
Release Date: July 20, 2023
Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening is a strategy game set in Japan during the Sengoku era. Clan management, forming armies and handling the economy are all turn-based. Battles, meanwhile, take place in real-time.
Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening is a turn-based strategy game and the sixteenth main installment in the iconic series by Koei Tecmo, originating from 1983. It was developed in celebration of the series' 40th anniversary.
Like all the series' previous installments, the game is set in Sengoku era Japan (15th-16th century), a time of constant civil wars between the local rulers (daimyo). The player takes control over one of them, their goal being to conquer the entire Land of the Rising Sun.
Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening expands on the ideas introduced earlier in the series. The game is a turn-based strategy revolving around warfare. The player must build fortifications, train soldiers and officers, then use them in real-time battles.
Military alone, however, is not enough to succeed. We must also handle our economy, trade and diplomacy. One of the most important features are decrees, that shape the laws in controlled regions.
There are over 2,200 unique officers in the game - more than ever before. Each officer has their own personality and we can talk to them directly, to seek advice or to convince them not to leave our clan. Enemy officers can also be converted to our side.
The game was created as a celebration of the franchise's 40th anniversary, therefore many fan-favorite mechanics make a return here, such as officers, music, scenarios and custom clan creator.
There are also many new features as well. The most important is the Dominion System, letting us grant territory to characters in return for their support. Such subordinates make most decisions on their own and often offer advice on how to strengthen our domain.
The game only supports singleplayer.
The visuals of Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening are simple, but appealing, their main strength being the faithful recreation of Sengoku era.
Platforms:
PC Windows July 20, 2023
PlayStation 4 July 20, 2023
Nintendo Switch July 20, 2023
PlayStation 5 June 5, 2025
Switch 2 June 5, 2025
Developer: Koei Tecmo
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Top downloads for Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening Video Game:
System Requirements for Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening Video Game:
PC / Windows
Minimum System Requirements:
Intel Core i3-3220 3.3 GHz, 4 GB RAM, graphic card 2 GB GeForce GTX 660 / Radeon R7 370 or better, 25 GB HDD, Windows 10/11 64-bit.
Recommended System Requirements:
Intel Core i7-3770 3.4 GHz, 8 GB RAM, graphic card 6 GB GeForce GTX 1060 / 8 GB Radeon RX 580 or better, 25 GB HDD, Windows 10/11 64-bit.
Game Ratings for Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening Video Game.
Digitally Downloaded: 4.5 / 5 by Matt Sainsbury
With any 4X strategy title, there’s a learning curve, and Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening is no different in that regard. There’s so much depth to the strategies, stats, and nation management that it will take some hours to learn your way around. However, an efficient interface and an excellent approach to the historical storytelling make this the most accessible Nobunaga’s Ambition we’ve seen in the series’ 40-year history. What’s more, it’s a genuinely excellent alternative to a textbook for anyone that wants to learn something about a period of warfare every bit as fascinating as the Napoleonic Wars, the Three Kingdoms era of China, the civil war in America, the Roman campaigns or the Mongol conquests.
SVG: 7 / 10 by Sergio Solórzano
"Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening" opens a portal to feudal Japan that strategy fans and history enthusiasts will want to dive into head first.
Cubed3: 7 / 10 by Chris Leebody
Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening Complete Edition is a titan of a game to get to grips with on Switch 2, in both overall complexity and controls. That scale is both a blessing and a curse. For fans of the genre it has everything expected, and the historical depth of the Sengoku period means it brings a wealth of fun for those invested in this point in history. The strategic chops it boasts are well designed and do the job expected of putting the player into the shoes of developing and expanding their land. With that depth, however, the learning curve can be overwhelming, and frankly if this was released on the original Switch it would be hard to recommend simply due to the difficulty of actually navigating the controls. While not all those complications are inherently solved by mouse controls on Switch 2, the addition of them transforms this tricky console adaptation into something that at least rivals its PC counterpart and thus becomes a much more enticing proposition.