Medieval II - Kingdoms is the definitive Total War experience on mobile
Total War: Medieval II offers players large-scale battlesacross Europe during the Middle Ages, including factions from England to Egypt. It’s one of thebest strategy games for mobile, and today’s release of the Kingdoms expansion takes the experience to new heights. Adding 24 playable factions alongside four stand-alone campaigns, it’s well worth it for anyone who enjoyed the base game. We got our hands on this latest expansion to see it in action.
Arguably the most significant inclusion of the Kingdoms expansion is the addition of four new campaigns. These are tighter, region-specific campaigns that focus on flashpoints in the Middle Ages rather than the broad coverage found in the primary campaign.
The first campaign, Americas, is the most original mode to arrive. Pitting Central American nations, including the Aztecs and Mayans, against Spanish invaders and each other, this is a campaign that offers players the starkest technological differences between factions in Medieval II. Don’t worry, though; it’s a balanced experience for all sides.
The other three campaigns, Britannia, Crusades, and Teutonic, zoom in on areas of the core campaign map. Within these modes, players can wage war for control of the British Isles, the Holy Land, and the Holy Roman Empire. The added factions and granularity of each new campaign add depth that the core campaign lacks, although they tend to become a little repetitive. If you have a favorite faction from the core campaign, these new additions are perfect for exploring your favorite factions in a lot more depth.
Feral Interactive (the studio that has ported Total War: Medieval II to mobile) has also added a new campaign selector before the main menu to accommodate the new expansion. While it is listed under a single in-game purchase, each campaign is a separate download, which is handy if you’rerunning out of space on your phone. The total download size of the expansion is 7.65GB, a hefty addition to the 4.3GB of the core game.
I tested the expansion on a Pixel 7 Pro and ROG Phone 6 Pro. The Pixel 7 is supported, and the ROG 6 isn’t (a complete list can be found on Feral’s website), but I ran into no problems with either device during regular gameplay. However, opening the Game Dashboard on the Pixel 7 Pro would occasionally cause the game to crash. Both titles held at a constant 30fps, and the campaigns loaded quickly.
Those who haven’t tried one of Feral’s Total War ports on mobile might be skeptical of how touch-screen controls handle, but they’ve been lauded for their adaption of keyboard and mouse controls to the small screen. The experience isbest on an Android tablet, as no amount of clever UI design can avoid a cluttered screen, but those with a larger Android phone won’t have a problem playing the game. it’s possible to also connect a keyboard and mouse, although there’s no official Chromebook support.
While I played the mobile port of Rome: Total War back in 2018, I skipped Medieval II when it was released earlier this year. After picking up the Kingdoms expansion, I cannot recommend it enough for those who also skipped the core game. While touch controls are more or less the same as in Rome: Total War, Feral optimized them for both campaign and battle. UI elements have been reorganized for easier campaign map management, and the quicker unit selection and automatic battle slowdown for complex commands make managing units in battle easier. Add in the wealth of content of the Kingdoms expansion, and you’ve got a seamless mobile Total War experiencethat’ll last you for weeks.
Overall, Total War: Medieval II - Kingdoms is a must-buy for fans of the original. Available for $6.99 via in-app purchase, it brings the total package to $22.98. It’s a reasonable price, but we can only wholeheartedly recommend it for newcomers to the franchise if you’re using an Android tablet. Feral has pulled out all the stops to make it a mobile-friendly experience, but Total War is best experienced on a large screen. If you already own the base game, this is one of the best purchases you can make now.
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