Buy it if you like
- Gameplay: 41 reviews raised it, mostly praise
- Story: 25 reviews raised it, mostly praise
- Graphics: 24 reviews raised it, mostly praise
Think twice if you dislike
- Crashes: 34 reviews raised it, mostly criticism
- Bugs: 17 reviews raised it, mostly criticism
- Performance: 7 reviews raised it, mostly criticism
Based on 38k player reviews · updated
What players think
The recurring themes across 300 analysed reviews: what players praise, what divides them, and what to know.
Why players love itThings to know
46% of themes are praise18% are divided36% are complaints
Gameplay
Players who bring up Gameplay mostly praise it.
41 of 300 sampled reviews raised it
It still holds up as a very solid strategy experience, and there are a lot of mechanics that make it unique compared to later Total War games.
Story
Players who bring up Story mostly praise it.
25 of 300 sampled reviews raised it
Overall, I still think Empire: Total War is a **great strategy game** with an excellent campaign, unique mechanics, and a fantastic historical setting.
Graphics
Players who bring up Graphics mostly praise it.
24 of 300 sampled reviews raised it
The graphics and animations are top-notch for 2009 (and even better with mods), and the naval battles are still incredibly beautiful today (something even current pirate games can't achieve).
Combat
Players who bring up Combat mostly praise it.
14 of 300 sampled reviews raised it
It adds a lot of depth and realism to infantry combat, and I genuinely miss seeing it used more widely in the series.
Difficulty
Players who bring up Difficulty mostly praise it.
10 of 300 sampled reviews raised it
It has a steep-ish learning curve but it's really fun once you get the hang of it with loads of replayability, and the series as a whole is a great choice for history buffs.
Theme by theme
Scored on what reviews say about each topic, not the thumbs.
Players love
Gameplay41 reviews
Story25 reviews
Graphics24 reviews
Combat14 reviews
Difficulty10 reviews
Divided opinion
Co-op100% still recommend
Monetization25% still recommend
Players complain
Crashes35% still recommend
Bugs59% still recommend
Performance43% still recommend
Multiplayer57% still recommend
What you get
Can you play it alone, does a controller work, does it run on your machine.
Play modes
- Co-op
- LAN Co-op
- LAN PvP
- Multi-player
- Online Co-op
- Online PvP
- PvP
- Single-player
Controller
Steam lists no controller support.
Store features
- Adjustable Difficulty
- Camera Comfort
- Custom Volume Controls
- Family Sharing
- Playable without Timed Input
- Save Anytime
- Stats
- Steam Achievements
Platforms
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
Valve device support
Steam DeckPlayable
SteamOSPlayable
Steam MachinePlayable
Should I buy it now?
Based on Steam price history.
Prices have been lower
$10.00
The lowest we've tracked is $4.99.
9 points recordedtoday · $10.00
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