Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia

Many players accuse Thrones of Britannia of being a stub of Total War: Warhammer and Total War: Attila. But let me! Despite its size, this is a unique representative of the series, ideal for all those who love grand strategy, but who absolutely do not have time to play them. We grow, we have responsibilities, and Total War was eating up a significant part of the free hours. And here Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia comes to the rescue, for which you can safely sit down and even manage to win a couple of times between work and sleep.

The game is dedicated to the period of world history after the death of the semi-mythical Ragnar Lodbrok – the conquest of the British Isles by his sons, heirs, and enemies. Some sailed there to find a new home, others for revenge, others for profit, while between the kingdoms of Britain, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, meanwhile, there was a long-planned squabble for a common throne. Players can only try on the crown of those who lived or settled on the islands. Alien Vikings controlled by AI will pose a threat to absolutely everyone: they also need territories and will also have to negotiate with them – with words, gold, or a sword.

The map is broken up into large regions,Total War Saga

each consisting of a main, ever-expanding city and a number of smaller worker settlements and farms. Any such village can be cleaned up and profited from it, even if the main city is not captured. But if you want maximum production efficiency, then the entire region will be needed.

From the old games in general and Total War: Attila in particular, a family tree has returned, where you can closely monitor your relatives and heirs, as well as their power and devotion. A son who is not too faithful and too popular among the people can always go against his father and start a civil war. The toolkit for working with sons, daughters, and just people close to the court remained almost unchanged: kill, influence, bribe, torture, adopt, give a job, marry, divorce, bestow a region, etc. You will have to sit and kick the courtiers a lot, sometimes it’s easier to cut out all those who disagree with the policy and hire new ones than to grease up with everyone so that they don’t whine about how much in vain.

Dynastic marriages with other states are also present, but you can’t get enough daughters for everyone. Today, diplomacy, in principle, does not occupy the largest place in the gameplay, but simplifications have made it much more accessible. For example, it is always clear what exactly the opponent is waiting for: if this is a convinced Viking, then any issue can be resolved simply by throwing gold coins in his face. Trade agreements have been partially abolished, deals are made automatically when you do not hit each other and have the opportunity to conduct trade routes. Goods are sold and bought without your participation, too, so the only counter you really need to look at is money.

Due to the food indicator and many other features, it will not work to make a bunch of armies and hit all the enemies at once. The number of hired warriors is small, and new ones appear infrequently. In addition, after hiring, only a small part of future forces will be in the army. In order for the units to be fully equipped, you need to have a lot of food and it is advisable to keep them in the city so that the growth goes faster. And only then, after a year of playing time, you will have an army that will not lie down in the first battle.

In such a simple way, the authors drag out a short game so that it does not end in two moves. However, it only takes three to four hours to receive your first congratulations sign. A system of quick victories is provided: it is enough to accumulate the required amount of fame or conquer a certain, most often not very far located region, and you can relax and go about other things. If this is not enough and you want to traditionally paint the map in the colors of your state, rename the country, as in some kind of Europa Universalis IV, there are long victories left, to go to which it is enough to continue playing after a quick one. Everything is convenient and extremely loyal to users.

Of the minuses, only that there is really very little new in the game, and the old was cut off for the sake of the speed of passage and development. For some, this is a big disadvantage, but for others, it is a joy. You can immediately jump into the game, instantly understand how it works, quickly beat the kings and leave with a sense of accomplishment, returning later to win back the conflict for some other faction. Those who like subtleties, lengthy battles and sweeps, complex diplomacy and micromanagement will not get anything from Thrones of Britannia. So it’s better to decide in advance which type of player to classify yourself as. Perhaps Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia is exactly what you are missing.