Fall of the Samurai is the upcoming stand-alone expansion for Total War: Shogun 2, and boasts around 100 hours of gameplay set in 19th century Japan during the Boshin War period.

As I fired up the preview build at SEGA’s headquarters I immediately noticed the updated campaign map, which reflects a more modern printed atlas rather than the hand-drawn style in Shogun 2. Indeed, FOTS focuses on the modernisation of Japan, which sees three playable tradition-loving Shogunate factions squaring off against three pro-Imperialist factions striving for technological advancement in the wake of Western influences. One of the key campaign mechanics is how certain technologies will increase a faction’s level of modernisation, which allows development of higher tiers in the tech-tree. However, this causes dissatisfaction in the traditionalist population, and thus reduces the effectiveness of samurai units.

A modern era also brings modern weaponry, and some of the new units are quite a sight to behold. From Gatling guns spewing forth death to ironclad warships emerging from a dense seaside fog, it’s a wonder why you would ever consider bringing a katana to a gun battle. The new third-person camera brings the action even closer, which offers an interesting diversion by allowing players to directly control artillery and ship cannons. Friendly fire has never been so devastatingly sadistic.

In past Total War games, naval gameplay has always had arguably little impact on the rest of the land-focused campaign. FOTS changes this by allowing the navy to bombard settlements or armies on the campaign map, or even call in an offshore strike during a land battle. Additionally, steam-powered warships mean naval battles themselves now occur at a much faster pace, and the introduction of port sieges adds a fresh take on naval warfare.


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Railroads can also be built on the campaign map, allowing for faster movement and resupply of armies. New agents like the Ishin-shishi (pro-Imperialist) and Shinsegumi (pro-Shogunate) spread the influence of their respective allegiances, while the Foreign Veteran is a powerful new agent capable of doing a myriad of actions like training soldiers or duelling other agents. Also worth mentioning is that each year now equals 24 turns to reflect the shorter time period. This means each season lasts for six turns, and factors such as longer attrition durations and decreased farm production during winter become more important.

Finally, one of the most requested features from the community will make its debut. It’s now possible to directly control a reinforcing army stack of 20 units, potentially totalling a massive 40 units for battles of truly Peter Jackson-like proportions. A few interface tweaks help manage the clutter; however, battles can get hectic very quickly if you’re not meticulous with grouping and making liberal use of the pause button.

Overall, FOTS is shaping up to be a game that Total War fans will no doubt enjoy. As a fan myself, I’m really digging the greater interaction between land and sea. While FOTS is again moving away from Total War’s roots in melee combat in favour of the gun, it does show the potential and flexibility for the series to move into different periods and settings without drastically changing the core mechanics.

Fall of the Samurai is expected for release on March 23rd.