I'll tell you exactly why Total War doesn't feel the same anymore

In my opinion the harsh truth is that CA changed; it's a different set of developers who have a different view on what a Total War should include. Therefore, to expect a Total War that comes close to the mechanical complexity of the older games is simply foolish, and I don't get the impression that eminating the older titles is their intent in the first place

Imagine if Rome Remastered had Co-op campaign, what a major missed opportunity that was.

If CA combined Napoleons combat and mechanics and combined it with empires map.... that would have been an amazing game.

Medieval 2 has a wonder: Jerusalem. If you capture Jerusalem in medieval 2 your settlements gain public order bonus.

There's a quality to newer Total War games that just makes them feel like they lack the sharpness of previous games. And while I do think things like combat animations, arrow trails (and projectile velocity) and lighting all contribute to this, I think probably the single biggest factor is the sound design, and more specifically the sound mix. Things like the clanking of a testudo, or the boom of cannon fire, or the clanging of samurai swords, these things add audible cues to the player for what is happening, where the camera is or what unit is selected. Add to this very distinct dynamic battle music, and an experienced Total War player could tell you what was going on on-screen with their eyes closed. That's not to say this doesn't happen in modern games, the Warhammer games in particular have some excellent sound design with things like spells, but in general the sound is much more of a muddy cacophony designed to create an ambience than a key way to convey information to the player, and I think that's a weakness of the new games.

I think the real problem isn't whether 3K or Troy are good games. It's that the historical fans have been so alienated that they've either given up entirely or they're playing games from companies like Paradox. The last title I bought, aside from Warhammer, was Thrones of Britannia. I won't be picking up any more Total War titles in future. CA have shown that they don't care any more. It's fine to want to make a buck but stripping down your titles isn't the way to do it.

One of the main problems I have with modern total wars is that it usually turns into either a slog to take out unlimited enemy armies, or an auto resolve nightmare where you spend hours in a shallow boring campaign just auto resolving battles so you can win and get it over with.

To be fair the agent limits aren't necessarily bad. Having 20 enemy priests stand around my capital was weird and the AI would (at least for me) often create huge agent brawls somewhere on the map where they would congregate and try to kill each other.

So true. Total War went from in-depth strategy game to a crass Arcady mock up.

I think for Empire to have a tech tree and for it it be less "personal" (With diplomacy happening without agents for example) are good things in terms of depicting the 18th century and the rationalism and new manners of managing anempire. However I do think that Empire has huge issues and that it unfortunately had some big negative impacts in other titles. Although the tech tree worked in it, it doesn't work on most of the other Total War games. Also, the idea of having other cities alongside a "province capital" was great, but while in Empire they developed organically and with a population system they just became incredibly stuck in future games. Honestly, I just think that there is a big demand for a competitor to Total War. We need some other company making these kinds of games with that scale so that CA gets their shit together and pays attention to its community. And for God's sake, just help modders and support flexibility. That can improve a game SO MUCH.

One of my biggest gripes with the newer games is how fast battles and skirmishes take place. While there's a tad of tactical choices to be made, 90% of the battles in the last several titles devolve into "smash my army into theirs, make a gigantic mosh pit where like 1,000 people die in 30 seconds, then one side starts running away entirely". Boom, an entire massive, decisive battle over in 2 minutes and 30 seconds. I vividly remember watching sieges in Medieval 2 where I'd be able to spend 10 minutes just watching my knights fight their way through a single breach in a wall as I tried to work a few units in through a different entrance for a flank.

As a person who has lived longer than most gamers I have seen many changes over time. The trend in everything is away from history. Historically themed games are going to suffer the same fate as historically themed toys. Historically themed movies. Historically themed television shows, and so on. Most young people in the area of the world that I am from have very little interest in historical gaming, but a whole lot in fantasy, sci fi, etc. CA is a company that wants to make money. The fact is that they can make more money going the way of Warhammer. I would not be surprised to see more releases set in fantasy worlds or sci fi worlds like Conan or John Carter. Sad, because I loved all the historical Total War releases, but Medieval Total War the most of any of them. If it weren't for the amazing modding community out there I would have abandoned all hope. Many of the previous comments are spot on!

As a long time modder of RTW in the form of Roma Surrectum III, I agree with you 100% that CA has consistently dropped the ball when it comes to listening to their fan base. We shared info with CA personnel often, begged them for changes that would make the game better, and pleaded for modding tools that allow modders to change things without having to jump thru hoops or become software engineers. What we got was Rome II. Arguably the worst release from CA ever (as it was broken IN THE BOX), and addressed nothing we had asked or hoped for. My conclusion was: They don't care.

Dang man. You always bring up points that I haven't even thought about from Rome 1 and barbarian invasion. Thank you for these breakdowns, it helps put into perspective why I don't have nearly as much time playing the newer total wars.

The biggest issue I have with modern TW games are battles revolving around killing, not shattering enemies in battles. I still remember while playing Rome TW as Carthage, I won absolutely gamechanging battle against Scipio Romans by taking chance and attacking vulnerable spot with my all cav. The battle was over before my infantry reached enemy only because I managed to kill general, rout 3 triarii units which was followed by their whole army breaking by sheer shock. For some reason Med2 felt more clunky so I never spent as much time in it. But simply ever since Empire TW, morale of army as a whole felt nonexistent. It was brought back in poor way by introducing "army loss penalty". Bad system basing on number of killed/shattered units while influence of enemies routed felt pretty much nonexistent. And let us not forget about absolutely abysmal melee system which was also bad since Empire. The settlement and population management is boring. Limited building slots take aeay feeling of creating metropoly, the seat of power. Replenishment out of air, recruitment systems, introduced in WH (i think) infantry ass ladders. The franchise has become more braindead over years for the cost of graphics. And maybe units are more responsive, but not by massive margin

Arcady from the begining, it became more and more by the years. Mods that slow combat or makes it more morale-dependant, like Napoleonic III, make them much more enojoyable.

I am missing the more satisfying campaign / city management. Its dumbed down now. That is why i play RIS mod on Rome Remastered and DAC for med 2

Total War went from Sid Meier's Civilization to Starcraft so slowly we didnt reallize till now. Maybe Paradox should take notes, Stellaris 40k

It appears to be too late for CA. The big money suits have moved in on another successful franchise. These games will continue to be rushed out with tons of bugs, full of mtx/DLC, stripped down UI, decreased mechanics in order to be playable on mobile/console, and streamlined for "general audiences". Been playing since release of Medieval 1 and the change at Empire is incredibly obvious. So sad. These games used to be...full. really miss the agent cinematics

The funny thing is that Paradox games are actually more expensive, and keep making new DLCs too. It's an incredible cash cow, and something CA should emulate. Make money by offering MORE DEPTH not just new units.