The remaster of this strategy classic is currently being completely torn apart by fans and content creators.
Creative Assembly hasn’t faced a shitstorm like this in quite a while. But now the development studio is taking the brunt of it again. The reason for the concentrated anger of Total War fans is the latest release of Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition.
The re-release was intended to bring the popular strategy classic up to date, give it a technological overhaul, and combine the base game with its two expansions, Rise of the Samurai and Fall of the Samurai. As of October 13, the original game is no longer available for purchase on Steam; only the Complete Edition, priced at 40 euros, is available. Those who already own the game and the add-ons can at least upgrade to the new version for just 10 euros (though this offer is valid only for the first 30 days).
But hardly anyone is happy about this. Instead, the remaster is being heavily criticized by fans. Currently, the Complete Edition on Steam with only 19 percent positive reviews.
Why Fans Hate the Complete Edition
What’s the problem? Actually, the Complete Edition didn’t look too bad at all in the run-up to its release. CA promised more than just a complete package that primarily combines Shogun 2 with the standalone Fall of the Samurai. It was supposed to take a leap forward graphically, run more smoothly, and introduce several new quality-of-life features.
While the re-release has succeeded in some of these areas, it hasn’t quite delivered on all of them. Overall, there are roughly three major reasons why fans have been massively disappointed by the Complete Edition:
- Performance: The graphics are visibly better than before, but apparently come at a steep cost. Many players are complaining about disastrous performance. The game is said to run terribly—even on powerful computers—despite the fact that the graphics are better but still not state-of-the-art.
- The AI upscaling: There are currently more and more posts on Reddit where fans are taking a very close look at the new in-game artwork. It’s clear to many that the developers simply ran an AI upscaler over the unit images.
However, this was apparently not done very carefully, as there are numerous errors in the artwork. On top of that, the revamped cutscenes are now rendered in a cheap-looking woodcut style, where signs of generative AI can also be found.
Just a heads-up: you can also choose to disable the new cutscenes.
- The Bugs: Many fans are also shocked that the re-release simply hasn’t fixed numerous bugs in Shogun 2 that have been known for decades. Even worse! Fans are pretty much in agreement that the game now has more bugs than ever before.
Admittedly, among the many critical voices, there are also a few who are satisfied with the Complete Edition so far. Most of the positive reviews mention that they didn’t expect much more for the 10-euro premium. For them, it’s primarily a graphical upgrade that doesn’t change much about the original game.
We’ve already put our own expert, Reiner, to work on the Complete Edition. You can expect a detailed review of this re-release of the Total War classic in the coming days.
What happens next?
Clearly, the current situation isn’t something Creative Assembly can just let slide. The studio is already in the process of rebuilding its reputation with fans after facing repeated massive backlashes in recent years. Most recently, it seemed as though the studio was back on track, but the release of the Complete Edition has reopened many old wounds.
It’s quite possible that Creative Assembly is aware of this and is trying to fix the issues with the Complete Edition. Of course, there’s no guarantee of that. Especially since the studio currently has a lot on its plate. Creative Assembly is currently developing both Warhammer 40k and Medieval 3. On top of that, extensive updates for Rome 2 are planned.
