I jumped at the opportunity when I was offered a review of Total War: Empire. Why? I’ve been hearing about it for approx veeeery a long time ago – my fiancé told me about this wonderful (almost) twenty-year-old game, and I couldn’t ignore it.
Today we’ll be reviewing Total War: Empire on mobile to see if it’s just a straightforward port or really something more. Spoiler: this is not just a straightforward port! By the way, we have a review of Total War: Rome if you’re interested too!
What’s all the fuss about Total War: Empire?
For those who don’t know, Total War has long been a real-time strategy staple. It started with Shogun, which was released in 2000 and was on PC. In fact, most of the Total War series was intended for PC.
Several games in the series have received mobile ports, but when it comes to Total War: Empire, it means more than just a straightforward port. It includes many recent features and improvements that provide a more convenient approach from a portable point of view.
Let’s start with the obvious: the visuals
The first thing you will see once you start your journey is the user interface. This was designed specifically for touchscreen devices, which isn’t really the case for any other devices in the series. Sure, right?
Total War: Empire’s user interface is actually incredibly intuitive – making it basic to manage settlements, armies, and basically anything else you can imagine. It’s just brilliant. I would argue that this isn’t something you would normally expect from something coming out in 2024, because when we take Age of Empires Mobile for example, the UI will be completely different. While AoEM feels more contemporary, Total War: Empire stays true to what it has always been – straightforward and clear.
You’ll notice that there are no remastered graphics here, so if you were expecting that, this may be a disappointment. Personally, I wasn’t sure what to expect, so I went in with a blank slate. So I’m pretty neutral in this regard.
It demands a lot from your device
Total War: Empire is quite huge in terms of storage capacity and may require up to 24 GB of free space. I mean, what did you expect? The PC versions require about the same amount!
As for system requirements, you must have at least Android 12. Here’s a list of supported devices in case you were wondering if yours can run this:
- Google Pixel 3 / 3XL / 4 / 4XL / 6 / 6a / 6 Pro / 7 / 7a / 7 Pro / 8 / 8a / 8 Pro / 9 / 9 Pro / 9 Pro XL
- Google Pixel tablet
- Honor 90
- Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2
- Motorola Edge 40 / Edge 40 Neo / Edge 50 Pro
- Motorola Moto G54
- Nothing Phone (1)
- OnePlus 7/8/8T/9/10 Pro 5G/11/12
- OnePlus Nord 2 5G / Nord 4
- OnePlus Pad / Pad 2
- REDMAGIC 9Pro
- Samsung Galaxy Note10 / Note10+ / Note20 5G
- Samsung Galaxy S10 / S10+ / S10e / S20 / S20+ / S21 5G / S21 Ultra 5G / S22 /
- 2+ / S22 Ultra / S23 / S23+ / S23 Ultra / S24 / S24+ / S24 Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 / S7 / S8 / S8+ / S8 Ultra / S9
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 / Z Fold4
- Sony Xperia 1 II / 1 III / 1 IV / 5 II
- Xiaomi 12/12T/13T/13T Pro
- Xiaomi Mi11
- Xiaomi Pad 5
- Xiaomi Poco F3/F5/F6/X3 Pro/X6 Pro
I ran it on REDMAGIC 9 Pro, which meant it was fully compatible with my device – but if yours isn’t listed, your phone may not be fully supported. This is a bit disappointing, but hopefully that won’t be the case for many of you.
The gameplay feels like a piece of history that you can see and interact with
OG has been praised for its historical accuracy and fact-based data, including strategic depth, and this mobile adaptation does that flawlessly. I couldn’t support but force myself to fact-check the various battles, and so far it’s clear that the team has done their homework.
You have to think carefully about every move, transaction and treaty you sign because it can all come back around and come back to bite you. I’ve had this happen to me due to some ambitious steps I tried to skip, and I assure you it’s not fun. I know from experience that you can’t just sleep on decisions and wait for something to happen because more often than not, it won’t happen in your favor.
After a lot of thought, time, and failure, I finally managed to gather a decent army, which gave me an advantage for a while. It didn’t last long though and that’s why I advise you to do your research and carefully choose each step you want to take. It’s not basic!
What’s the takeaway?
Let me start by targeting this section to any recent players who might want to give it a try. If you haven’t had any experience with the Total War series before, this will be a challenge. It’s entertaining, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not basic. I recommend reading a lot while waiting for the resources to download because everything you learn in the tutorial phase will be useful.
The support The system is extremely extensive and you will find everything you need to know about starting a campaign.
For veterans, since you already have a clear idea of what Total War: Empire is all about, let me just say that compared to the PC version, this one stays true to the original – but has its own features and a few missing ones.
If you just like good strategy, I recommend you play it because it’s fantastic. These are not your typical tutorial-based strategies that hold your hand and forgive mistakes. Here you are given a flag and it is your job to stick it – no matter what.
