Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening Complete Edition is one of the deepest love letters ever written

Like any good long-read, Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening Complete Edition reveals its rich characters, detailed plot and expansive narrative over a protracted period of time. It doesn’t chase trends or try to reinvent the wheel — instead, it refines a decades-old formula, polishing it to a near mirror sheen and presenting it with a level of care that long-time fans will immediately recognise and appreciate, whilst for newcomers, it’s a dense and demanding experience, but one that rewards patience.

For those unfamiliar, Nobunaga’s Ambition is a long-running series of grand strategy games set during Japan’s Sengoku period — a time of fractured power, shifting alliances, and near-constant warfare. In Awakening, players take on the role of a daimyō, managing their clan’s rise to power through diplomacy, development, and military conquest. The Complete Edition, released on PS5, includes all previously released DLC, six new scenarios, and a host of mechanical tweaks that make this the most complete and accessible version of the game to date.

The first thing that strikes you about Awakening is its sheer scale. This is not a game you dip into for a quick session – it’s a long-form experience, one that demands and rewards deep engagement. You’ll be managing everything from rice harvests and castle upgrades to diplomatic overtures and battlefield tactics. It’s a game that asks you to think like a ruler, not just a general, and it’s all the better for it — as long as you persevere.

What’s particularly impressive is how Awakening manages to balance its many systems without becoming too overwhelming — at least, not permanently. The learning curve is steep, there’s no doubt about it, but the tutorial system is robust and the interface, while dense, is logically structured. There’s a rhythm to the game that emerges after a few hours, and once it clicks, the experience becomes deeply immersive. You’re not just playing a strategy game — you’re inhabiting a historical moment, making decisions that feel weighty and consequential.

The new scenarios included in the Complete Edition are a highlight. They offer both historical and speculative setups, allowing players to explore alternate timelines and lesser-known conflicts. One scenario, for example, imagines a world where the Onin War never occurred, while another lets you play as Nobunaga’s father, Nobuhide, in the early 1530’s. 

These aren’t just cosmetic changes — they shift the political landscape in meaningful ways, encouraging different strategies and alliances. It’s a smart way to add replayability without resorting to gimmicks. I may not be close to the real history of Nobunaga’s Ambition, but I love games that present such deep scenarios that you become fully immersed by sheer osmosis.

Combat, as in previous games,  is handled through a mix of real-time and turn-based elements. The introduction of Decisive Battles in this edition adds a welcome layer of drama and spectacle. These large-scale engagements are more than just stat comparisons – they require positioning, timing, and a good understanding of your officers’ abilities. They’re also visually impressive, with the PS5’s hardware allowing for smoother animations and more detailed environments. It’s not Total War, but it doesn’t need to be. The focus here is on strategic planning rather than cinematic flair, and the game is stronger for it.

Speaking of visuals, the PS5 version is a noticeable step up from its last-gen counterpart. Textures are sharper, loading times are significantly reduced, and the overall presentation feels more polished. The UI has been subtly refined for 4K displays, making it easier to read and navigate. It’s not a graphical powerhouse by any means, but it doesn’t need to be. The art direction is clean and functional, with just enough flourish to bring the world to life without distracting from the gameplay.

One area where the game still stumbles slightly is in its controller support. While the game does support mouse input on PS5 — a rare and welcome feature that I will admit to not having explored much — it’s clear that the interface was designed with a mouse in mind. Navigating menus with a DualSense controller can feel clunky at times, especially when managing multiple provinces or issuing rapid commands. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it does take some getting used to.

The sound design, on the other hand, is excellent. The soundtrack blends traditional Japanese instrumentation with orchestral arrangements, creating a mood that’s both epic and intimate. Voice acting is used sparingly but effectively, and ambient sounds – like the bustle of a castle town or the clash of armies — add a layer of immersion that complements the visuals nicely.

What really sets Nobunaga’s Ambition apart, though, is the recurring theme of commitment to historical authenticity. This isn’t just a game about conquering territory – it’s a game about understanding the political, economic, and cultural forces that shaped feudal Japan. The game includes detailed biographies of historical figures, accurate maps, and events that mirror real-world occurrences. For history buffs, it’s a treasure trove of information. For everyone else, it’s a compelling way to engage with a fascinating period of history.

The character system has also seen some refinement in this edition. Over ten new traits have been added, giving generals more personality and strategic utility. These traits influence everything from battlefield performance to diplomatic negotiations, and they help make each officer feel distinct. It’s a small change on paper, but it adds a lot of flavour to the game’s already rich tapestry.

Multiplayer is limited, but the game does include asynchronous elements like scenario sharing and leaderboard comparisons. It’s primarily a single-player experience, and that’s where it shines. There’s a meditative quality to the gameplay – a sense of slowly building something over time, of watching your plans unfold across seasons and years. It’s not flashy, but it’s deeply satisfying.

If there’s a caveat to all this praise, it’s that Nobunaga’s Ambition remains a niche title. It’s not trying to appeal to everyone, and it makes few concessions to casual players. But for those willing to invest the time, it offers a level of depth and immersion that few other strategy games can match. It’s a game that respects your intelligence and rewards your curiosity, and in an age of instant gratification, that’s something worth celebrating.

One other problem I found was that of “lesser” clans and how history treats them. Nobunaga’s Ambition is centred around Nobunaga, and there are fewer and fewer historical events that link to smaller, more obscure clans. Additionally, in the core game modes, historical events can actually cause sweeping changes to the clans that sit outside the core experience. 

This sometimes results in the game killing characters randomly, generating battles in obscure places or even removing an entire clan. The player has full license to switch on or off any number of historical events, but it takes real dedication to balance the experience for any of the clans outside those that are central to the Nobunaga storyline – although arguably there are more than enough of these to last for several long playthroughs.

In the end, Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening Complete Edition is exactly what it sets out to be: a definitive version of a complex, rewarding, and historically rich strategy game. It’s not perfect – the UI could be more controller-friendly, and the learning curve is steep – but it’s a game with a clear vision and the confidence to stick to it. For fans of the series, it’s an essential upgrade. For newcomers, it’s a challenging but ultimately rewarding introduction to one of the most enduring strategy franchises in gaming. And for anyone with even a passing interest in Japanese history, it’s a chance to step into the past and shape the future — one decision at a time.

Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening Complete Edition is available now for PC, Nintendo Switch 2 and PlayStation 5.