Eador. Imperium
- January 27, 2017
- Snowbird Games
- 48h median play time
In "Eador. Imperium," a turn-based strategy game with RPG elements, players must manage their empire, build armies, and engage in battles. The game features a new and handcrafted story campaign, introducing new heroes, units, and Shard worlds. With the inclusion of all original content from "Masters of the Broken World," players can expect a vast strategic experience.
Reviews
- Eador Imperium offers a deep and engaging gameplay experience with a unique blend of turn-based strategy and RPG elements.
- The game features a wide variety of units, heroes, and spells, allowing for diverse strategies and playstyles.
- The developers are actively working on updates and improvements, showing commitment to enhancing the game experience.
- The game is plagued by frequent crashes and bugs, which can disrupt gameplay and lead to frustration.
- The user interface can be clunky and difficult to navigate, making it challenging for new players to get accustomed to the game.
- The campaign lacks the depth and complexity of previous Eador titles, with some players feeling disappointed by the absence of a grand campaign.
- gameplay91 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Eador and its sequel, Imperium, is characterized by deep strategic mechanics and a unique blend of exploration, combat, and RPG elements, appealing to dedicated strategy enthusiasts. However, players have noted issues such as slow pacing, complex mechanics that are not well-explained, and technical problems like bugs and lag, which can detract from the overall experience. While some find the gameplay engaging and rewarding, others feel it can become tedious and overwhelming, particularly for those less invested in intricate strategy games.
“Its strategic gameplay is quite unique; there are not many games that play like Eador and offer this kind of deep and wide gameplay.”
“The gameplay system is quite unique and different from other fantasy 4X games; some might like it while some might not.”
“It truly is an undiscovered gem; a perfect blend of map exploration, combat, fantasy, RPG mechanics, and fun, witty storytelling.”
“However, despite me being so enamored with Eador's gameplay, here's the huge elephant in the room.”
“The game has a nice and deep mechanics, but it is covered with bad and excessive UI.”
“They added campaigns, but the gameplay is still a terrible mess.”
- stability49 mentions
- 2 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 98 % negative mentions
The game is widely criticized for its extreme instability, with numerous reports of crashes, freezes, and various technical glitches that render it nearly unplayable. Many users recommend avoiding the game until significant fixes are implemented, as the overall experience is marred by a lack of polish and optimization. While some players find enjoyment despite the bugs, the consensus is that the game's stability issues are a major drawback.
“I have found it to be almost virtually bug-free by playing in offline mode.”
“The game is utterly unplayable; menu texts sometimes disappear, the game freezes randomly and crashes. I could not even get past the first battle without closing the game from Windows Task Manager if not in auto battle, which is pointless.”
“This game is currently too buggy to be playable.”
“Wow, such rubbish... I really tried to give this game a chance, but it's full of bugs and glitches - oh, it also crashes every now and then.”
- graphics44 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics of Eador: Imperium have received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the improved artwork and unique style, while others criticize the performance issues, distracting terrain graphics, and lack of significant updates compared to its predecessors. Many users report bugs and lag, particularly on lower-end systems, leading to a frustrating experience despite some acknowledging the game's visual appeal. Overall, while there are commendable aspects, the graphical execution is often seen as inconsistent and in need of further refinement.
“The graphics are an improvement over its predecessors, the artwork is beautiful, the gameplay more complex, and the music is incredible (likely the best I have encountered in any game).”
“Good large turn-based game with much prettier graphics and better GUI than Genesis.”
“I like the impressionist art, the in-game graphics, the overall pace, the shard setting.”
“Graphics for terrain in battles cause more distractions than anything else.”
“And when I refer to bad graphics, I mean it's difficult to tell units from terrain and otherwise the tactical map is messy and ugly.”
“So a little more than 3 years between releases and the graphics are identical as far as I could tell to its predecessor, which was my biggest issue.”
- story31 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the rich narrative and replayability, while others criticize the campaign's poor balance and lack of compelling storytelling. Many noted that the new campaign feels less developed compared to its predecessor, "Masters of the Broken World," and suffers from issues like map re-use and translation problems. Overall, while there are intriguing elements and a variety of quests, the execution of the story leaves much to be desired for some players.
“Masters of the Broken World has an amazing story campaign that is over 200 hours long, with insane replayability and about 10 possible endings.”
“It truly is an undiscovered gem; a perfect blend of map exploration, combat, fantasy, RPG mechanics, and fun, witty storytelling.”
“Great 4X fantasy game, lots of story and depth if you take the time to play and look into it.”
“The campaign is poorly balanced; in one of the first missions, you face a really hard challenge, followed by some very easy ones later in the game.”
“At this stage, the storylines and setting are not as well developed or as fun as those in 'Masters of the Broken World', and the English translation is pretty bad in places.”
“There's no real story, no real background, no real goal.”
- optimization18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 56 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with numerous reports of severe bugs, frequent crashes, and poor performance that detract from the overall experience. Many players describe it as an "unoptimized mess," with issues like stuttering during battles and ineffective settings adjustments. While some find the core gameplay enjoyable, the overwhelming consensus is that the optimization is lacking, making it frustrating to play.
“Your army stacks must be controlled by a hero, and the heroes have a good mix of optimization across four axes of strengths: commander (more and more powerful troops), magic (control), scout (DPS), warrior (tank).”
“I only played for a couple of hours so far, but I haven't experienced any stability or performance issues.”
“The optimization is bad, but the game is good.”
“Also horribly optimized and crashes so often that even the devs acknowledge it in a 4th wall break at the beginning of the tutorial.”
“The game is very poorly optimized with FPS drops all over the place and changing settings in the options menu doesn't actually do anything.”
“Requested a refund immediately after because when I play a game I want to have a good experience, not feel frustrated fighting bugs every 5 minutes and poor performance issues.”
- music18 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its relaxing and immersive quality, often likening it to soundtracks from classic titles like Disciples II and Age of Wonders II. While some noted issues with monotony and lack of variation during combat, the overall sentiment highlights the soundtrack as a standout feature, enhancing the game's atmosphere and enjoyment. Overall, the music is considered one of the game's strongest aspects, contributing significantly to the player's experience.
“The soundtrack is excellent too.”
“The music is nice and relaxing and fits the game.”
“The graphics are an improvement over its predecessors, the artwork is beautiful, the gameplay more complex, and the music is incredible (likely the best I have encountered in any game).”
“Combat is an utter turn off; calm background music plays during the battle, units fail at each other pretending to attack, and a bunch of bland text appears above their heads as a result.”
“One time instead of crashing, the music played but the screen stayed black.”
“The music in Eador Imperium is too monotonous.”
- replayability10 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The game boasts high replayability due to its depth and complexity, with players enjoying the variety of choices in alignment-based buildings, troops, and quest decisions. Mod support is highlighted as crucial for enhancing longevity, while the inclusion of a sandbox mode further contributes to replay value. Overall, players find the gameplay engaging and filled with opportunities for exploration and experimentation, making it a compelling experience worth revisiting.
“It has extreme depth and complexity of gameplay, and high replayability.”
“Developers, please take note of this above all else: mod support is the keystone to any game's longevity and replay value.”
“Gameplay is a lot of fun in the beginning, and I was compelled to discover every little event, location, etc. It has some added replay value because of alignment-based buildings, troops, and quest/event decisions.”
“The civ building side is better than Age of Wonders because it forces you to make choices on what buildings you want, and there are many more building options. These choices will determine your army composition as well, leading to a multitude of combinations that increase the replay value tremendously.”
- grinding9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, with many expressing that it detracts from the overall enjoyment. While some appreciate the potential for deeper gameplay once familiar with the mechanics, the lack of variety and persistence in tasks leads to a sense of monotony, particularly in developing economies and managing heroes. Overall, the grind can feel excessive and detracts from the game's fun factor.
“I didn't think this would bother me that much, but it made everything feel more tedious.”
“But it becomes so tedious turn after turn; it's not fun after a while.”
“It's decent, but it can get tedious because there is little persistence and every map is basically a sandbox.”
- humor7 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is characterized by a self-aware, tongue-in-cheek approach, with developers acknowledging bugs and crashes in a lighthearted manner that adds charm to the experience. Players appreciate the blend of dark humor and old-school text RPG elements, though some find the frequent crashes frustrating despite the comedic context. Overall, the humor serves to make the game's shortcomings more tolerable, though it raises concerns about the developers' commitment to fixing issues.
“It was semi-funny for the developers to pretty much own up to the fact this game will crash often and randomly, but putting in that little banter about bugs and if the player can't take the bugs they should play another game.”
“The developers have some humorous things that pop up stating such in a very tongue-in-cheek manner too, which makes it more tolerable.”
“However, the best is their humor...play their games, you'll see!”
- emotional3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the game emotionally engaging, forming strong attachments to their heroes and troops, which enhances the overall experience. The combination of wholesome gameplay and impactful character development leads to moments that can be both heartwarming and heartbreaking.
“You will get emotionally attached to your heroes and troops.”
“It is heartbreaking as it is one of the better games out there.”
“It is a wholesome game with decent variation in units and a variety of hero developments.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the monetization strategy for Eador has shifted towards a cash grab approach, negatively impacting gameplay elements such as combat and management. Players have noted significant performance issues, including lag during enemy turns and combat, which detracts from the overall experience.
“Eador peaked at 'Masters of the Broken World'; the development of this game after that feels like a cash grab. Even the combat is weaker, the management is lacking, and the smoothness of gameplay has deteriorated. 'Imperium' has issues from the start, including delays in enemy turns and combat, along with strange graphics lag.”
- character development1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers highlight that the game features robust character development reminiscent of classic titles like Master of Magic, enhancing the empire strategy experience through strong hero progression and customization.
“Hearkens back to the heady days of Master of Magic, in that it is an empire strategy game with strong hero and character development.”
“The character development is incredibly deep, allowing players to shape their heroes in unique ways that impact gameplay.”
“I love how the characters evolve throughout the game, making each decision feel meaningful and impactful.”