Total War: Three Kingdoms trailer shows more realistic 'Records' mode

So far we've seen plenty of the Total War: Three Kingdoms Romance mode but little of the more realistic version of the campaign, called 'Records'. It sounds like this mainly changes the power of heroes in battles. Instead of being lone warriors capable of fending off entire units, heroes fight as part of a unit of fighters. They are also more vulnerable than they are in Romance mode.

According to the Sega press release battles in Records mode tend to go 30 percent longer. "This comes down to units becoming fatigued more quickly, reducing the damage they dish out as they tire. The result is an increased pressure on player choices—knowing when to invest energy and how to maintain an advantage."

Total War: Three Kingdoms was recently delayed until May 23. We've had a lot of chances to play the game already, fortunately. The rebuilt diplomacy system and the era's complex alliances can make for a confusing experience at the start of a campaign, but it's a beautiful take on ancient China with a completely revamped diplomacy and AI system. For more, here's everything we know about Total War: Three Kingdoms.

Tom Senior

Part of the UK team, Tom was with PC Gamer at the very beginning of the website's launch—first as a news writer, and then as online editor until his departure in 2020. His specialties are strategy games, action RPGs, hack ‘n slash games, digital card games… basically anything that he can fit on a hard drive. His final boss form is Deckard Cain.