A recent rerelease of the strategy classic, Total War: Shogun 2 - Complete Edition, has drawn significant criticism from the franchise's fanbase. Released on Steam, the updated version has been met with an "Overwhelmingly Negative" review consensus, with 83% of user reviews reportedly negative just one day after its launch. Players are citing numerous bugs and what they describe as poor AI-generated visual enhancements as primary concerns.
Fans have expressed frustration over unaddressed bugs present in the original game, along with new issues introduced in the Complete Edition. One top-rated user review noted specific problems with “ninja balancing” and criticized the developers for failing to fix existing issues while adding new ones. The sentiment suggests that the rerelease has not only failed to improve stability and performance, which many players hoped for in a 64-bit port, but has also degraded the experience.
Criticism Mounts Over Delisting and Pricing
Further compounding player dissatisfaction is the delisting of the original Total War: Shogun 2 from Steam and its repackaging as a higher-priced Complete Edition. This move has been labeled “shameful” by some players, who feel the new version offers a downgrade in functionality, particularly the removal of Steam Workshop support, while simultaneously demanding a higher price.
Originally released in 2011, Total War: Shogun 2 was critically acclaimed, earning a 90 on Metacritic and a “Mostly Positive” rating on Steam with over 22,000 user reviews. The game challenged players to lead a clan in 16th-century Japan, blending real-time combat with turn-based empire management and diplomacy.
Visual Upgrades Under Fire
The Complete Edition promised “improved visuals” and support for 1440p and 4K resolutions. However, players have pointed out that the process of upscaling the game's decade-and-a-half-old graphics has resulted in what they perceive as