You still have a grand campaign that you play through turn-by-turn. This isn’t a problem, though, as in many ways Thrones of Britannia plays like the pre- Warhammer Total Wars. There are tips and short tutorials to help you gain your bearings, but for much of the game you’re really on your own. If you’re new to Total War then this probably isn’t your best entry point. For Alfred, it’s more a case of steady expansion, driving out or subjugating Viking remnants while watching for rebellion across your existing lands and vassal states. The battle for the kingdoms of Ireland is a bloody turf war fought in smaller territories, where you’re shaking hands with a king one minute, looking to stab him in the back the next. In fact, the experiences are surprisingly different. You can play as any one of ten factions from the Anglo Saxons, Welsh Kingdoms, Gaels and Vikings, and focus on events in Wales or Ireland if you want. One thing Thrones of Britannia does successfully is make you realise what a strange and culturally conflicted land 9th-century Britain was for everyone concerned.Īn expansion pack might have focused in on just one faction, but while Alfred’s drive to unify the kingdoms of England is central, it’s far from the only saga on offer. And if you’re worried it’s all about making Britain great by expelling all the foreigners, don’t be. It’s no wonder Alfred (apocryphally) burnt those cakes. The Welsh are caught between peace with Alfred and open rebellion, while the Norsemen still harry English ports from the South and East.īasically, Britannia’s in a right old mess. Scotland and Ireland are in turmoil, with rival tribes duking it out.
Alfred the Great has put a stop to the Viking conquest of England and is on a mission of unification. Its subject is the British Isles near the turn of 10th-century AD. Sure, this means it works on a smaller scale, but here’s the thing: when you focus in so sharply, you get to see a lot more detail.Īnd detail is very much what Thrones of Britannia is all about. Instead, Thrones of Britannia feels very much like a ‘proper’ Total War, only focused on a very specific area at a very specific time – a little like the campaigns in the Kingdoms expansion for Medieval II. The title and the spin-off status had me expecting something similar in feel to a stand-alone expansion pack, perhaps something episodic like the old Napoleon pack for Empire: Total War. So, why is this a Total War Saga and not Total War: Britannia? Having played it, I’m still not really sure.
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