Total War: Attila Review (EdolfDripler)
Atilla genuinely might be the most unconventional Total War game in the entire series... that also doesn't suck in the process.
It is a game that is unlike any other in the series and in doing so and taking that risk it genuinely has one of the most unique challenges there is in any Total War game, and *the* challenge in the Western Roman Empire.
That said, one thing to get out of the way, and why it is so unique, Atilla... is *NOT* beginner friendly, and that honestly might be what I appreciate most about it. Not because I want to gatekeep a series that I love, but because it is a game that takes the risks we always complain about nowadays that companies won't take. It is a game meant to push your skillset to it's absolute limits, and it refuses to be anything else.
This game takes the entire Total War formula, and quite literally reverses it. This is not a game about building an empire, half as much as it is a game about survival. While especially for the barbarian factions you obviously still want to build and expand, what really matters is how you the player endure once that's actually set up. The mini ice age, Atilla the motherf*cking Hun, public order disputes, this game is absolutely ruthless, and is the only game in the series that in a way kind of explores what the aftermath of the empire you built would be like.
That said, of course, most of what I have stated is not exactly unique, plenty of people have stated similar things to this, but it is as overstated as it is because it is absolutely the truth.
What this game does, honestly I'd say way better than any other Total War game, is cement the feeling of a genuine apocalypse, yes, including the Warhammer games.
Not that those games are bad necessarily, they're very well made, but the thing about the Warhammer games is that you always start with one region, and build up from there, and by the time Chaos or another endgame faction arrises, you've already built up a massive force and so many allies that with enough experience it kind of takes away from the endgame. Chaos, the Skaven, even the Dwarves, they kind of become a minor inconvenience most of the time unless you have bad luck or poor positioning.
Atilla does not have that issue. You have the Western Roman Empire, the biggest one in the game, the strongest, the most appealing... if you're a sadist. You have the barbarian factions, where you do everything you can to migrate away from the Huns and build up your strength slowly to prepare yourself against them and the other massive hordes that will look to take what's yours, or you have the east, who, outside of the Eastern Romans actually kind of avoid the Huns (for the most part) and actually have a little bit of a chance to play the game more conventionally.
Every faction plays differently as much on the campaign map as they do in the battles themselves, and it makes the game super replayable and intriguing seeing how your usual strategies handle being pushed like this. A ton of what worked in other Total Wars *WILL NOT* work here, because, as stated before, this game pushes you to your limits.
That said, this game is not perfect, obviously. Underrated as it kind of is in the series, part of the challenge absolutely comes from something called "Bullsh*t difficulty."
Why do you run from the Huns, instead of just speed blitzing them and instantly annihilating them? Because that actually will not work. They will actually just keep respawning until Atilla shows up. Oh, you slaughtered him and his entire army in battle? No you didn't, he's wounded, and you have to do it 3 godd*mn times before he actually dies, and that army you destroyed will instantly be replenished back in the north unless if you leave enough of them alive, in which case you actually will leave them weaker as they'll be forced to use cheap mercenaries and local levies to build their strength up.
The WRE, as much as it is a testament to your skill, it's *also* a testament to your patience. I cannot imagine trying to play as the WRE on Legendary, and I fully admit I have not done that. Imagine every end turn taking 45 *minutes,* NOT because your computer is that garbage, but because you get attacked *that* badly...
Oh yeah, and on Legendary manual saves are disabled, which means hope to god you got some time to kill! Because there is *no* saving that end turn sequence for later.
Climate change is kinda BS, because it never fixes itself without mods, which means your fertility will just die and never come back for some regions, which just gets super frustrating, the Huns doomstacks as intense as they are, are, again, also super frustrating when you kill 3 of their armies in a desperate, bloody battle, only to see them show back up in a few turns because you were dumb enough to think killing them down to the last man would actually punish the AI.
This game is far from flawless, is the point, but it's also genuinely one of the best of the "modern" Total Wars. I love this game, but it's not beginner friendly, unless if you want a *REALLY* steep learning curve, and it is a prime example of CA not understanding difficulty and AI. The challenge is relentless, and the game is so unique it makes it super replayable, and it can be a really good time, but it is also a very tedious time at points.
Pick this game up if you want to push your Total War skills and understanding to it's limit, while having an experience that is genuinely unique to every other game in the series...
Or for the mods, because, yeah, the mods are actually kinda crazy. 1212 AD is just straight up Medieval 3, and I love rebuilding the Roman Empire for the umpteenth time just like I did back in Medieval 2. Great game, flawed, but the risks it takes pay off in the end and it is a reminder of how fun and unique taking those risks can make a game. I wish it was more commonplace in the industry.