The Total War series has been making players lose sleep since 2000. You tell yourself you’ll end your turn after securing one province. Five hours later you’ve conquered half of Europe, accidentally declared war on three neighbours, and your economy has collapsed because you spent everything on elite cavalry. Classic Total War.
Across more than two decades, Creative Assembly has experimented with samurai, Roman legions, medieval knights, Napoleon’s armies, mythical monsters, Chinese warlords and even the Warhammer universe. Some games completely reshaped the strategy genre. Others… well, let’s just say they had interesting ideas.
Ranking every Total War game is never going to satisfy everyone. Ask ten fans and you’ll probably get twelve different lists. Some players love deep historical realism, others enjoy commanding dragons and magic. That’s part of what makes the franchise so enduring.
This ranking considers each game’s campaign depth, battlefield gameplay, replay value, innovation, long-term support and overall legacy within the series.
How We Ranked the Total War Games
A great Total War game needs far more than spectacular battles. The very best entries combine strategic decision making with memorable campaigns and tactical combat that remains satisfying hundreds of hours later.
The rankings consider:
- Campaign depth and replayability
- Battlefield tactics and unit variety
- Artificial intelligence and challenge
- Historical authenticity or effective world building
- Technical performance
- Modding support
- Community reception
- Long-term influence on the franchise
With that settled, let’s begin at the bottom.
17. Total War Battles: Kingdom
Release: 2016
There was never much doubt about this one.
Total War Battles: Kingdom attempted to bring the franchise to mobile devices with persistent kingdom management and simplified real time combat. While the idea sounded interesting on paper, it lacked the strategic depth that fans expected.
Building settlements over real-world time quickly became frustrating, while the battles felt stripped down compared with even the earliest PC entries.
Strengths
- Accessible for newcomers
- Attractive visual style
- Interesting terrain manipulation mechanics
Weaknesses
- Simplified combat
- Limited tactical options
- Heavy emphasis on timers and progression systems
- Little resemblance to the core Total War experience
Verdict
Kingdom was an experiment that never truly captured what makes Total War special. It remains a curious footnote rather than an essential entry.
16. Total War: Arena
Release: Open Beta 2018 (later discontinued)
Arena deserves some sympathy.
Creative Assembly tried something genuinely different by creating a multiplayer focused Total War where teams of players controlled small groups of units instead of entire armies.
Matches could be exciting, particularly when coordination worked well. Unfortunately the game struggled to build a lasting player base.
Without the grand campaign that defines the franchise, Arena felt like half of a Total War experience.
Strengths
- Excellent multiplayer teamwork
- Quick, enjoyable battles
- Strong commander abilities
Weaknesses
- No campaign
- Limited progression
- Eventually shut down
Verdict
Arena showed flashes of brilliance but ultimately became an interesting experiment rather than a lasting success.
15. Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia
Release: 2018
Few Total War games divide opinion quite like Thrones of Britannia.
Set after the Viking invasions of Britain, it focused on a smaller geographical area and more detailed kingdom management. Recruitment and army systems introduced clever ideas that later appeared elsewhere.
The problem was scale.
Players coming from Rome II or Attila often expected sweeping continental campaigns. Instead they found a more intimate conflict with fewer factions and limited unit diversity.
Today it is arguably more appreciated than it was at launch.
What It Did Well
- Excellent depiction of Anglo-Saxon Britain
- Strong campaign pacing
- Improved recruitment mechanics
- Atmospheric soundtrack
Where It Fell Short
- Limited faction variety
- Similar unit rosters
- Smaller campaign scope
Verdict
An underrated historical title that rewards players willing to embrace its slower pace, though it never quite reached the heights of the mainline games.
14. Total War Saga: Troy
Release: 2020
Troy walked an awkward line between history and mythology.
Creative Assembly initially marketed it as a grounded Bronze Age strategy game before gradually embracing mythical creatures and legendary heroes through later expansions.
That identity crisis made it difficult to please everyone.
Despite this, the campaign introduced excellent resource management using multiple economic resources rather than a single currency. Diplomacy also received meaningful improvements.
Battles looked spectacular, particularly around the walls of Troy itself.
Strengths
- Beautiful Bronze Age setting
- Outstanding art direction
- Multi-resource economy
- Improved diplomacy
Weaknesses
- Limited unit variety
- Identity split between history and myth
- Heroes could dominate battles
Verdict
A better game than many expected, though it lacked the staying power of the strongest historical releases.
13. Empire: Total War
Release: 2009
Empire might have the biggest gap between ambition and execution in the history of Total War.
The sheer scale remains astonishing even today.
Players could command empires across Europe, North America and India while engaging in naval battles that completely transformed the series.
The problem was that many systems simply were not ready.
Artificial intelligence struggled, bugs appeared everywhere and campaign performance could become unpredictable. Veteran players will remember armies wandering aimlessly or ships deciding that basic navigation was merely a suggestion.
Yet despite its flaws, Empire introduced ideas that changed Total War forever.
Why Players Still Love Empire
- Massive global campaign
- Revolutionary naval warfare
- Gunpowder combat
- Colonial expansion
- Strong modding community
Biggest Problems
- Weak artificial intelligence
- Technical issues
- Campaign bugs
- Unreliable pathfinding
Verdict
Empire remains one of the franchise’s most ambitious releases. It aimed for the stars, occasionally landed on the moon, and sometimes crashed directly into the Atlantic. Even so, many fans still return because no other Total War quite captures its global sense of scale.
12. Napoleon: Total War
Release: 2010
Empire may have been the ambitious older sibling, but Napoleon was the one that actually finished its homework.
Rather than attempting to simulate half the globe, Napoleon focused on a tighter campaign centred around one of history’s greatest military commanders. The result was a far more polished experience with better artificial intelligence, improved visuals and significantly refined gunpowder warfare.
The campaign follows Napoleon Bonaparte’s rise through Italy, Egypt and Europe before allowing players to rewrite history entirely. Battles feel faster and more responsive than Empire, with artillery finally behaving like the battlefield king it was meant to be.
The smaller scale disappointed some players, but the increased quality more than compensated.
Strengths
- Excellent gunpowder combat
- Improved artificial intelligence
- Memorable historical campaigns
- Outstanding artillery mechanics
- Better naval battles than Empire
Weaknesses
- Smaller campaign map
- Less faction variety
- Limited replayability compared with larger entries
Verdict
Napoleon refined almost everything Empire attempted. While it sacrificed some freedom, it remains one of the finest gunpowder strategy games ever made.
11. Total War: Pharaoh
Release: 2023
Poor Pharaoh never really stood a chance.
Launching shortly after community disappointment surrounding other Creative Assembly projects, Pharaoh became caught in a storm that often overshadowed its actual quality. Initial criticism focused on its price and relatively limited geographical scope rather than its mechanics.
That was unfortunate because beneath the controversy lies a genuinely excellent strategy game.
Set during the collapse of the Bronze Age, Pharaoh introduces dynamic weather, expanding fires and changing terrain that can dramatically alter battles. Campaign mechanics surrounding legitimacy, court politics and royal succession also add welcome depth.
Later updates significantly expanded the campaign map and faction roster, transforming Pharaoh into a much stronger experience than it was at launch.
Strengths
- Superb campaign mechanics
- Dynamic environmental effects
- Excellent visuals
- Strong diplomacy
- Deep political systems
Weaknesses
- Launch perception proved difficult to overcome
- Limited unit diversity compared with later historical periods
- Smaller scale than many expected initially
Verdict
History may ultimately be kinder to Pharaoh than players were at release. It deserves far more recognition than it often receives.
10. Total War: Attila
Release: 2015
Attila is not interested in making you comfortable.
Most strategy games reward expansion. Attila constantly asks whether expansion is actually worth the trouble.
The Western Roman Empire campaign remains one of the hardest and most satisfying experiences in the franchise. Provinces revolt, economies collapse, disease spreads and migrating tribes appear determined to make your day considerably worse.
Then Attila himself arrives.
The atmosphere is wonderfully bleak. Civilisations are collapsing, climate change alters the map and survival often becomes more important than conquest.
It is challenging in ways that some players adore and others simply find exhausting.
Strengths
- Outstanding survival gameplay
- Deep campaign systems
- Excellent atmosphere
- Memorable late game pressure
- One of the strongest Roman campaigns ever created
Weaknesses
- Demanding performance
- Complex economy
- Can feel relentlessly difficult
Verdict
Attila is arguably the darkest Total War ever made. It rewards patience, planning and the ability to remain calm while everything catches fire around you.
9. Medieval: Total War
Release: 2002
Going back to the original Medieval today is fascinating.
By modern standards it looks incredibly dated, yet many of the ideas that define Total War today were already firmly established.
The campaign spans centuries of European history, allowing kingdoms to rise through feudal politics, crusades and technological advancement. Watching armies march across the campaign map still carries a certain charm despite the older presentation.
Compared with its successor, it inevitably feels limited, but its influence on strategy gaming cannot be overstated.
Strengths
- Revolutionary for its time
- Fantastic medieval atmosphere
- Strong strategic gameplay
- Memorable soundtrack
Weaknesses
- Dated interface
- Limited battlefield visuals
- Simpler diplomacy
Verdict
The original Medieval laid the foundations for one of the greatest strategy series ever created. Even today it deserves enormous respect.
8. Medieval II: Total War
Release: 2006
Ask long-time Total War fans for their favourite game and Medieval II will appear remarkably often.
There is good reason.
Everything simply works.
The campaign balances expansion beautifully, while the battlefield delivers iconic clashes between knights, longbowmen, pikemen and heavy infantry. Sieges remain some of the most memorable in the series, particularly when defending castles against overwhelming odds.
Its modding community became legendary.
Projects such as Third Age transformed the game into entirely new experiences, keeping Medieval II alive for nearly two decades.
If there is one criticism, it is that later games introduced far deeper diplomacy and campaign mechanics.
Even so, few entries possess quite the same magic.
Strengths
- Outstanding medieval setting
- Fantastic battles
- Legendary modding support
- Excellent campaign pacing
- Timeless replayability
Weaknesses
- Ageing diplomacy systems
- Older pathfinding
- Limited campaign depth compared with newer titles
Verdict
Medieval II remains one of Creative Assembly’s greatest achievements. The calls for Medieval III have never really stopped, and honestly, can you blame people?
7. Shogun: Total War
Release: 2000
Every great franchise has a beginning.
For Total War, that beginning was feudal Japan.
Looking back, it is astonishing how many defining features appeared in this very first game. Real time battles, province management, diplomacy, ninja assassins and seasonal campaigns all arrived together in a package unlike anything strategy fans had seen before.
The smaller setting actually worked in its favour.
Because every clan used largely similar units, battles revolved around positioning, morale and tactical decision making rather than simply recruiting increasingly powerful troops.
The graphics have aged considerably, but the strategic design remains remarkably elegant.
Strengths
- Revolutionary gameplay
- Excellent tactical battles
- Strong campaign balance
- Beautiful atmosphere
- Historically immersive
Weaknesses
- Limited faction diversity
- Ageing visuals
- Primitive interface
Verdict
Without Shogun there would be no Total War franchise. Its importance to strategy gaming is impossible to overstate, and it remains surprisingly enjoyable more than twenty-five years later.
6. Rome: Total War
Release: 2004
There are strategy games, and then there are games that become cultural moments.
Rome: Total War belongs firmly in the second category.
For many players this was their introduction to the franchise. Marching Roman legions across Europe, crushing Carthage, invading Britain and eventually declaring civil war against the Senate felt enormous in 2004.
The campaign struck a near perfect balance between accessibility and depth. Battles were spectacular for their time, with disciplined legionaries facing everything from phalanxes to barbarian warbands and war elephants.
The game also inspired one of the greatest modding communities in PC gaming. Mods such as Roma Surrectum and Europa Barbarorum became almost as famous as the base game itself.
Looking back, some systems have inevitably aged. Diplomacy is simplistic, sieges lack the sophistication of later titles and the artificial intelligence occasionally produces baffling decisions.
None of that changes its importance.
Strengths
- Iconic Roman setting
- Outstanding campaign progression
- Excellent faction variety
- Legendary soundtrack
- Huge modding community
Weaknesses
- Dated diplomacy
- Basic siege mechanics
- Ageing artificial intelligence
Verdict
Rome is one of the defining strategy games of the 2000s. It remains enormously influential and deserves its place among gaming’s classics.
5. Total War: Warhammer
Release: 2016
When Creative Assembly announced a partnership with Games Workshop, reactions ranged from excitement to outright panic.
Could fantasy really work in Total War?
The answer arrived quickly.
Absolutely.
Warhammer transformed battlefield tactics overnight. Suddenly armies included dragons, giants, vampires, artillery trains, flying monsters and devastating magic. Every faction felt genuinely different, forcing players to rethink strategies that had worked for years.
The Empire played nothing like the Dwarfs. The Greenskins behaved differently again, while Vampire Counts ignored many traditional Total War mechanics altogether.
The campaign was enjoyable, but the real achievement lay in proving that fantasy could enhance rather than replace strategic depth.
Strengths
- Extraordinary faction diversity
- Spectacular battles
- Fresh tactical possibilities
- Strong visual design
- Excellent DLC support
Weaknesses
- Smaller campaign than its sequel
- Diplomacy remained relatively simple
- Some factions felt underdeveloped at launch
Verdict
Warhammer was a gamble that paid off spectacularly. It opened an entirely new future for the franchise.
4. Total War: Rome II
Release: 2013
Rome II probably has the greatest redemption story in Total War history.
Its launch was undeniably rough. Performance problems, bugs and questionable artificial intelligence left many players disappointed.
Creative Assembly, to its credit, did not abandon it.
Years of updates transformed Rome II into one of the richest historical strategy games ever produced.
The campaign map spans much of Europe, North Africa and the Near East, offering enormous strategic freedom. Faction diversity is exceptional, from disciplined Roman legions to Celtic tribes, Hellenistic kingdoms and eastern empires.
Modern Rome II is almost unrecognisable compared with its launch version.
Strengths
- Huge campaign map
- Outstanding faction variety
- Excellent long-term support
- Strong replayability
- Rich historical atmosphere
Weaknesses
- Difficult launch damaged its reputation
- Naval combat never reached its full potential
Verdict
Players who dismissed Rome II at release owe it another look. Today it stands comfortably among the strongest historical entries in the franchise.
3. Shogun 2: Total War
Release: 2011
Some games impress through scale.
Shogun 2 impresses through perfection.
Creative Assembly returned to the setting where the franchise began, but everything had evolved. Battles were faster, sharper and beautifully balanced. Every unit served a clear purpose, meaning victories depended on tactical decisions rather than simply recruiting the most expensive army.
The campaign is equally elegant.
Japan’s divided clans compete through diplomacy, assassination, trade and warfare before eventually triggering Realm Divide, one of the best late game mechanics in strategy gaming. Watching former allies suddenly decide you have become far too successful is equal parts frustrating and brilliant.
The presentation deserves praise as well.
Menus resemble traditional Japanese artwork, while the soundtrack and visual design remain among the series’ finest.
Strengths
- Near perfect battle balance
- Beautiful presentation
- Outstanding campaign design
- Excellent artificial intelligence
- Superb multiplayer
Weaknesses
- Smaller geographical scope
- Limited faction differences compared with Warhammer
Verdict
Shogun 2 represents Creative Assembly operating at an incredibly high level. It remains one of the most polished strategy games ever released.
2. Total War: Warhammer II
Release: 2017
If the first Warhammer proved fantasy could work, Warhammer II demonstrated just how extraordinary the concept could become.
The Vortex campaign introduced memorable objectives, while the combined Mortal Empires campaign became one of the largest strategy sandboxes ever created.
Faction design reached astonishing levels.
High Elves, Dark Elves, Lizardmen, Skaven, Tomb Kings, Vampire Coast and dozens more all played like completely different games.
The Skaven alone deserve applause for turning treacherous ratmen into one of the most entertaining factions Creative Assembly has ever designed.
Magic, flying units, monstrous creatures and legendary lords all combine without overwhelming the strategic core.
That balancing act is remarkably difficult to achieve.
Strengths
- Incredible faction variety
- Massive combined campaign
- Exceptional replay value
- Outstanding DLC expansions
- Excellent tactical depth
Weaknesses
- Historical fans may prefer realistic settings
- DLC collection can become expensive
Verdict
Warhammer II is one of the finest fantasy strategy games ever made and remains a benchmark for faction design.
1. Total War: Warhammer III
Release: 2022
Choosing the best Total War game is never going to produce universal agreement.
Some players will always argue for Medieval II.
Others remain loyal to Rome or Shogun 2.
Yet when everything is considered together, Warhammer III offers the most complete Total War experience available today.
The Immortal Empires campaign is simply astonishing in scale.
Hundreds of factions compete across an enormous world, with almost limitless strategic possibilities. Every campaign tells a different story. One playthrough might involve defending Kislev against daemonic invasions, while another sees Chaos Dwarfs building industrial empires or Bretonnian knights charging into battle against ancient undead kings.
The sheer variety is unmatched.
Years of updates have steadily improved performance, diplomacy, artificial intelligence and campaign mechanics. Combined with content from all three Warhammer games, it has become less of a single title and more of a complete Total War platform.
No game in the series offers more replayability.
Strengths
- Immortal Empires campaign
- Extraordinary faction diversity
- Endless replay value
- Modern diplomacy systems
- Excellent post launch support
Weaknesses
- Requires significant storage space
- Best experience benefits from owning previous Warhammer titles
- New players may feel overwhelmed by the amount of content
Verdict
Warhammer III represents the culmination of everything Creative Assembly has learned over more than twenty years. Whether you prefer dragons, daemons, cavalry charges or carefully planned empire building, there is simply more to enjoy here than in any other Total War game.
Complete Ranking
| Rank | Game |
|---|---|
| 1 | Total War: Warhammer III |
| 2 | Total War: Warhammer II |
| 3 | Shogun 2: Total War |
| 4 | Total War: Rome II |
| 5 | Total War: Warhammer |
| 6 | Rome: Total War |
| 7 | Shogun: Total War |
| 8 | Medieval II: Total War |
| 9 | Medieval: Total War |
| 10 | Total War: Attila |
| 11 | Total War: Pharaoh |
| 12 | Napoleon: Total War |
| 13 | Empire: Total War |
| 14 | Total War Saga: Troy |
| 15 | Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia |
| 16 | Total War: Arena |
| 17 | Total War Battles: Kingdom |
Which Total War Game Should You Play?
If you’re completely new to the series, Warhammer III offers the most content and the broadest range of playstyles.
If you prefer historical strategy, Shogun 2 remains the easiest recommendation thanks to its exceptional balance and polish.
If Roman history fascinates you, Rome II delivers the richest modern campaign, while the original Rome: Total War still offers one of gaming’s most iconic strategy experiences.
Fans of medieval warfare should still make time for Medieval II, even if it is beginning to show its age. Few games capture the romance and brutality of the Middle Ages quite so well.
