Citadel: Forged with Fire
- November 1, 2019
- Blue Isle Studios
- 22h median play time
There is potentially a fun game underneath, but Citadel: Forged with Fire is mired in a relentless time-draining loop of meaningless activity
Get on Steam"Citadel: Forged with Fire" is a magical massive multiplayer online game where players can explore a vast world, cast spells, tame dragons, and build their own magical castles. Gather resources, trade with other players, and form alliances to rule the skies and the ground. Experience a unique blend of fantasy and sandbox gameplay with a focus on magic and creation.
PC
Playstation 4
Windows
Xbox One
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- The game has a unique blend of magic and survival mechanics, allowing for creative gameplay.
- Building and crafting systems are intuitive and enjoyable, providing a satisfying experience.
- The graphics and world design are visually appealing, creating an immersive environment.
- The game feels empty and lacks a substantial player base, making multiplayer experiences less engaging.
- There are numerous bugs and glitches that hinder gameplay, including issues with AI and combat mechanics.
- Progression can be excessively grindy, especially at higher levels, leading to a repetitive experience.
- gameplay423 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Citadel: Forged with Fire" is characterized by a mix of engaging building mechanics, spell crafting, and survival elements, appealing to fans of sandbox and RPG genres. While many players appreciate the immersive experience and creative freedom it offers, criticisms include repetitive gathering tasks, clunky mechanics, and a lack of depth in certain gameplay aspects, particularly in combat and AI behavior. Overall, the game shows potential but requires further refinement and content expansion to enhance the player experience.
“I love the concept of a survival game but with magic. The level-up system is solid, the building options are great, and the gameplay is easy without being too easy.”
“The gameplay is smooth and intuitive, with a user-friendly interface and easy-to-use controls.”
“The gameplay itself is extremely engaging, with a wide variety of activities to keep you entertained.”
“Gameplay is tremendously slow, which is probably a good thing, since there is very little guidance for new players.”
“The game is currently in the state of a woeful lack of polish globally, as there are far too many gameplay complaints to count.”
“The overall gameplay, what very little I was able to squeeze out of it, was actually very enjoyable.”
- graphics365 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players praising the beautiful landscapes and vibrant art style, while others criticize the overall quality, describing it as outdated or poorly optimized. Some users report experiencing significant graphical bugs and performance issues, even on high-end systems, leading to frustration with frame rates and visual fidelity. Overall, while the game showcases potential with its visuals, it suffers from inconsistencies and requires further optimization to meet player expectations.
“The graphics are stunning, with beautiful landscapes and vivid, lifelike characters.”
“Graphics are beautiful, with an abundance of landscapes and creatures.”
“The visuals of the world are beautiful.”
“The graphics are significantly worse than a lot of much older games.”
“Additionally, the graphic quality is so low it makes some PS2 games look good.”
“This game's graphics would have been considered decent 20 years ago.”
- story305 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 76 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its lack of depth and coherence, with many players noting the absence of a compelling narrative or engaging quest lines. While some quests exist, they are often repetitive fetch tasks that fail to provide meaningful context or immersion, leading to a sense of aimlessness in gameplay. Overall, players express a desire for a more structured storyline and richer content to enhance the gaming experience.
“The quests that you're able to do bring a different perspective and can be a different change of pace to the grinding.”
“The graphics are fair, the gameplay and UI are good, and I love the color and storyline so far.”
“With the introduction of quests and some dungeons, it has content that will actually interest players in continuing to play.”
“There is no real story.”
“The lack of a coherent story line is the game's primary shortfall.”
“Currently there's no describable story-line or plot in the game, but I guess that'll come later.”
- optimization292 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising significant improvements and stable performance on high-end systems, while others report persistent issues such as stuttering, low frame rates, and crashes, particularly on lower-end hardware. Many users note that the game is still in early access, suggesting that ongoing updates may address these optimization concerns, but frustrations remain regarding the balance between adding new content and improving performance. Overall, while some players find the game well-optimized for its genre, others feel it requires substantial work to reach a satisfactory level of performance.
“Not to mention it feels so optimized now!”
“The game is well optimized as I never dropped below 60 frames in 4K with all settings on high.”
“The performance has improved, but that is about all that is noticeable from when I played a few months ago.”
“A very cool game of the MMO genre, but the optimization is just terrible.”
“The game is poorly optimized, making it run usually somewhere around 25 fps in populated forests, and 40-55 in plains.”
“The biggest issue the game faces right now is its optimization (or lack thereof). AMD cards seem to render spell effects as more 'boxy' and less fluid than NVIDIA cards, I struggle to get above forty fps during active moments with spell effects flying, and sometimes it can drop into sub-25.”
- grinding290 mentions
- 1 % positive mentions
- 2 % neutral mentions
- 97 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it excessively tedious and unfulfilling, particularly at higher levels. While some appreciate the grind as a core element of survival gameplay, others criticize it for being overly time-consuming and lacking meaningful rewards. Overall, the consensus suggests that while grinding is a significant part of the experience, it could benefit from adjustments to improve pacing and player engagement.
“I would also suggest playing on an official server as they will not be getting wiped and the 1x ratio is not very grindy at all and it is way more rewarding.”
“This game is not too grindy, it's just the right amount of grind.”
“Not grindy, rewarding and fun.”
“The game has a terrible, grinding pace that only gets worse as you go into level 50+ areas.”
“It's a bit grindy but the grind doesn't feel painful.”
“The first few levels feel really grindy.”
- stability219 mentions
- 5 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 95 % negative mentions
The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting a significant number of bugs and glitches that impact gameplay, particularly in AI behavior and crafting systems. While some users note that the game runs smoothly at times and has potential, the overall consensus is that it remains quite buggy, especially for an early access title, leading to frustration among players. Regular updates from developers are acknowledged, but many feel that the game still requires substantial improvements to reach a more stable state.
“And mostly bug free!”
“It runs great, and it's a lot of fun.”
“I take it all back, played it today, runs great and even better, the game isn't hard crashing my PC and 58fps looking good.”
“Unfortunately, the game contains a lot of bugs and glitches/exploits that need to be fixed.”
“The game is a buggy mess as expected and is normal in an early access game.”
“It's a buggy laggy mess with pretty much nothing to do once you reach level 30.”
- music63 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric and enchanting qualities, often compared to the soundtracks of popular titles like Skyrim and Dragon Age. While many players find the soundtrack beautiful and immersive, some express frustration over its repetitiveness and occasional abrupt cuts. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's ambiance, though there are calls for more variety and improved sound design.
“The world is quite atmospheric with a soothing soundtrack.”
“The music and sounds are beautiful.”
“The game world is beautiful, the soundtrack is glorious and the creature and magic and building have been done so very well.”
“The music cuts off every so often, which is annoying because this game's got some good OSTs.”
“It's only 1 music on the loop after a 2-3 minutes pause in-between.”
“In-game music isn't really music; it's more like a gentle sort of repetitive ambient trilling.”
- atmosphere25 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its magical and immersive qualities, enhanced by a soothing soundtrack and varied biomes that invite exploration. Players appreciate the vibrant and relaxing environment, likening it to beloved titles like Skyrim, while some note that the atmosphere can be diminished in PvP settings. Overall, the combination of enchanting visuals and engaging sound design contributes significantly to the game's appeal.
“The world is quite atmospheric with a soothing soundtrack.”
“Very relaxing and magical atmosphere, a pleasure to explore the world and build.”
“The atmosphere gives you a sense of immersion and is very chilling, with varied biomes starting from swamps, moving over the forests, plains, and ending in the high mountains.”
“It's basically a rust/ark/conan exiles game, with some changes, a very interesting idea, the spell creation, but riddled with a semi-bland atmosphere, some annoying 3rd camera issues, super grindy and unfulfilling resource gathering, topped with bland animations.”
“I know the devs are trying to make money but I'd say it's probably worth the twenty dollars in the respect you'd probably pay that these days to go see a movie in the cinema, they have put quite a bit of effort into the game, it is quite relaxing to play so if you like to build and into magic etc then it does have quite a haunting type of magical atmosphere which I would like and relaxes me when playing, worth to check it out I'd say, the soundtrack is not too bad too.”
“The atmosphere with the music reminds me of Skyrim, it's up to you to see if it's good or not.”
- monetization23 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 87 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has been heavily criticized, with many users labeling it a "cash grab" due to its high price and lack of meaningful updates or content. While some appreciate the absence of microtransactions, the overall sentiment suggests that the game feels abandoned and exploitative, leading to disappointment among players who expected a more polished experience. Despite some hope for future improvements, the prevailing view is that the current monetization strategy is unsatisfactory and detrimental to the game's reputation.
“No in-app purchases.”
“Buy to play [10/10]: no DLC, pass, VIP membership, or microtransactions... just buy it!”
“The game functions like a pay-to-win MMORPG, except there's no microtransactions to speed things up.”
“Dead game, dead devs, no updates, and a complete cash grab for an incomplete experience.”
“At this point, it's a cash grab, and an expensive one at that, for a game that is pretty much abandoned.”
“This game is a cash grab with graphics from the trailer not matching in-game performance on the highest settings.”
- humor16 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely appreciated, with players finding the character customization and interactions to be hilariously flexible and entertaining. The PvP elements, such as flying on fantastical creatures and engaging in absurd scenarios, contribute to a fun and lighthearted experience, especially in cooperative play. Despite some technical issues, the game's comedic aspects and quirky design keep players engaged and amused throughout their adventures.
“The PvP is hilariously fun flying around on a broom or even a tamed phoenix/dragon.”
“Character customization is hilarious.”
“This game was very funny to play from the start and toward the end.”
- emotional14 mentions
- 93 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The emotional responses to the game are mixed, with some players expressing frustration over bugs and grindy gameplay, while others find moments of satisfaction in overcoming challenges, such as taming dragons. Despite the enjoyment derived from certain aspects, many reviewers feel let down by the overall experience, citing a lack of engaging story and mechanics that detract from the emotional investment in the game.
“I say after being killed a few dozen times to dragons, I was able to tame one... made me feel good to overcome that problem.”
“My only complaint is the complete lack of any sort of dodge; however, that's completely negated by the fact there's a blink teleport which is a dodge if you're any good... this game made me feel like a hairy wizard.”
“Heartbreaking repeating bugs and sudden enemy spawns made me lose major advancement.”
- replayability14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is criticized for being low, with many players finding it repetitive and lacking compelling reasons to return after completing initial goals. While some appreciate recent improvements and potential for future content, the current state leaves many feeling that the game could benefit from more variety and engaging mechanics to enhance replay value. Players express hope for updates that could make the experience more enjoyable and worth revisiting.
“It was one of my favorite games; I played it a fair bit a year or two ago and just started to get back into it. They've made a few improvements, and the game is more playable since the first time.”
“The game has a level of polish beyond Ark Survival, with a much stronger potential on the developers' side for continuous content and replayability, both in PvP and PvE.”
“With a great interface, decent optimization, and not being a buggy mess, the core of this game is capable of handling a great experience, requiring simply more content and changes to increase the fun factor on replayability.”
“Honestly not a bad game but it has almost no replay value. There is not much reason to keep playing after completing whatever goal you set for yourself, and not much reason to start a new world either. As you progress, things just kind of die down and either get repetitive or boring.”
“Pretty and fun, though it's short-lived without much replayability.”
“Very little thought gets put into grinding up your levels, and it makes the replayability of the game very boring.”
- character development1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
While the game features impressive graphics and unique character design, the character development is somewhat hindered by buggy AI, which may detract from the overall experience.
