SpellForce: Conquest of Eo

Status at the time of the Review: 70h, Campaign finished, difficulty: balanced, Game-Version: 1.1a With Spellforce: CoE you get an AoW/Master of Magic game without randomly generated maps and with a stronger P&P RPG part whereby the quests and stories are all kept very straightforward. The mainstory and small tales won't win any Pulitzer prizes but are solidly crafted in a P&P fantasy storytelling style. In terms of gameplay it is mainly about exploring, managing troops, fighting and advancing as a mage. There is no empire building as such (cities, territories, etc.). I found this deviation from the 4X formula very refreshing but you have to be willing to get engaged with this change. One important thing to consider is the automatic battle: a very simple general battle rating is stubbornly compared during automatic combat. I can live with this but for some the consequences of this system will be a deal breaker. The battles themselves are interesting but not very complex. Replay value: I estimate that you can finish the campaign in 30-40 hours and shorter runs are also possible. In that case the replay value is high as you are far from having explored and seen everything. I chose a more leisurely path and explored almost the entire map. In such a case the replay value is limited. Difficulty: I usually play everything turn-based on "hard" or even higher. Here I chose the medium difficulty level which was challenging enough. The OP phase after the typical 4X tipping point - the game doesn't try to get around this with new challenges in the endgame but tackles the problem by means of balancing - wasn't too long and I still had some things to discover and level up at that time. Info: Translated from German to English with DeepL including manual corrections.

Taking in consideration this is not a AAA title, this game is superb. There are some very cool innovations to the 4X genre. One of these innovations is especially important which is improving the lategame and win conditions, making the end very achievable and not that much of a drag. UI and artstyle might not be everyones cup of tea, I personally like it very much. Some UI things you have to figure out yourself while playing the game, which is something I like about games. You get some very cool "Eureka" moments within the game which will help you get better and play the game on higher difficulties. I think they hit a very good spot with the difficulty overall. Just start on the lowest or second lowest tier and work your way up. If you somewhat think you're a strategy expert and you are going to start on the highest difficulty you will 100% have a bad time. The highest difficulty is true to its name really impossible on a first playthrough. The support for the game has been incredible. No "huge patch" announcements or "gamechanging" stuff, but small incremental steps to improve the balance and game. Great jobs by the devs honestly and it sadly is quite a rare thing today. With the DLC addition I figured I never wrote a review here on GOG, so it's time for that. The DLC is quite good too. It is fair priced, the kind of content I would expect paying this price. It would be awesome if they keep adding things and especially stories to the game. The stories are nothing too deep, but still a nice extra while enjoying a strategy game with tactical battles. Thank you for this game!

The more I play this game the more I like it, it has so much depth and options. Now with random maps and the Origin starts its even better. I have to admit I didn't like it at first but now I can't stop playing it. The lore and characters are amazing. The unit customization is incredible. This has to be one of the best strategy games of the decade.

You are Galactus, Devourer of Worlds, ehm Cities. You and your Herolds cross the Universe, eh World Map, to leech all Ressources you can gather. Fun aside, it is a pretty fun Game that mixes up the 4X Formula by leting you cross the World with your Tower and settle in different Locations with limited Ressources. You get Heroes and Troops to fight in turn based Battles a la HOMM. A Spellbook to research Spells, a Tower to build up and Quests that appear everywhere while Playing. The Ressource Management is pretty well done and i really like how they implemented the Book to research or acomplish Stuff. Your Herolds have special Quests to complete and depending on your Choices, the other Mages do like you more or less. Technical it is a really nice looking Game and pretty good optimized, it just doesn't stress your System. I would only wish that it would have a bit more of an "Oompf" when bigger Enemies fall. The walking Sound is very strange, but i somehow like it and i don't wish to change it :D Music could need some upbeat Battle Tracks as in Heroes 3. Five Stars, very well done Game.

The best part of this game compared to other similar genre (Age of Wonders etc) is you cannot spam unit to overpower your enemies. Every stack is on its own hence strategy, placement, spells, items are very important. I never felt like every turn you need to concoct potions, run spells to make your supply available and readily available to use.