Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII (PlayStation 4) Review

The latest in line of video games inspired on the novel with the same name, and the historical records of the era it delves on, and, like previous instalments, there is heavy focus on managing the kingdom's economics, relationships, and of course, pure warfare. The goal is to unite China under one ruler during the Han dynasty, when three kingdoms where fighting for full supremacy over the land. The thing that makes the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series stand out in the genre is, beside its focus on an actual historic event, the fact that there is very much micro managing apart from the pure warfare, which is only one very small fraction of the gameplay.

Most of this game is focused around building a blossoming kingdom and developing bounds with powerful allies to gain their support in your goal to conquer China. Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII is more about the journey than the goal, though, and the road here is a beautifully composed, yet complex one.

As a new player it is very easy to feel lost when starting Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII. There are many options and menus, and each of them works differently and provides different advantages. Shall one focus on developing the city, forge some relationships, or recruit some allies? Or, maybe, the army should be trained instead? There is always much to be done, but sometimes the time limit feels quite constricting, especially as the opponents are also constantly on the move improving their realms.

Thankfully there's the hero mode; the tutorial of the main game. Here the player follows the actual historical events of the era, and helps the heroes of the time fulfil their legendary deeds. This mode has a lot of story to it, making it feel like a hybrid between a strategy and an RPG. Undoubtedly, the gameplay belongs to the former, and is made to explain the many deep mechanics to be found in Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII.

Much focus here is put on developing the kingdom quickly to hit the sometimes harsh historical deadlines for the deeds the character was famous for, which can range between everything from preparing a party to create a love triangle, and even fighting to unite entire provinces. The main mode is the bread and butter this title, though. Here the player takes control of a historical or a custom made character to take over the lands with. It's a very open mode in contrast to the hero mode, since it allows for much freedom and possibilities along the way. There is the possibility to let the sword fight, or to form strong alliances by persuading the rulers into cooperation through debates.

There is only so much fun one can have messing around with history against the AI, though, no matter how much micromanaging and how many ways to do so exist, yet, sadly, Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII lacks multiplayer. This feels a tad strange, as many is components would make for a great multiplayer experience. Both the board game-like structure of the field and the actual battlefield feel like natural matches for a fun online experience.

Despite all this, Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII offers much longevity thanks to the fact that no two play-throughs will ever be the same, especially if turning off the historical settings that forces the opponents to act like history forces them to. The micromanaging of both economics and relationships make for fun and deep gameplay that will keep fans of strategic games entertained for quite a while.