The Creative Assembly has released the official announcement trailer for Total War Saga: TROY, the latest entry to its popular upcoming turn-based strategy series Total War.
The game developer revealed that the video game will focus on one of the most epic conflicts in world history: the Trojan War. Players will be able to take a historical look into this Bronze Age showdown between the ancient Greeks and Trojans that was made famous by Homer in his epic Iliad.
This is the furthest The Creative Assembly has ever reached back in time to feature in its Total War game franchise, which so far includes five full game releases, five expansion packs, and six combo packs. TROY will become the 16th game title to bear the Total War name.
"The fate of Aegean civilisation will be in your hands; each choice you make will shape the lands from the mythical heights of Mount Olympus to the arid deserts of Lemnos," the game developer said.
"Experience history as it may have happened or shape the legend for yourself in this unique chapter of Total War."
Total War Saga: TROY is expected to come out for Windows PC through Steam in 2020.
The Trojan War
One of the challenges in covering an event such as the Trojan War is that no one knows exactly whether the conflict even happened or not.
Most accounts of the war were taken from Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, though most scholars view them as works of fiction and not historically accurate. The legendary Greek author is believed to have gotten his details from stories that were told and retold as oral traditions during his time.
To get a good picture of the ancient conflict, The Creative Assembly made use of historical maps and archeology to give TROY's characters and settings with some authenticity. However, the game does include content taken from Greek mythology such as the Minotaur, which players can encounter on the battlefield.
TROY's Sandbox Gameplay
Much like its source material, TROY starts out with the kidnapping of Helen of Sparta by the Trojan prince Paris. They are then to make their way back to the walled city of Troy. From this point, the story will progress according to the players' choices.
The eight playable factions featured in the game have their own goals, leading up to the events depicted in the Iliad. However, TROY is still pretty much a sandbox title, meaning players can take the narrative in whatever direction they choose.
Instead of taking the fight to the Trojans as a unified group, the Greek factions could fight amongst themselves for supremacy in the Hellenic world. The Trojans could also launch a preemptive strike against the Greek city-states before their age-old rivals could even muster an invasion into their kingdom.
TROY will include several new features such as a barter system that can help boost the economy of player factions. There will also be patronage-like dynamic, where players can "curry the favor" of the ancient gods themselves to enlist their aid in the fight. Zeus and Aphrodite are two deities that served prominent roles in the Trojan War, but they have yet to make an appearance in the game's trailer videos.
Charlie Hall of Polygon speculates that Total War Saga: TROY may lean toward the hero-centric gameplay seen in Total War: Three Kingdoms more than the high fantasy elements of Total War: Warhammer 2.
