Total War Troy: Gameplay, trailers and how to get the game for free

The Creative Assembly’s Total War franchise has been at the forefront of strategy gaming for 20 years. Now, gamers will have a brief window of opportunity to get the latest series outing, A Total War Saga: Troy, completely free. Here’s everything we know about the game – and how to pick up a free copy. 

This latest ‘Saga’ outing, indicates a slightly smaller scale, smaller budget game, as opposed to titles like Rome II Total War, which come without the ‘Saga’ prefix. This time out, gamers will be taken back to the Bronze Age Mediterranean, in a game that mixes history and myth in an interesting new direction for the series.

Developers, Creative Assembly, aim to blend realistic -strategy-focused battles with a sprinkling of mythology, as iconic characters and monsters star including Achilles, Hector and a Minotaur-inspired warrior. 

A Total War Saga: Troy brings all the classic features and mechanics of the renowned strategy franchise to the Trojan War as you plot and fight your war to victory as you conquer the entire kingdom from the city of Troy to Mount Olympus. 

Look below for everything we know about the newly announced Total War title, including release date, news and trailers. 

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Total War Troy Release Date – When will it launch?

Total War Troy is set to land August 13 on PC. Interestingly, it will be an Epic Games Store exclusive for the first year and – unbelievably – the game will be free for the first 24 hours after its release. 

Total War Troy Trailer – How does it look?

The latest trailer for the game shows off some gameplay and the main event of the game’s central myth – the siege of Troy. Take a look below.

Below is an earlier trailer, showing Achilles and Hector duelling out in spectacular fashion.

This looks to be one of the most blockbuster footage we’ve seen in the Total War series yet, and teases the incredible fighting scenes you’ll witness in Total War Troy.

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Another, less cinematic but more informative trailer showcases the campaign map. Move across the map and we see Greece, Troy and surrounding regions, as well as an all-new Greek-vase-style skyline, which is a nice touch.

The map centres around the Agean Sea and is on a scale similar to that of the Rome 2 map. Take a look below:

Total War Troy – Everything you need to know

Creative Assembly has revealed a lot of information for its new Total War Troy game ahead of its 2020 launch. We’ve dug through the information and provided answers for some of the biggest questions fans may have for the new strategy game.

How historically accurate will it be?

Creative Assembly has said it wants to attempt to dig into the truth behind Homer’s Iliad rather than going full-on fantasy. This means Total War Troy will be closer to the likes of Total War: Rome in tone than the fantastical Total War: Warhammer. In-fact, it’s likely to walk the same line between myth and history trodden by recent instalment, Total War: Three Kingdoms.

Despite its attempts to paint a down-to-the-earth portrayal of the Trojan War, Creative Assembly doesn’t ignore the mythical side of the stories surrounding Troy and ancient Greece completely. A good example of this is the Minotaur warrior, which is a humans solider that dresses up like the mythical monster with suitably savage special skills.

‘Centaurs’ are also unlockable, though really they are just cavalry. Seemingly cavalry unit types are very, very rare in the game, making the ‘Centaurs’ deserve their special, semi-mythical status.

Lead game designer, Todor Nikolov, told PC Gamer: “We’ve got the history and archaeology on the one hand, and we have the characters and the narrative from The Iliad to just pour over them.”

How many factions are there?

The game will feature eight playable factions, centred around the legendary heroes from the original legend. Leaders like Hector and Menelaus will head up their respective factions as well as taking the lead in battle.

What legendary heroes will there be?

Creative Assembly has confirmed several legendary heroes: Achilles, Hector, Menelaus, Paris, Agamemnon, Sarpedon and Odysseus. We’re likely to see Ajax in the final game too.

Achilles, of course, boasts superhuman strength and looks to be the strongest warrior in the game. He can’t be made completely unstoppable though, so he also has some massive flaws including his hot-tempered nature whenever his pride is insulted, which makes him a weak diplomat.

Meanwhile, Hector is also known for his skills as a warrior, but better suits defensive tactics where the aim is to wear the enemy down rather than rushing in for the kill.

The way these heroes are used in the game will likely take a lead from the most recent instalment in the Total War franchise, Total War: Three Kingdoms. That game offered settings which could see legendary heroes used as such, with borderline-superhuman powers and abilities in battle, or see them used as army Generals are  usually used in Total War games, as fragile leaders who offer a valuable morale boost and a small unit of elite guards.

The option also existed in Total War: Three Kingdoms, for legendary heroes to lock into duels during the heat of battle, during which they solely fought each other, ignoring other units on the battlefield. This feature is going to appear again, so hopefully there will be in-game chances to reproduce the epic showdown between Achilles and Hector.

Nikolov said: “It’s a great tool for us to do some narrative in an otherwise sandbox game. With Odysseus, for example, his quest is actually our modest way to retell The Odyssey.”

However, there are changes made from the Three Kingdoms duelling mechanic, with heroes able to walk away from challenges without a penalty after a certain amount of time has passed. Creative Assembly say this will give challenges more of a freeform feel.

Will the Gods play a part?

It’s impossible to leave out the Gods in a game all about the war between the Greeks and Trojans, given the significant role they play in the mythical stories.

That said, Creative Assembly still want to maintain a grounded vision of the Trojan War and so has refrained from allowing players to hurl lightning bolts at infantry troops from the heavens.

Instead, Total War Troy will use the factions’ belief of Gods to give them perks and bonuses rather than seeing Gods getting directly involved in the combat. These perks could include naval bonuses from Poseidon or a boost to warfare from Ares.

Nikolov told PC Gamer: “We’ve chosen to implement the gods as part of the gameplay system where, based on what you do in the game, different gods tend to like you or dislike you, gaining or losing you favour.”

What resources will there be?

To reflect the Bronze Age that Total War Troy takes place in, this will be the first Total War game in the history of the series to feature multiple resources.

These resources will include food, wood, stone, bronze and gold, with each possessing varying degrees of availability and uses. Food and wood will be used to recruit warriors and build early-game buildings, while high-tier troops and buildings will require bronze and stone instead. And then finally gold will be helpful for trading in the later stages of the game.

This is a huge change to the series, with previous outings traditionally asking players to worry about one resource, currency. Now players will have a more complex resource system to manage and be able to go bankrupt in several different ways.

This could add to diplomacy in interesting ways too. Rich and starving? Try finding and ally and trading partner who’s well fed but cash-poor. We’re interested to see whether or not this makes the game feel more difficult.

What new terrain and unit types are there?

Mud and long grass have been introduced as two new terrain types for Total War Troy. The first of the two will slow down the movement of heavy infantry, which can have a substantial impact on the battlefield.

The long grass, on the other hand, allows select unity types to hide from the view of opposing players, which is great for scouting and stealthy tactics.

This could mean battles play out quite differently in Total War Troy, as there will be apparently be very limited cavalry availability. Hence, infantry units that can use stealth tactics could be more useful than ever before.

Creative Assembly further explained some of the changes to the game’s battles. The developer said: There is a strong infantry-VS-infantry focus in Troy’s combat to reflect the realities of the age. With greater variances in speed and mass between light, medium and heavy infantry classes, fighting will be dynamic and tactically rich.. Many new active and passive battle abilities fuel this dynamism – so elite defensive warriors may be immune to flanking for example, while elite assault troops may be expert Flankers, increasing the negative effects of flanking on the units they outflank.

“Horses were scarce and rarely used in conflict of this age; those that were pressed into service were generally used to haul chariots. Consequently battles in Troy will require new subtle, and not so subtle, masteries of battlefield tactics.”

 

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