Developer: Aterdux Entertainment
Publisher: Aterdux Entertainment
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Legends of Eisenwald – Review
From Aterdux Entertainment comes a thrilling romp into medieval life. Portrayed in a way that is hardly seen nowadays in the strategy RPG genre, Legends of Eisenwald is your platform to battle your way to victory and be the ultimate ruler over your vassals- whilst making sure you have enough money to compete against them!
Story
In Legends of Eisenwald, you find yourself being plunged into the world of Old Germany. Here, you must make sure that rebels and vagabonds do not take over your villages, and more importantly keep your unruly vassals in check in case they try to overthrow you.
There are three playable scenarios presently: The Masquerade, Cursed Castle (both of which are single instances) and the Legends of Eisenwald main campaign. In the Masquerade, a baron is having a ball and you haven’t been invited, so you go to investigate why- whilst foiling plots by others to take over your castle. And in Cursed Castle, you hear a story of a baron performing dark rituals, only for his castle to fall into ruins. Dare you find out what happened?
The main campaign features you as the son or daughter of a revered baron, who calls you back to your home when troubles start to happen after your visit to an old friend. Here, you must choose to either side with particular vassals or defeat them all in order to restore order to your land. All in all, the story in Legends of Eisenwald is really interesting, although it can be slowed down by all the battling you need to do to progress.
Graphics
The graphics on offer in this title are truly beautiful. Despite the expectation being that a title of this genre does not normally employ very sophisticated graphics, Legends of Eisenwald dismisses this generalisation. With 3D environments that appear realistic, detailed and totally alive, any player would find themselves completely immersed in each attractive environment. The 2D style of the menus, map and time indicator also fit in nicely with the 3D parts. It is a shame though that there is not more diversity in the characters, especially since the only women in game are healers or gossips. As with any strategy RPG, the game uses odd human to building proportions, but this is forgiven given the great standard of the textures.
The hexagonal shaped steps in battle also hark back to titles like Heroes of Might and Magic, which made the genre. Definitely not a carbon copy in any respect however, Legends of Eisenwald simply draws inspiration from a great game, as is seen with the time indicator shown on the map. It is possible also to change camera angles using the mouse to click and drag it around. Rotating the screen during battle and on the map can be awkward at times, but this does not massively hamper playability.
Sound
This title really has some lovely music that fits the set time period very well, and boasts a quality that is found in more mainstream games such as The Witcher 3. Different themes are features for both general map exploration and battles, meaning that you won’t get annoyed with too much repetition.
One thing that can grate on the nerves however is the sound effects on occasion, particularly a cricket sound during battle. This can easily be rectified by turning down the sound effects volume on the menu screen.
It is also a small shame that the game does not feature any voice acting, as it can lead to certain details being missed with quests when the player may just skip through the written dialogue.
Gameplay
Legends of Eisenwald is a strategy RPG which offers a certain amount of customisability that is not always offered in titles of the same genre. There are three options to choose from with regards to characters- a knight, a baroness (ranged) and a mystic (which is recommended for advanced players as his battle options are based upon buffs rather than attacks). The player can also change their name and the look of their heraldry, which certainly enables more immersion into the atmosphere of medieval Germany.
Gameplay itself is fairly standard with regards to the genre, although there are a number of features which make it very intriguing. To move around the map, you simply left click on a spot and your character will walk there- although beware of entering buildings where the cursor changes to crossed swords, as this will mean you may have to enter battle.
There are plenty of options to obtain quests. Main quests that have been opened are in your journal, which can be opened using ‘M’, ‘J’, or ‘O’, and these are either given to you when you start the particular instance you are in, or speak to the various persons that live in the area. Listening to rumours in taverns can also give you information on local stories or gossip about your vassals, and this information is stored under the ‘notes’ section of the journal. These quests can be completed in a non-linear fashion, giving you free reign to do as you wish.
Managing your troops for certain quests is also a welcome challenge. To hire followers, you can head to villages, castles and monasteries and you pay a set sum to have them join you. You can head also to a tavern to hire mercenaries- but make sure you have enough gold, as mercenaries require daily payment. You can keep an eye on your daily income by noting the box at the bottom centre of the screen, which indicates the amount of gold you have, whether you have an income or a penalty, the amount of castles captured which increases the number of fighters you are allowed to have, and finally how many mercenaries you currently have under your control. All of these elements make for a real challenge in gold management!
Time control in the game is also essential, and adds nicely to the overall experience. Using the time indicator at the bottom left of the screen, it is possible to pause and unpause time flow so that enemies may disappear and leave your path clear, or for you to be able to wait for one of your friends to arrive.
The turn-based combat in Legends of Eisenwald, however, is where the game really shines. Featuring a grid shape of 30 hexagons, the combat goes one step further than other titles in the genre in offering what appears almost to be real-time attacks. Although you might be instructing your character to attack the enemy, they will fight back if they can hit you hard enough. This means you must work extra hard on your strategy, as any wrong moves can lead to failure in battle. Healing can be done on the battlefield with the help of potions and a healer, but when your troops get wounded in battle, it is best to head to a monastery. Not doing this can lead to permanent death of your troops when they get more than three wounds, so be wary.
Overall, the gameplay in Legends of Eisenwald is rather enjoyable and not difficult to master, although maintaining all of the features in this game perhaps can prove to be a trial (particularly for those unfamiliar with strategy RPGs). There were only a small number of minor issues that occurred during play. One of these was the fact that the “replay battle” option after your troops have been defeated sent us straight back to the main menu screen seen at the start of the game. The other is that the game had the tendency to crash at certain points, particularly when finishing conversations, and at times when entering garrisons. Although rather irritating, these two problems did not cause any damage and were rectified when rebooting the game.
Conclusion
Legends of Eisenwald is a very exciting game with a large number of features that set it above other titles, especially the turn-based combat, detailed graphics and money management system. A number of improvements to gameplay options would make it even better, such as making sure crashes become less frequent and adding more diversity in the characters. In its current form, however, it will still delight all those who play it- especially fans of the genre.
Legends of Eisenwald - Review,
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