Game review
Total War MEDIEVAL II Definitive Edition
8.5 / 10
- Developer
- Creative Assembly
- Publisher
- SEGA
- Released
- 15 November 2006
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- Genre
- Strategy
- Monetisation
- One-time purchase, no additional DLC
- Players
- Online multiplayer battles alongside the single-player campaign
The short version
Total War: MEDIEVAL II - Definitive Edition is Creative Assembly's turn-based empire-building and real-time siege battle strategy game, widely regarded by fans and critics alike as one of the finest entries the series has ever produced. It sits at 96% positive ("Overwhelmingly Positive") across 21,677 English-language Steam reviews, and this review read the 100 most-helpful negative reviews alongside the 100 most recent English reviews.
Unlike several other Total War titles this outlet has reviewed, this game's negative sample is thin and doesn't converge on one dominant, current crisis. Recent sentiment (95% positive) is essentially unchanged from the strong lifetime figure. The largest recurring theme is age-related technical friction — crashes, UI elements that don't scale to modern high-resolution monitors, and dated camera controls — reported steadily but never at crisis volume. A separate, now largely historical complaint concerns a 2019 regional price increase reviewers called a "sneak" hike disproportionately affecting non-US markets. This review also found a small, fresh cluster of reviews from December 2025 describing the game failing to launch after a Steam client update, with reviewers reporting they tried the usual fixes without success.
Biggest strengths
- Widely considered one of the best Total War games ever made, with reviewers on both sides of the score praising the campaign depth and siege battle design directly
- Recent sentiment (95% positive) matches the strong 96% lifetime figure, showing no sign of declining regard nearly 20 years after release
- The Definitive Edition bundles the acclaimed Kingdoms expansion content at no extra cost
Biggest weaknesses
- Age-related technical friction is the most consistent complaint: crashes, UI elements that don't scale properly on modern high-resolution monitors, and camera controls some reviewers describe as clunky by current standards
- A 2019 regional pricing increase, which reviewers at the time called a "sneak" price hike disproportionately affecting non-US markets, remains a documented part of the game's history even though this review found it largely absent from more recent reviews
- A small, specific cluster of reviews from December 2025 describe the game failing to launch following a Steam client update, with the usual community fixes reported as ineffective
Who it's for: Grand strategy and medieval history fans who want what many consider the best Total War campaign and siege battle design ever made — buyers on 4K displays or unusual hardware configurations should check current compatibility reports first.
Our recommendation: An essential classic strategy game, still excellent nearly 20 years on — budget time for the occasional technical hiccup expected of an older title, and check recent launch reports if you've hit Steam client issues.
8.5 / 10
Introduction
Total War: MEDIEVAL II - Definitive Edition is Creative Assembly's turn-based empire-building and real-time siege battle strategy game, published by SEGA and originally released on 15 November 2006 at NZ$42.95. Widely regarded by fans and critics as one of the strongest entries the series has ever produced, this Definitive Edition bundles the base game with the acclaimed Kingdoms expansion. It sits at 96% positive ("Overwhelmingly Positive") across 21,677 English-language Steam reviews. This review read the 100 most-helpful negative reviews of 932 total, plus a sample of the 100 most recent English reviews.
No single crisis, just expected age
Unlike several other Total War titles this outlet has reviewed this session — where a single poorly-communicated update or DLC dispute dominates the negative sample — this review found Medieval II's complaints thin and scattered rather than concentrated around one event. Recent English reviews run 95% positive, essentially matching the strong 96% lifetime figure, with no sign of a live, unresolved controversy. The most consistent theme is simply the friction expected of a nearly 20-year-old game: "One of the primary complaints about MEDIEVAL II – Definitive Edition is its poor optimization. Even on modern hardware, players experience low frame rates, crashes, and long loading times," reads one detailed review. A separate reviewer describes a specific, modern-hardware-specific issue: "the 'definitive edition' ui is skewed at high res and will lead to you not being able to click on towns unless they're in the center of your fov... on a 4k monitor" it's "not pleasant to use."
A historical price controversy, and a fresh Steam-side issue
This review found one genuine, dated controversy in the older portion of the sample: a 2019 regional pricing increase. "Prices for all Total War games were inflated across many regions, and that too very disproportionately," reads one detailed 2019 review, citing specific examples from non-US markets. This review found the complaint largely confined to 2019 in its sample, consistent with a settled, historical grievance rather than a live one. More recently, this review found a small but specific cluster of December 2025 reviews describing a new problem: "after apparently the latest steam 64 bit client update, the game actively fails to launch under any circumstance, including any and all tricks," reads one, describing exhausting the usual community fixes without success. This is a small sample (a handful of reviews) rather than a dominant pattern, but worth flagging for anyone who hits it.
Verdict
Total War: MEDIEVAL II - Definitive Edition remains, by wide consensus including this review's own negative sample, one of the finest strategy games ever made — reviewers marking it down still routinely call the campaign and siege battles exceptional. What little criticism exists is mostly the ordinary friction of an older game meeting modern hardware, plus a historical 2019 pricing dispute and a small, fresh Steam-launcher issue from December 2025. An easy recommendation for grand strategy and medieval history fans, with only minor caveats for players on unusual hardware configurations.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Widely considered one of the best Total War games ever made, with reviewers on both sides of the score praising the campaign depth and siege battle design directly
- Recent sentiment (95% positive) matches the strong 96% lifetime figure, showing no sign of declining regard nearly 20 years after release
- The Definitive Edition bundles the acclaimed Kingdoms expansion content at no extra cost
- A deep, long-running modding scene that reviewers credit as extending the game's relevance well beyond its original release
Cons
- Age-related technical friction is the most consistent complaint: crashes, UI elements that don't scale properly on modern high-resolution monitors, and camera controls some reviewers describe as clunky by current standards
- A 2019 regional pricing increase, which reviewers at the time called a "sneak" price hike disproportionately affecting non-US markets, remains a documented part of the game's history even though this review found it largely absent from more recent reviews
- A small, specific cluster of reviews from December 2025 describe the game failing to launch following a Steam client update, with the usual community fixes reported as ineffective
- No controller support, which may be a barrier for some players used to more recent strategy titles offering it
Screenshots
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Total War: MEDIEVAL II – Definitive EditionImage: SEGA via Steam -
Total War: MEDIEVAL II – Definitive EditionImage: SEGA via Steam -
Total War: MEDIEVAL II – Definitive EditionImage: SEGA via Steam -
How the review scores each part of the gameWanderer Editorial -
The essentials at a glanceWanderer Editorial -
The short versionWanderer Editorial