Total War: Three Kingdoms is based on China’s Game of Thrones

Romance of the Three Kingdoms may not have dragons or Starks, but the epic story resembles HBO’s Game of Thrones

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Romance of the Three Kingdoms is just like the Game of Thrones… but without the mythical creatures and undead ice zombies. (Picture: Creative Assembly)

Josh Ye

Published: 8:20pm, 4 Jun 2019Updated: 9:05am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

By now, it’s a story familiar to many: A stocky, hammer-wielding warlord takes over an ailing dynasty, but he’s soon assassinated by those closest to him. The already-fragile empire is then sent into chaos, with many claiming themselves as the rightful heir to the throne.

You can be forgiven if this description has you thinking of HBO’s hit show Game of Thrones. But I’m actually talking about Romance of the Three Kingdoms, China’s most iconic historical novel based on the tumultuous Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history. And it’s also the setting for the hit strategy game Total War: Three Kingdoms, which has sold more than one million copies in just one week.

Check out Romance of the Three Kingdoms on Amazon

Even beyond superficial plot elements, the two have many similar elements. That’s in spite of the fact that Game of Thrones is an epic fantasy with dragons and zombies while Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a historical novel that is light on magic.

Still, with Game of Thrones gone from our TV screens, if you’re looking for another big epic, Three Kingdoms might fit the bill. Here are four ways the two stories resemble each other.