Total War’s next historical themed game is coming March 7, 2019. Three Kingdoms is the first non-expansion historical game to hit the franchise since 2015’s Total War: Attila. Since then, we’ve seen a couple of historical games hit. But they were either DLC for existing games or built using the same engine as an earlier game.
Total War: Three Kingdoms gives fans who might not like the more fantasy-oriented Warhammer series what they want. There’s going to be a heavy dose of mythology sprinkled throughout the game, but you won’t be fighting against rats or lizard people.
Today’s trailer revealing the release date also gives us a look at the early-adopter DLC coming at launch. The Yellow Turban Rebellion often serves as a punching bag for the Dynasty Warrior series, but it was a 21-year peasant revolt against the Eastern Han Dynasty that left millions dead.
The Yellow Turban Rebellion DLC pack serves as the game’s pre-order bonus. One of these days, all this preorder nonsense will be done. At least, it’s not a pay extra and play a couple of days early. There’s a trend that’s ridiculous.
There is a little bit of good news about the preorder bonus. According to Creative Assembly, anyone who buys within the first week of launch gets the DLC free. At least we can wait for reviews to hit before jumping at the free DLC opportunity.
The amount of stuff packed in the Yellow Turban Rebellion DLC pack sounds hefty.
– A brand-new sub-culture to play as: rekindle the Yellow Turban Rebellion, lead their struggle against the corrupt Han and bring about the Era of Great Peace
– Three new playable Warlords; He Yi, Gong Du, and Huang Shao
– Three new hero classes: Healer, Scholar, and Veteran
– A unique and versatile unit roster composed of a cross-section of society: Militias formed from the forgotten and downtrodden masses fight side by side with disgruntled soldiers, religious zealots and former officials, united in a common cause
– Brand new approach to technology focusing on interpreting the ‘Three Books of Great Peace’
– New character skills focused on the three virtues of Taoism: Frugality, Compassion, and Humility
– New weapons and armour suitable for the new heroes.
While pre-order stuff will always be BS, Three Kingdoms gameplay looks solid, and I can’t wait to play it. Here’s a look at a night battle from the Total War channel.
Here’s one more video showing the entire battle.