Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV: Diplomacy and Strategy Expansion Pack
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Critic Reviews for Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV: Diplomacy and Strategy Expansion Pack
If you are new to this series or simulation strategy games in general, expect to spend a couple of hours just in the tutorials of Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV: Diplomacy and Strategy Expansion Pack. The gameplay is complex, but not overly convoluted. As you gain experience and get familiar with the available options and the general flow, it becomes a satisfying adventure.
With a second season pass to come, RoTK XIV is a significant investment, but it's one of those games that becomes a hobby all by itself. The portable platform suits it, as the clean aesthetics and design look resplendent on the Switch screen, and while it's not exactly a pick-up-an-play experience, it's also the kind of strategy game where you can get a lot done when you've got an hour's spare over lunch or before bed. This is going to be on heavy rotation for a long time to come.
While any content added to Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV is obviously welcomed, the Diplomacy and Strategy Expansion Pack sadly falls far short of what is to be expected, considering the significant cost of the additions. With just two headline gameplay features and no change to how the base game operates, this is very much a disappointing development. It would be great if Koei took stock at this point on just where the series is at in comparison with some heavy competition in this genre, and went all out to make the RTK franchise what it deserves to be.
Those in love with the history of the era will love the detail within Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV: Diplomacy and Strategy Expansion Pack Bundle, but to those that the history is meaningless the absolute volume of names and relationships is a waste of time. Furthermore, while this has some interesting concepts, it is just too bogged down with minutia and lost in its own stats. The series could really need an overhaul on how to make things more streamlined.
As expensive & underwhelming as funding a mercenary forces attempt to scale the enemy walls without ladders.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV: Diplomacy & Strategy Pack is a worthy addition to an already excellent strategy game. It was enough to get me to sink in dozens more hours into a title that I had not played in several months, reminding me how much I enjoyed the fourteenth installment of the franchise. That being said, if you played the core game in the past and found it not to your liking, I doubt that the additional depth or even the addition of Chronicles mode will convince you to give it another go – the core content and pacing had not changed all that dramatically. If like me however, you enjoyed what the base game had to offer, the additional depth and options hold plenty of appeal.
While the Nintendo Switch version of the game has a slightly downgraded visual resolutions and frame rate than other platforms, Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV: Diplomacy and Strategy Expansion Pack Bundle has a clever, possibly even smarter set of controls and accessibility with the addition of the touch and swipe screen function. But this was only possible because the game’s usual detailed strategy customization has become simplified. The Diplomacy and Strategy Expansion Pack adds more in-depth content but doesn’t highlight some of the butterfly effects of certain strategic decisions. Still an enjoyable game to those who expect complex drama and human interactions sprouting from different tactical outcomes.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV: Diplomacy and Strategy Expansion Pack is a good bundle that will offer us hours and hours of fun if we are into the grand strategy genre. It has some details that can be improved, such as the AI, or some dead hours in the games, but also great ideas such as how to annex territory. Also, the four scenarios offered by the expansion add even more hours to a game than if you get hooked, you won't need anything else for quite a while.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
