Having spent quite some time with the game, I now feel confident in writing an in-depth review of Total War: Warhammer II

The Total War Warhammer franchise is some of the best work CA has ever done, and with the 2nd installment in the trilogy, it reaches new heights.
The Vortex Campaign introduce us to four new races: High Elves (Asur), Dark Elves (Druchii), Lizardmen and Skaven. All four feature unique mechanics both on the grand strategy map of the campaign, and in battles where all four factions shine with their different methods, strengths and weaknesses.

Through DLC further factions were introduced to the game, to compliment the already impressive and formidable roster, all worth their own review and more often than not worth the purchase as well.

And here we arrive at the less ideal, though not specifically bad, portion of the review:
Where the game TRULY shines, is the Mortal Empires campaign. However, in order to access that you also need to own the previous installment of Total War: Warhammer, and to REALLY get the FULL experience you gotta have the DLC for that game as well, as all that carries over into the MASSIVE map that incompasses both the Old World and it's races from Total War: Warhammer and the New World and it's inhabitants from Total War: Warhammer II

It's such a grand experience, with hundreds of individual settlements, over one hundred factions, and so much to do you'll rarely find yourself bored. But that all adds up, and get really really expensive. So if you want the 100% experience, be ready to fork over some serious dough. I do recommend doing so, however!

The Graphics of the game, has been visibly improved over the previous installment, as has loading times (bar Mortal Empires, given the sheer amount of content), sounds, textures, everything really. It's an overall joyous experience to be sure!

Now to the negative parts, because there are some.

The Diplomacy is widely know to be lackluster compared to titles such as Medieval II, and feels very superficial and like a tool to merely secure more income through irrelevant trade agreements or prevent a war with someone via bribery. It's boring, oversimplified and just not very good.

The offices system of the Empire pre-update and of the current Woodelves are boring and lackluster as well, with no real incentive to do anything with it unless you want the meagre bonuses that are situationally and very rarely uniquely usefull and benificial.

Loading Times can be excrusiating in Mortal Empires unless your computer runs on Warpstone, or is otherwise top-of-the-line. With my slightly-above-average setup, loading times in the end game of Mortal Empires are usually long enough for me to do a few dishes, put on water for a cup of tea, hell sometimes even upwards of 7 minutes, meaning just enough time for a quick smoke.

If your PC has some serious CPU power and looooads of RAM, this should NOT be as bad, but for the average user it can be quite... lengthy.

Overall I'd recommend fans of Warhammer and/or Total War to get this, and the previous, game. It's a must have, and an absolute master piece with a few kinks sure, but nothing noteworthy.

9.5/10

tl;dr

Graphics: 10/10
Sound: 10/10
Gameplay: 9/10
AI: 8/10
Replay Value: 10/10
Cost: Expensive as hell for 100% experience
Worth buying: ♥♥♥♥. Yes.
DLC worth buying: If you got the money, yes. Without a doubt.

Having spent quite some time with the game, I now feel confident in writing an in-depth review of Total War: Warhammer II The Total War Warhammer franchise is some of the best work CA has ever done, and with the 2nd installment in the trilogy, it reaches new heights. The Vortex Campaign introduce us to four new races: High Elves (Asur), Dark Elves (Druchii), Lizardmen and Skaven. All four feature unique mechanics both on the grand strategy map of the campaign, and in battles where all four factions shine with their different methods, strengths and weaknesses. Through DLC further factions were introduced to the game, to compliment the already impressive and formidable roster, all worth their own review and more often than not worth the purchase as well. And here we arrive at the less ideal, though not specifically bad, portion of the review: Where the game TRULY shines, is the Mortal Empires campaign. However, in order to access that you also need to own the previous installment of Total War: Warhammer, and to REALLY get the FULL experience you gotta have the DLC for that game as well, as all that carries over into the MASSIVE map that incompasses both the Old World and it's races from Total War: Warhammer and the New World and it's inhabitants from Total War: Warhammer II It's such a grand experience, with hundreds of individual settlements, over one hundred factions, and so much to do you'll rarely find yourself bored. But that all adds up, and get really really expensive. So if you want the 100% experience, be ready to fork over some serious dough. I do recommend doing so, however! The Graphics of the game, has been visibly improved over the previous installment, as has loading times (bar Mortal Empires, given the sheer amount of content), sounds, textures, everything really. It's an overall joyous experience to be sure! Now to the negative parts, because there are some. The Diplomacy is widely know to be lackluster compared to titles such as Medieval II, and feels very superficial and like a tool to merely secure more income through irrelevant trade agreements or prevent a war with someone via bribery. It's boring, oversimplified and just not very good. The offices system of the Empire pre-update and of the current Woodelves are boring and lackluster as well, with no real incentive to do anything with it unless you want the meagre bonuses that are situationally and very rarely uniquely usefull and benificial. Loading Times can be excrusiating in Mortal Empires unless your computer runs on Warpstone, or is otherwise top-of-the-line. With my slightly-above-average setup, loading times in the end game of Mortal Empires are usually long enough for me to do a few dishes, put on water for a cup of tea, hell sometimes even upwards of 7 minutes, meaning just enough time for a quick smoke. If your PC has some serious CPU power and looooads of RAM, this should NOT be as bad, but for the average user it can be quite... lengthy. Overall I'd recommend fans of Warhammer and/or Total War to get this, and the previous, game. It's a must have, and an absolute master piece with a few kinks sure, but nothing noteworthy. 9.5/10 tl;dr Graphics: 10/10 Sound: 10/10 Gameplay: 9/10 AI: 8/10 Replay Value: 10/10 Cost: Expensive as hell for 100% experience Worth buying: Fuck. Yes. DLC worth buying: If you got the money, yes. Without a doubt.