Total War: Warhammer 3 hits like a mallet on modern video cards: the work done by Creative Assembly, study behind the title licensed by Games Workshop, was once again manic, painstaking in several respects to the point that in review we often found ourselves zooming in to enjoy the battle "up close" as the long shot does not in part return the justice it deserves. Although the glance is not so different from that of the previous chapter, the details make the difference and everything starts as always on a bloody battlefield, typical of the fantasy world where our heroes move. Without delay, let's immerse ourselves in this bloodbath!
A never ending story
Leading the men of the Tsarat of Kislev we will have to face an arduous challenge (not necessary, but we advise you not to skip the tutorial on foot if you are new to the genre) in search of the god of strength Ursun. Having overcome what could be an initial obstacle made up of a few hours of becoming familiar with the commands, we will be asked to choose one of the eight factions available in the game: One in seven Total War: Warhammer 3 factions is available (by the way: did you know that the game is free if you have access to Microsoft's Game Pass service? Here are the details) only if you have pre-ordered the game. Kingdom of the Ogre while the others are the classics Khorne, Nurgle, Slaanesh, Tzeentch, Grande Catai, and the two new factions they split into Tsarat of Kislev (already tried in the tutorial) e Demons of Chaos (clearly one of the most requested factions since the series came out). At the level of the plot, everything will go on according to the chosen faction, and consequently each situation is unique, net of pre-determined fights and actions taken by NPCs, one in particular that we certainly won't spoil you!
Factions at war
Excluding units that change from faction to faction, even the leader of each one comes chosen on the basis of different criteria, and his personal growth changes according to the events he runs into. The innate and specific abilities of the leader change and are customizable, but there is a peculiarity: Domains of Chaos differs from others in that their leader changes after each battle that he faces, actually modifying his own body. If you have faced the previous chapters of Total War: Warhammer you will immediately feel “at home”, in the sense that the fundamentals of the title have not changed much, net of an improved system in the options choice menu.
We can say that the game is divided in two. On the one hand, the raw battle that we know well, on the other the economic and political management of our faction, made up of cities and financial systems that allow us to develop and maintain our army: in the city we can empower our hero, hire Lord e troops, and finally manage the city itself, going to choose which buildings to build. It goes without saying that a border town will need more defense strongholds than one in the hinterland, where farming will be privileged. However, every choice is up to the player. There Diplomacy come back to being a shadow of itself: who has played the previous chapters in fact will know this aspect of the game well, for all the others know that although the word implies much more than "eating canapes at a party", the diplomacy in the game is quite bland, we could say almost superficial.
Often you will find yourself at an auction that will take place in the manner of "whoever bids the most wins", this is when you are not in front of impossible requests on the part of the game system which will make it impossible for you to be "diplomatic". We do not differ much from the flavor of the previous campaign: although this is a deliberate choice, we would have expected something more from Creative Assembly, but we understand how much the development team did not want to upset the fans.
The map is approx twice of the previous one, and although it is too early to talk about it, know that if you have all three titles, in the future it will be possible to play an overall campaign of biblical proportions. The already proven system of Lord (which must be placed at the head of the armies in battle) and Heroes (which are in turn exploited in the field but as troops) expresses itself at its best, to the point that we could stay here talking about it for hours but in order to avoid boring you, we tell you that customization is almost infinite.
One way and a thousand occasions
Total War: Warhammer 3, as you will have understood by reading the review, it is a tribute to itself, and it is no coincidence that he is defined the undisputed King of his kind, to the point that there are no challengers on the field and in fact the title represents a unicum in the videogame scenario. See huge armies facing each other has always been a spectacle, if you then add the possibility of being game directors, well, everything takes on a different flavor. Artificial intelligence has neither changed nor worsened: if you are veterans, the tactics learned so far will be fine, if you are newbies get ready for an enemy who will hardly be fooled and who will almost never be reckless (unlike you!). The epic of the soundtrack encloses everything in a riot of beauty and majesty. If you are not interested in the main campaign, rest assured, because you can spend hours on it Something Rotten in Kislev which will allow you quick three-player games online, Darkness & Disharmony instead it will put you in front of a free-for-all against the demonic faction that will attack you en masse. In short, there is something for all tastes.
Review
- Total War: Warhammer 3 (Tested on PC) 8 Final grade
Total War: Warhammer 3 is a very complex title, capable of embarrassing anyone, even the most experienced tactical player: while the Creative Assembly formula has not changed on paper, it has been revisited and improved where possible. Of course, it is not free from flaws such as the presence of the Diplomacy function, which has always been a flaw in the saga, but net of this, the title is a real feast for the eyes and for lovers of the genre.
