viking House 4  
• Anglo-Saxon Chieftains House  
• Anglo-Saxon Great Hall (under construction)  
**New Major Settlement Maps**  
Since siege battles in Thrones of Britannia have been popular, we’re making two brand new settlement maps, one based on Bebbanburg Castle, and the other on The Rock of Cashel.  
• Map 1 - based on Bebbanburg Castle (used in-game for Bebbanburg and Eidenburg)  
• Map 2 - based on Rock of Cashel (used in-game for Caisil and Grianán Aileach)  
**Mod Support**  
Last but by no means least, we’ve made a couple of changes to help out Modders. Most notably, the Recruitment window can now accommodate any number of custom units (with a scroll-bar). Also retail pack files now contain exported binaries for all basic UI components, in addition to the already existing composite templates.  
**And That’s Not All…**  
The update features improvements to lots of other areas of the game, including updates to battle AI, performance optimisations, visual improvements, UI enhancements and more.
About the Game
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**A Total War™ Saga: Thrones of Britannia**
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The year is 878 AD, the embattled English king Alfred the Great has mounted a heroic defence at the battle of Edington, and blunted the Viking invasion. Chastened – but not yet broken – the Norse warlords have settled across Britain. For the first time in nearly 80 years, the land is in a fragile state of peace.  
Throughout this sceptred isle, the kings of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales sense a time of change approaching; a time of opportunity. There will be treaties. There will be war. There will be turns of fortune that become the stuff of legend, in a saga that charts the ascent of one of history’s greatest nations.  
_Kings will rise. One will rule._  
Thrones of Britannia is a standalone Total War game which will challenge you to re-write a critical moment in history, one that will come to define the future of modern Britain. With ten playable factions, you must build and defend a kingdom to the glory of Anglo-Saxons, Gaelic clans, Welsh tribes or Viking settlers. Forge alliances, manage burgeoning settlements, raise armies and embark on campaigns of conquest across the most detailed Total War map to date.  
**Choose your strategy**  
The Grand Campaign offers multiple routes to a glorious Victory; aggressively expand your territory through force of arms, acquire renown through construction, advanced technology and influence, or complete a series of unique objectives based on your chosen faction’s history. Once completed, steady yourself for a significant late-game challenge and the final, Ultimate victory condition.  
**Explore and conquer the British Isles**  
From the snowy highlands of Scotland to the orchards and meadows of Kent, push back the fog-of-war and unveil the extent of Anglo-Saxon Britain. Varied towns, cities and rural settings inspire a host of different battlefield environments. Experiment with the strategic opportunities afforded by newly capturable minor settlements. Throttle your enemies’ trade routes and coax them out of strong, defensible positions.  
**Viking warlord or Anglo-Saxon king, define their legend**  
Each faction will face a series of unique events and branching dilemmas, often based on authentic historical events and issues of the time. Embark on Viking expeditions, manage the Anglo-Saxon peasant economy, each faction feels and plays differently. Carve out unique roles for your King and Nobles, customise their impact by making meaningful choices about their development and determine how their story will unfold.  
**‘Classic’ Total War gameplay refined**  
Includes many updates to core Total War mechanics - such as provinces, politics, technologies, recruitment, dilemmas and much more - designed to make your experience more immersive and more meaningful.
**Playable factions, cultures and kings:**
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Thrones of Britannia will include ten playable factions, from five cultures, with a summary below.  
**The Anglo Saxons – West Seaxe and Mierce**  
When Roman rule in England concluded, new kingdoms of Germanic stock coalesced in the counties now known as Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Essex, Sussex, East Anglia and Kent. The peoples of these regions came collectively to be known as the Anglo Saxons.  
**West Seaxe**  
**Faction Leader: King Alfred**  
As the dominant Anglo-Saxon kingdom of southern England, the forces of West Seaxe – or Wessex in modern English – provided the isle’s primary resistance against the incursions of the Great Heathen Army. From the capital city of Winchester, Wessex conquered lands in Surrey, Sussex, Kent, Essex and even Mercia. Alfred’s dogged defense of the Danish invasion laid the foundations for Wessex to unite England under one ruler for the first time in 927 AD.  
**Mierce**  
**Faction Leader: Ceowulf**  
From its capital city of Tamworth, the kings of Mierce – known now as Merica - ruled the area now known as the Midlands. At its height, Mierce stretched from Northumbria in the north of England to Kent, Sussex and Wessex to the south. In 877 AD, the Great Heathen Army seized the eastern part of the kingdom to form the Danelaw, or East Engle.  
**The Gaels – Mide and Circenn**  
Gaelic culture initially developed in Ireland, their society built around a system of clans and chieftains. They raided and traded with Roman settlements, and by 878 AD had expanded from Ireland to inhabit much of Scotland.  
With the influx of the Vikings, some raiders settled in Gaelic lands, becoming the Norse-Gaels. The Scottish Gaels would absorb the Picts to become the Kingdom of Alba – essentially setting the blueprint for modern Scotland.  
**Mide**  
**Faction Leader: King Flann Sinna**  
Mide lies at the heart of Ireland. Not just geographically, but politically, intellectually and spiritually. Many High Kings have risen from Mide, and its current ruler, Flann Sinna, aspires to that title.  
With many fellow Irish factions nearby, Mide is in a position to potentially bring the disparate clans together, and usher in an era of Irish prosperity. However, threats are never far away… the Vikings of Dyflin have settled to the east, and their power and influence are growing. Will Mide strive to keep the uneasy peace? Unite the clans in a war against these Norse settlers? Or find some other route to supremacy?  
**Circenn**  
**Faction Leader: Áed mac Cináeda**  
Circenn was in origin Pictish, but became more heavily influenced by the Gaels and other peoples over time as they were driven away from the relentless Viking raids. 878 AD marked the end of the Viking invasions, but Circenn’s troubles were far from over. While she had a firm hold over the eastern coast of Scotland, many threats still exist – both within and without.  
Scoan, the capital of Circenn, was once home to the legendary Stone of Destiny, said to bestow divine strength on her people. Where the stone now resides is a mystery, but if clues can be found, surely the Stone’s recovery would be an adventure worth undertaking…  
**The Welsh – Gwined and Strat Clut**  
The Welsh Kingdoms descended from the Celtic Britons who occupied much of the island of Britain from the Iron Age, into and beyond its Romanisation in the First Century.  
Ironically, the term ‘Welsh’ derives from the Anglo-Saxon term for foreigner, ‘wealas’, which they applied to the native Britons. The Anglo-Saxons flourished and many of the old Brittonic kingdoms began to disappear.  
**Gwined**  
**Faction Leader: King Anaraut**  
The people of Gwined have some claim to the title of 'true Britons', having been driven to the far west by invaders who now call themselves ‘English’. Renowned both for their bardic arts and their skill with the longbow, the Welsh of Gwined thrived under the leadership of Rhodri Mawr.  
Rhodri kept Gwined largely free of Vikings and other invaders while expanding its borders. Now he is gone and his lands are divided.  
**Strat Clut**  
**Faction Leader: Run**  
Strat Clut is a kingdom of the Old North that can be traced back to the Fifth Century and the Celtic Britons. The realm was formerly based at the fortress of Alt Clut but driven out by a Viking invasion in 870. The current King Artgal was taken captive and reportedly killed in mysterious circumstances. The kingdom reformed further into the valley of the River Clyde under the leadership of his only son Run.  
**The Great Viking Army – Northymbre and East Engle**  
In 865 AD, Ragnar’s sons led the Great Viking Army and made landfall in East Anglia. Over the next 15 years the Vikings ranged high and low, from Wessex to The Clyde, conquering towns, claiming victories and suffering their share of defeats until the Battle of Edington in 878 AD, where its leader Guthrum met his match in the young King Alfred and his West Saxon army. Bested in the field, his forces retreated in disarray to a nearby fortress. Flush with success, Alfred’s men gave chase and laid siege. After a fortnight of starvation, the invaders surrendered.  
Under the terms of his capitulation, Guthrum was baptised into Christianity and he and his men were allowed to return to East Anglia and settle – provided they kept Alfred’s peace, of course.  
Defeated, but never humbled, the Vikings seethe with an all-consuming rage. One does not cage the wolf without consequence…  
**Northymbre**  
**Faction Leader: Guthfrid**  
When the Vikings arrived in Northumbria in 867 AD, they took the city of York – or Eoferwic, as was – for their stronghold. And what a bastion it was, with its formidable Roman walls still standing strong 700 years on. King Aelle of Northumbria attempted to wrest the city back from the Danes, but was captured during the attack. In retribution for Aelle’s execution of their father, the sons of Ragnar made an example of him with the horrifying Blood Eagle ritual.  
Northumbria remained under Viking control and, after the battle of Edington and the subsequent treaty of Wedmore, a portion of the Great Viking Army marched back to Northumbria, to settle under Alfred’s peace.  
**East Engle**  
**Faction Leader: Guthrum**  
Forming the bulk of Britannia’s south-easterly coast, East Engle was the staging-point of the Great Viking Army’s invasion, and the region where many of its warriors settled after the Battle of Edington. Under the rule of the Danish leader Guthrum (or Æthelstan, to use his adoptive name by Alfred) it would ultimately come to be known as the Danelaw.  
Yet still, some fight remains in the Danes of East Engle. One does not shed the mantle of glory and become a landsman overnight.  
**The Viking Sea Kings – Dyflin and Sudreyar**  
After nearly a century of escalating raids, the Vikings left an indelible stamp on Britannia, altering the course of its history forever. Not least of all culturally, as many smaller bands of Vikings had settled around the isles prior to Alfred’s defeat of the Great Viking army.  
These smaller factions traded an existence of ceaseless conflict for a new life in Britannia, establishing their own petty principalities, intermarrying and ultimately becoming part of the warp-and-woof of Britannic life. This mingling of cultures, so emblematic of British history, helped create the rich melting-pot of attitudes, beliefs and language that has made the isles and their people so unique.  
Some Vikings never truly settled however; their designs were grander, their hunger for conquest and greatness unquenched. These Sea Kings would continue their bellicose work, heedless of any decree from England’s upstart ruler…  
**Dyflin**  
**Faction Leader: Bardr**  
Dyflin was a major port town on the east coast of Ireland, and the site of Britannia’s largest slave market. It was a major site of Viking occupation, and was ruled until 873 by the Viking lord Imar, often associated with Ivar the Boneless, a son of the legendary Viking warlord Ragnar Lothbrok. Viking raiders had wintered there as early as 840 AD, so their association with the region had been a long one, and over time their customs began to take on a more Gaelic flavour as the slow process of integration took its course.  
By 878 AD however, Imar’s son Bardr was firmly established on the throne. Would this ambitious Viking ruler seek to seal a lasting peace with the surrounding Gaelic factions? Or return to the ways of Ragnar, and pursue a path of bloodshed and domination? It is hard to ignore the calling of one’s warrior-blood…  
**Sudreyar**  
**Faction Leader: Eirik**  
To the west of Alba lies Sudreyar, the Kingdom of the Southern Isles. Comprising the southern Hebrides, these scattered islands were sparsely populated and, bearing the full brunt of the Atlantic weather, were not lands suited to the less-hardy.  
Like much of Britannia, these islands saw increasing Viking contact from the 8th Century. Prior to this period they formed part of the Gaelic kingdom of Dalriada, until they fell under Viking control. Over the next century, Scandinavian occupancy took on a distinctly Gaelic flavour (and vice-versa), particularly after 872 AD when Harald Fairhair became king of Norway, and his former opponents flocked to the area.  
Materially poor, but offering an excellent base for those of a nautical bent, the isles of Sudreyar are a perfect staging-post for raiders and explorers.

Release date: 2 May, 2018

Categories: Turn-based Strategy, Real-time Strategy, Strategic Combat, Resource Management, Political & Espionage Systems, Unit Management, Open-World Exploration, Single-player Story


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Immersive visuals and sound design (weight 0.84): The game features immersive visuals, a well-designed map, and excellent sound design that enhances the historical setting. The atmosphere effectively captures the essence of the Viking Age and Dark Age Britain, making the game captivating.
- Engaging, strategic battles and sieges (weight 0.69): Battles are engaging due to strategic army placement, realistic formations, and satisfying combat mechanics. Sieges are a highlight, featuring varied fortress designs and ample room for maneuver. The game rewards tactical thinking and careful resource management.
- Streamlined, focused Total War gameplay (weight 0.46): The game streamlines Total War gameplay by reducing micromanagement and supply line penalties. It offers a more focused and faster-paced experience, while still retaining the core elements of the series. This makes it accessible and enjoyable for players seeking a more direct strategic experience.
- Enjoyable, immersive historical experience (weight 0.31): The game is enjoyable, especially for those interested in the historical period it's set in. It provides a captivating and immersive experience, with a well-done economic system and engaging historical basis.
- Strategic recruitment and territory systems (weight 0.21): The game features a strategic recruitment system that requires careful planning and resource management. Unit replenishment takes time, making army losses impactful and encouraging diverse army compositions. The territory system adds depth to construction and economic decisions.
- Mods significantly enhance gameplay (weight 0.13): Mods, particularly those focusing on shieldwall mechanics and overhauls, significantly enhance the game. These mods improve combat realism, add new units, and address missing features, elevating the overall experience. The modding community plays a crucial role in expanding and improving the game.
- Well-designed, detailed campaign map (weight 0.12): The game features a well-designed and detailed campaign map that is large enough to provide ample territory to conquer. The map size makes the end game feel achievable, allowing for campaigns to be completed in a reasonable amount of time.
- Distinct and varied factions (weight 0.1): Factions have distinct personalities, aesthetics, and mechanics, creating diverse gameplay experiences. AI faction leaders' traits impact behavior, adding depth to the game. This variety enhances replayability and immersion.
- Stable and fun multiplayer experience (weight 0.09): The game offers a stable and enjoyable multiplayer experience, with no desynchronization issues reported. It also has good replayability and mod support, making it a fun and engaging game to play with friends.
- Deep and varied city building (weight 0.07): The game offers well-developed city building options with a wide array of choices. The city development system requires players to consider synergies and negative effects when building, adding depth to the economic and strategic aspects of the game.
- Interesting campaign mechanics (weight 0.07): The game introduces interesting campaign mechanics that provide some depth and enhance the overall player experience. Campaigns are generally shorter and feel less dragged out than previous titles.

Common complaints:
- Limited scope, content, replayability (weight 0.96): The game is criticized for its limited scope, including a small map, reduced unit variety, and a lack of overall content compared to other Total War titles. Many reviewers feel it resembles a DLC or a simplified version of previous games, such as Attila: Total War, rather than a full-fledged release. This limited scope impacts replayability and overall enjoyment for veteran players.
- Tedious, frustrating loyalty system (weight 0.82): The loyalty system is a major source of frustration, requiring constant micromanagement and gold expenditure to maintain the loyalty of generals and governors. The mechanics surrounding loyalty, such as granting estates and managing influence, feel tedious and out of place, often leading to civil wars and rebellions. This system detracts from the overall strategic gameplay and makes the game feel like a "Civil War Simulator."
- Unfair AI army spawning (weight 0.81): The AI's ability to spawn numerous armies, often behind player lines, and its tendency to target undefended settlements creates a frustrating and unbalanced experience. Random campaign events and rebellions further disrupt the gameplay, making it difficult to progress and maintain a stable empire. These issues contribute to a sense of artificial difficulty and detract from strategic decision-making.
- Technical issues, instability (weight 0.78): The game suffers from various technical issues, including frequent crashes, performance problems, and bugs that can disrupt gameplay. These issues make the game feel unpolished and unstable, detracting from the overall experience. The short update lifespan and lack of quality-of-life improvements further exacerbate these problems.
- Lacks key historical elements (weight 0.78): The game is criticized for lacking key historical elements, such as a religion system and significant historical events like the Battle of Hastings. The absence of these features detracts from the game's immersion and historical accuracy, making the setting feel less engaging. Some reviewers also feel the game's focus on the British Isles is too similar to Attila, leading to a sense of repetition.
- Poor AI, pathfinding issues (weight 0.77): The game suffers from poor AI behavior in both battles and on the campaign map, with units making illogical decisions and the AI being easily outsmarted. Pathfinding issues, especially for cavalry and during sieges, further detract from the gameplay experience. These issues make battles feel clunky and less strategic, diminishing the overall challenge and immersion.
- Harsh, restrictive resource management (weight 0.72): The dual resource requirement of money and food for recruiting units makes the game exceptionally difficult, especially in the early game. Players struggle to maintain their armies and expand their territories due to food shortages and financial constraints. This system can lead to a "Catch-22" situation where making the wrong choice can result in campaign failure.
- Cumbersome, unintuitive UI (weight 0.69): The game's user interface is often criticized for being complex, unintuitive, and visually unappealing. This makes it difficult for players to track important information and manage their empire effectively. The cumbersome UI adds to the overall frustration and detracts from the gameplay experience.
- Negative reputation, unbalanced difficulty (weight 0.26): The game has a negative reputation among many players, with some considering it a failure or an embarrassment to the Total War series. Some reviewers feel the game relies too much on random number generation (RNG) and artificial difficulty, making it less strategic and more frustrating. This negative perception may deter potential players from trying the game.
- Overcomplicated, underwhelming mechanics (weight 0.09): Some reviewers find the game's mechanics to be overly complicated or underwhelming, with unique events and dilemmas having minimal impact. The traits system can feel overwhelming, and random events can seem arbitrary. These issues detract from the overall fun factor and make the game feel less engaging.

Gameplay feedback:
- Unique, strategic unit recruitment (weight 0.31): The game features a unique recruitment system where units are instantly available but start with reduced strength, replenishing over time. This system affects army composition and encourages strategic decision-making, as players must balance immediate needs with long-term unit effectiveness. This system was later used in Warhammer 3 for demon recruitment.
- Limited unit variety/diversity (weight 0.22): Unit variety is limited, with many units being cosmetic variations and lacking distinct faction-specific traits. This homogenization reduces strategic depth and makes factions feel less unique compared to previous Total War titles. The game also loses unique features from Rome 2 and Attila.
- Focused, detailed historical setting (weight 0.18): The game is set in the British Isles during the Viking Age, offering a more focused and detailed historical experience compared to other Total War games. The map is scaled to a decent size, but the scope is smaller, limiting technological advancements and troop diversity. The game also allows you to start a new campaign as Wessex, the Welsh, Scotland or even the Vikings.
- Simplified internal politics (weight 0.13): The game features internal politics and character loyalty mechanics, requiring players to manage nobles, distribute estates, and prevent rebellions. However, the impact of these mechanics can feel superficial, with estates lacking inherent value and the system feeling like pointless busywork. Nobles require conquered lands (estates) to remain loyal.
- Crucial resource management (weight 0.08): Resource management (Gold, Food, Loyalty, Supplies) is crucial for maintaining faction stability. Balancing these resources directly impacts the kingdom's stability, requiring players to carefully manage their economy and internal affairs. All units cost 10 food to recruit, requiring players to develop farms before building large armies.
- Unique faction mechanics (weight 0.06): Each faction possesses unique mechanics and advantages, providing some replayability and altering gameplay. Factions include Gaels, Anglo-Saxons, Welsh, and Vikings, each with unique cultural mechanics. As Gwined, the reviewer generated heroism which gives buffs simply by playing.
- Simplified diplomacy system (weight 0.06): Diplomacy is simplified, with limited options for forced confederations and low penalties for breaking treaties. Non-aggression pacts and trade agreements are combined into a single 'Declaration of Friendship' option. Diplomacy is absent as a feature.
- Slow army movement/resupply (weight 0.05): Army movement is slow due to disproportionate army size relative to the map, and armies require resupply, limiting strategic options. This can lead to slow game progression and reduced playability on the strategic map. Campaigns feel shorter than in other Total War games.
- Generals' RPG-like progression (weight 0.04): Generals can be customized with retinues and traits as they level up, adding an RPG-like element to character development. Buildings and retainers give generals traits that have important effects. Generals/governors have new traits related to their actions and locations.
- Fun Viking gameplay (weight 0.04): The Viking faction is fun to play, benefiting from naval advantages and strong axe infantry. The Viking faction benefits from immunity to attrition in ocean regions and lacks sea battle penalties, making them powerful in naval warfare. Axe infantry are particularly strong with the Viking faction.
- Casual, easier gameplay (weight 0.04): The game is more casual and easier compared to previous titles, making it accessible to most players. The game is slow-paced. The game's core gameplay is the same as usual, with no specific details provided.

Performance notes:
- Inconsistent performance and optimization (weight 0.23): The game's performance and optimization are mixed. While some players report smooth gameplay and optimized performance, especially compared to 'Attila: Total War,' others experience crashes, lag, and FPS drops, particularly during large battles or on specific maps. Some reviewers note that the game runs well even on lower-end hardware.
- Game crashes randomly (weight 0.03): Several reviews mention random crashes that interrupt gameplay. This is a critical issue that directly impacts the player experience and should be addressed.
- Slow turn times (weight 0.01): Some players are experiencing long turn times, which can interrupt the flow of gameplay. This is a specific, actionable issue that impacts the player experience.
- Broken achievements (weight 0.01): Some players have reported that achievements are not working as intended. This is a specific issue that detracts from the player experience.
- Wants more detailed mountains (weight 0.01): One reviewer expresses a desire for more detailed and impressive mountain ranges, similar to those in 'Warhammer,' particularly for the 'Three Kingdoms' setting. This is a specific suggestion for enhancing the game's visual appeal and world-building.

Recommendations:
- Buy only on sale (weight 0.81): A common sentiment is that the game is only worth purchasing at a significant discount due to perceived shortcomings or lack of content for the full price. Many suggest waiting for a sale before buying, with specific price points mentioned.
- Recommended for series/era fans (weight 0.63): Many reviewers recommend the game, especially to Total War fans interested in the specific historical setting. Some suggest it's a good entry point for newcomers or those seeking a more focused experience. However, opinions vary, with some considering it among the best or worst in the series.
- Alternatives offer better experience (weight 0.56): Several reviewers suggest that other Total War titles, particularly Attila, Rome 2, or Shogun 2, offer a better or more complete experience. Some feel this game lacks depth or is too similar to Attila, recommending those games instead.
- Underrated; try with open mind (weight 0.25): Some reviewers feel the game is underrated or that initial negative reviews are no longer accurate. They see potential in the game's mechanics and encourage players to try it, especially with an open mind.
- Extremely negative, lacks detail (weight 0.21): Some reviews express strong negative opinions, calling the game "garbage" or a "pathetic TW game". These reviews often lack specific details and may be examples of review bombing.
- Mods improve the experience (weight 0.18): Several reviewers recommend using mods, particularly the "Shieldwall" mod, to improve the game's balance, mechanics, or overall experience. This suggests that the base game has flaws that can be addressed through modding.
- Mechanics tested for Three Kingdoms (weight 0.02): One reviewer suggests that some of the game's illogical mechanics may have been a testing ground for the Three Kingdoms game, which addressed these issues. This provides context for some of the game's design choices.

Other player notes:
- Engaging Viking-era historical setting (weight 0.11): The game is set in medieval England during the Viking invasions and focuses on internal conflicts and cultural struggles. Many reviewers appreciate the historical setting and art style, drawing comparisons to Viking dramas and historical texts. However, some suggest that the historical aspects could be further exploited.
- Built on Attila Total War engine (weight 0.05): The game is built on the same engine as Attila: Total War. This has implications for both performance and gameplay, with some reviewers noting similarities in the main menu theme and overall feel.
- Limited province customization options (weight 0.05): The game features province customization through major town buildings and minor village development paths. However, province customization is extremely limited, and province edicts are nonexistent.
- Thematic but indistinct art style (weight 0.03): The game employs a distinctive stained-glass art style. While thematic and visually appealing, this art style can make it difficult to quickly differentiate units based on their icons during gameplay.
- Missing historical battles (weight 0.02): The game lacks historical battles, a feature present in many other Total War titles. The presence of a button for historical battles in the main menu suggests that they may be added in a future update, but their absence is noted.
- Mide faction requires external raiding (weight 0.02): The Mide faction requires raiding outside of Ireland to maintain legitimacy. This is due to the absence of a legitimacy-boosting structure within their territory, forcing players to engage in potentially undesirable or difficult gameplay to remain viable.
- No longer under development (weight 0.01): The game is no longer under active development. This means that no new content, features, or balance changes are expected to be released for the game in the future.

Emotions:
No emotions}