Best games
The best The Creative Assembly games
The 10 best games from The Creative Assembly, ranked from 2,588 critic and player ratings.
The best The Creative Assembly game is Empire: Total War, with a critic score of 90/100. Updated September 2026.
- Ranked releases span 2004 to 2017.
- Average critic score across the 10 ranked games: 85/100.
- 2,588 critic and player ratings behind this ranking.
How this ranking is built
- Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
- A game only enters the ranking with at least 80 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
- Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
- Release window covered: 1970 to 2026.
- 10 games are listed on this page, carrying 2,588 ratings between them.
- Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 29 September 2026.
Top 10
01
Empire: Total War
Empire: Total War introduces a host of revolutionary new features, including true 3D naval combat. For the first time in the Total War series, you will be able to intuitively command single ships or vast fleets upon seascapes rich with extraordinary water and weather effects that play a huge role in your eventual glorious success or ignominious defeat. After pummelling your enemy with cannon fire, close in to grapple their ship and prepare to board, taking control of your men as they fight hand-to-hand on the decks of these wooden behemoths. In addition, Empire: Total War will see further enhancements to the Total War series’ signature 3D battles and turn-based campaign map. Real-time battles will pose new challenges with the addition of cannon and musket, challenging players to master new formations and tactics as a result of the increasing role of gunpowder within warfare. And the Campaign Map for many, the heart of Total War introduces a variety of new and upgraded elements, including new systems for Trade, Diplomacy and Espionage with agents; a refined and streamlined UI; improved Advisors; and a vastly extended scope, taking in the riches of India, the turbulence of Europe and, for the first time, the untapped potential of the United States of America.
90
/100
02
Medieval II: Total War
Take command of your armies and expand your reign. Conquer, destroy, rebuild and improve the cities of the greatest medieval nations of the Western and Middle Eastern world. Employ diplomacy to manipulate your allies and enemies and direct epic and visceral real time battles with up to 10,000 meticulously detailed troops shedding blood on lush 3D landscapes complete with dynamic weather effects in order to re-write history and rule the world. Spanning four and a half centuries of Western history’s most bloody and turbulent era, Medieval 2 encompasses the golden age of chivalry, the Crusades, the creation and propagation of gunpowder, the rise of the professional army and the discovery and conquest of the Americas. The indirect sequel to 2002’s Medieval: Total War, Medieval 2 is set between years 1080 and 1530 and focuses on medieval warfare, religion and politics in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
90
/100
03
ROME: Total War
Set during the rule of the late Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire, Rome: Total War is a real-time tactics and turn-based strategy game that takes place across Europe, North Africa and the Near East. The player assumes control of one of three Roman families with eight other factions playable outside the main campaign. The main goal of the campaign is to become emperor of Rome by conquering fifty provinces with the support of the people before capturing Rome itself although a short campaign is also available wherein success depends on besting other factions in a race to seize control of 15 provinces.
88
/100
Empire: Total War
Empire: Total War introduces a host of revolutionary new features, including true 3D naval combat. For the first time in the Total War series, you will be able to intuitively command single ships or vast fleets upon seascapes rich with extraordinary water and weather effects that play a huge role in your eventual glorious success or ignominious defeat. After pummelling your enemy with cannon fire, close in to grapple their ship and prepare to board, taking control of your men as they fight hand-to-hand on the decks of these wooden behemoths. In addition, Empire: Total War will see further enhancements to the Total War series’ signature 3D battles and turn-based campaign map. Real-time battles will pose new challenges with the addition of cannon and musket, challenging players to master new formations and tactics as a result of the increasing role of gunpowder within warfare. And the Campaign Map for many, the heart of Total War introduces a variety of new and upgraded elements, including new systems for Trade, Diplomacy and Espionage with agents; a refined and streamlined UI; improved Advisors; and a vastly extended scope, taking in the riches of India, the turbulence of Europe and, for the first time, the untapped potential of the United States of America.
90
/100
02
Medieval II: Total War
Take command of your armies and expand your reign. Conquer, destroy, rebuild and improve the cities of the greatest medieval nations of the Western and Middle Eastern world. Employ diplomacy to manipulate your allies and enemies and direct epic and visceral real time battles with up to 10,000 meticulously detailed troops shedding blood on lush 3D landscapes complete with dynamic weather effects in order to re-write history and rule the world. Spanning four and a half centuries of Western history’s most bloody and turbulent era, Medieval 2 encompasses the golden age of chivalry, the Crusades, the creation and propagation of gunpowder, the rise of the professional army and the discovery and conquest of the Americas. The indirect sequel to 2002’s Medieval: Total War, Medieval 2 is set between years 1080 and 1530 and focuses on medieval warfare, religion and politics in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
90
/100
03
ROME: Total War
Set during the rule of the late Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire, Rome: Total War is a real-time tactics and turn-based strategy game that takes place across Europe, North Africa and the Near East. The player assumes control of one of three Roman families with eight other factions playable outside the main campaign. The main goal of the campaign is to become emperor of Rome by conquering fifty provinces with the support of the people before capturing Rome itself although a short campaign is also available wherein success depends on besting other factions in a race to seize control of 15 provinces.
88
/100
04
Total War: Shogun 2
In Total War: Shogun 2 you choose from one of 9 (10 with Ikko-Ikki dlc) clans, each with their own unique traits and skills and each with their own RPG-style warlord to lead them. Use a mixture of diplomacy, political manoeuvring, province building, research and special agents such as Ninja assassins or Geisha spies to get your enemies exactly where you want them. An intuitive user interface and a lovingly-created, complex and detailed campaign map make it both easy and enjoyable to build and run cities, recruit and move troops and issue commands – both noble and dishonorable, all with the aim of mastering enemy forces and seizing their lands.
88
/100
05
Total War: WARHAMMER II
Total War: Warhammer II is a strategy game of titanic proportions. Choose from four unique, varied factions and wage war your way; mounting a campaign of conquest to save or destroy a vast and vivid fantasy world. This is a game of two halves: one a turn-based open-world campaign, and the other intense, tactical real-time battles across the fantastical landscapes of the New World.
86
/100
06
S
Alien: Isolation
Alien: Isolation is a survival horror game based on the Alien franchise. As Amanda Ripley, daughter of Ellen Ripley, you will navigate through an increasingly volatile world as you find yourself confronted on all sides by a panicked population and an unpredictable Alien. You must scavenge resources, improvise solutions and use your wits, not just to succeed in your mission but to simply stay alive. In addition to the main story mode there's Survivor mode in which the player needs to escape from a specially designed map fulfilling secondary objectives along the way, while being aggressively hunted by the alien. This mode includes online leaderboards.
86
/100
07
Total War: Warhammer
A unique combination of colossal real-time battles and an addictive turn-based sandbox campaign game of statecraft, politics and empire building, Total War: WARHAMMER will deliver hundreds of hours of absorbing gameplay. What is more, this title will go on to combine with two further standalone instalments and additional content packs to create the largest Total War experience ever. An epic trilogy of titles that will redefine fantasy strategy gaming. This is the dawn of a new era. Total War: WARHAMMER brings to life a world of legendary heroes, towering monsters, flying creatures, storms of magical power and regiments of nightmarish warriors.
85
/100
08
Napoleon: Total War
Napoleon: Total War is the new chapter in the critically acclaimed Total War series and opens up a new narrative layer to the genre-defining franchise. From the early Italian campaign to the battle of Waterloo, Napoleon covers two decades of relentless battles, a backdrop of a world in flames against which the story of an extraordinary military career unfolds. Whether you play as the legendary general or against him, the outcome of war can never be guaranteed. The course of history relies on your ability to lead your troops through the most intense battles as never seen before in a Total War game.
81
/100
09
Total War: ATTILA
The next installment in the turn-based strategy game with real-time tactics, Total War: Attila casts players back to 395 AD. A time of apocalyptic turmoil at the very dawn of the Dark Ages. How far will you go to survive? Will you sweep oppression from the world and carve out a barbarian or Eastern kingdom of your own? Or will you brace against the coming storm as the last remnants of the Roman Empire, in the ultimate survival-strategy challenge? The Scourge of God is coming. Your world will burn.
80
/100
10
Total War: Rome II
Encompassing one of the best-known periods in world history, Total War: Rome II will combines turn-based campaigns with large, cinematic real-time battles.
72
/100
Total War: Shogun 2
In Total War: Shogun 2 you choose from one of 9 (10 with Ikko-Ikki dlc) clans, each with their own unique traits and skills and each with their own RPG-style warlord to lead them. Use a mixture of diplomacy, political manoeuvring, province building, research and special agents such as Ninja assassins or Geisha spies to get your enemies exactly where you want them. An intuitive user interface and a lovingly-created, complex and detailed campaign map make it both easy and enjoyable to build and run cities, recruit and move troops and issue commands – both noble and dishonorable, all with the aim of mastering enemy forces and seizing their lands.
88
/100
05
Total War: WARHAMMER II
Total War: Warhammer II is a strategy game of titanic proportions. Choose from four unique, varied factions and wage war your way; mounting a campaign of conquest to save or destroy a vast and vivid fantasy world. This is a game of two halves: one a turn-based open-world campaign, and the other intense, tactical real-time battles across the fantastical landscapes of the New World.
86
/100
06
S
Alien: Isolation
Alien: Isolation is a survival horror game based on the Alien franchise. As Amanda Ripley, daughter of Ellen Ripley, you will navigate through an increasingly volatile world as you find yourself confronted on all sides by a panicked population and an unpredictable Alien. You must scavenge resources, improvise solutions and use your wits, not just to succeed in your mission but to simply stay alive. In addition to the main story mode there's Survivor mode in which the player needs to escape from a specially designed map fulfilling secondary objectives along the way, while being aggressively hunted by the alien. This mode includes online leaderboards.
86
/100
07
Total War: Warhammer
A unique combination of colossal real-time battles and an addictive turn-based sandbox campaign game of statecraft, politics and empire building, Total War: WARHAMMER will deliver hundreds of hours of absorbing gameplay. What is more, this title will go on to combine with two further standalone instalments and additional content packs to create the largest Total War experience ever. An epic trilogy of titles that will redefine fantasy strategy gaming. This is the dawn of a new era. Total War: WARHAMMER brings to life a world of legendary heroes, towering monsters, flying creatures, storms of magical power and regiments of nightmarish warriors.
85
/100
08
Napoleon: Total War
Napoleon: Total War is the new chapter in the critically acclaimed Total War series and opens up a new narrative layer to the genre-defining franchise. From the early Italian campaign to the battle of Waterloo, Napoleon covers two decades of relentless battles, a backdrop of a world in flames against which the story of an extraordinary military career unfolds. Whether you play as the legendary general or against him, the outcome of war can never be guaranteed. The course of history relies on your ability to lead your troops through the most intense battles as never seen before in a Total War game.
81
/100
09
Total War: ATTILA
The next installment in the turn-based strategy game with real-time tactics, Total War: Attila casts players back to 395 AD. A time of apocalyptic turmoil at the very dawn of the Dark Ages. How far will you go to survive? Will you sweep oppression from the world and carve out a barbarian or Eastern kingdom of your own? Or will you brace against the coming storm as the last remnants of the Roman Empire, in the ultimate survival-strategy challenge? The Scourge of God is coming. Your world will burn.
80
/100
10
Total War: Rome II
Encompassing one of the best-known periods in world history, Total War: Rome II will combines turn-based campaigns with large, cinematic real-time battles.
72
/100
Frequently asked questions
What is the best The Creative Assembly game?
Empire: Total War currently tops the ranking with a score of 90/100 across 276 ratings. Ranking updated September 2026.
How is this ranking built?
Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.