Total War: Three Kingdoms is due to release later this month, and while Creative Assembly have now revealed much about the campaign and its playable factions, they have shown nothing about the game’s multiplayer. However, that changed yesterday. The studio has now released a new gameplay showcase looking specifically at the Total War: Three Kingdoms multiplayer campaign!
New Video Showcases the Total War: Three Kingdoms Multiplayer Campaign
Like previous Total War games, Total War: Three Kingdoms will feature 2-player campaign multiplayer, in addition to multiplayer custom battles. However, in a departure from previous games, Three Kingdoms does not distinguish between head-to-head and cooperative campaigns. In the Total War: Three Kingdoms multiplayer campaign, players are free to ally or fight one another as they see fit. Indeed, they may do both more than once throughout the course of the campaign!
As shown in the new video, players who want to commit to being allies and play through the campaign together can do so; a diplomatic option is available called “Pledge to Share the Mandate and Win Together”. If the players make this deal, their status as allies will be locked for the rest of the campaign. This then works just like the “cooperative” campaigns of previous Total War games. However, players are otherwise free to play as they wish. In fact, players can be just as susceptible to the new spy mechanics as the AI. Using the new spy system, a player can send one of their characters to be recruited by the other player, all while secretly using them as a spy.
Not locking players into conflict with one another also creates some shifting dynamics throughout the campaign. As explained in the video; once the game reaches the Three Kingdoms stage, two players who have been allies could suddenly find themselves as two of the three kingdoms; thrown into opposition while facing a third powerful rival. Fans hoping to see more of the multiplayer won’t have to wait long. Creative Assembly will be livestreaming a multiplayer campaign next week on their official Twitch channel.