Now Playing: Fates Divided (DLC)

Fates Divided is the latest DLC for Total War: Three Kingdoms. If you’ve read my previous reviews of 3K DLC you’ll know that, overall, I’ve found them rather lacklustre and often overshadowed by the free content update / patch that accompanies each release. And I really try not to factor in the free content when judging each DLC – I try to only focus on what you’re actually paying for.

In the case of Fates Divided, however, that’s a little more tricky as part of the free update (the faction overhauls) is a pretty key component. Fates Divided focuses heavily on the Yuan Shao and Cao Cao factions and without those (free) faction overhauls, it wouldn’t be quite so fun to play. The accompanying patch also overhauls and improves various aspects of campaign management, most notably the faction council, faction rank progression and the new Imperial Intrigue system.

Once again, the free update that accompanies this DLC is arguably more important than the DLC itself. Because honestly, once you pick out all of the free additions, the content that you’re actually paying for in Fates Divided isn’t particularly substantial. You get access to a new start date (200), a new faction (Liu Yan), 20 new units and . . . and that’s about it.

I do like the new start date, particularly if you begin with one of the two factions this DLC focuses upon – Yuan Shao or Cao Cao. It essentially drops you into a campaign entering the mid-phase and it’s an engaging and enjoyable point to jump off from – even though your first few turns will likely be spent retooling your existing empire to better suit your own needs.

And this is where the line between free and paid content begins to blur. I really enjoyed returning to 3K and playing this new campaign, but a big part of the reason why I enjoyed it is the free updates and overhauls that were patched alongside the DLC. You simply can’t disentangle them and judge one without the other.

And that’s what makes reviewing Fates Divided so tricky. In a way, I enjoyed this DLC far more than the others – aside from, perhaps, Mandate of Heaven. But that enjoyment wasn’t really because of what I’d paid for, but because of the improvements and overhauls the accompanying free patch rolled into the core game.

The content you’re actually buying with Fates Divided isn’t very much to get excited about and if I were to judge it purely on those terms, it’s arguably one of the worst DLCs in terms of content value. So yeah, I’m kind of stumped on how best to review / recommend this DLC.

Overall, Fates Divided doesn’t really buck the trend of the previous DLC releases – the content you’re paying for is pretty lacklustre in comparison to the accompanying free update. But when the free updates are this good, I can’t say I regret purchasing the DLC, even if it’s just to continue to support the long term development of the game.

I think if you’re a fan of 3k then it’s certainly worth picking up either now or on sale, but I really want to see the next 3K DLC step it up and really offer something far more meaningful and substantial and, for once, provide great content value for the price.

6/10