When I was ten years old, I suddenly became obsessed with history because of two very specific video games — Age of Empires 2 and Dynasty Warriors 3. These very different games were both steeped in historical battles, and I couldn’t get enough. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the two would see crossover in any way, but here we are in 2025. The Three Kingdoms expansion for Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition is a thematically exciting idea, but even past that, it’s the single best expansion the game has seen to date — adding on three fantastic campaigns that fill a void overlooked by almost every other real-time strategy game in recent history. If you’ve been craving dynamic RTS campaigns, Three Kingdoms is a must-play.
If you’re unfamiliar with the idea of the Three Kingdoms, it was a period of time in ancient China (roughly 220-280 AD). During this time period, after the fall of the Han Dynasty, three separate kingdoms emerged and warred for control of China. This massive conflict was adapted in one of the most famous pieces of historical literature ever made — the Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
