The Warhammer series, both the fantasy and sci-fi versions, are by far my favorite fictional universes. Both are focused on the struggle between mortals and gods but on different scales. In both universes, there is a force known as “chaos,” which is essentially just a collection of various evil forces and gods such as war,

“Total War” games follow a consistent gameplay format: build up cities, build armies, conquer other cities and defeat other armies. Usually, the end goal of a “Total War” game is conquering the whole map. These games can vary wildly in setting, but the format is generally consistent.

The primary focus of this latest installment in the force is known as “Chaos” or more specifically, the “Chaos Gods.” Whether the player chooses to serve or fight them, it is entirely up to them and gives a unique flavor of gameplay to the typical “Total War” format. 

The plot revolves around a dying god named Ursun, with each faction having a unique goal relating to him. Some factions seek to claim the dying god’s power for themselves or their own deity, while others help save Ursun. Either way, the player is forced to fight their way to his realm.

The games focus on a more engaging guided campaign while still providing a sandbox experience is my favorite new feature. This includes a wide range of cinematics, different endings, and choices depending on which faction the player chooses.

One of the best new gameplay features by far however is the new faction focused solely on player choice and customization. The new faction called “Chaos Undivided,” allows players to customize their own Daemon Prince, a powerful general who fights on the battlefield. Anything from his skin tone to the weapon he wields can be upgraded by the player. 

When it comes to the UI of the game, it is nothing special. For example, the cards that show off army and character statistics are useful but look boring. They also don’t fit into the game’s Demonic icy wasteland theme that well either. This is a common issue throughout the game and while the map has a solid, chaotic design befitting the theme of the game, the interface does not match up well. 

One of the most pressing things for players is the optimization of the game. On day one, many players could barely run the game on medium graphic settings. While I was not surprised, I had trouble running the game on my 4k monitor and it was rather annoying to see a modern game backed by a Triple-A studio suffer from these issues.

Another issue I encountered was the lack of playable faction diversity. Though I admit the factions we received are both interesting and fun to play, other total war games would have 10+ factions on release. Some human factions were given multiple sub-groups with their own goals, while the other non-human factions were usually left with one leader to play as. 

“Total War: Warhammer III” is another excellent rendition of the Warhammer Fantasy universe and does a great job of bringing the “Chaos Wastes” to life. However, it suffers from severe optimization problems and a lack of factional depth compared to its predecessors. I recommend picking up this game, but maybe only after a couple more updates.