Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes
- May 22, 2013
- Stardock Entertainment
- 55h median play time
Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes is the kind of game that transcends its genre to become truly great.
Get on Steam"Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes" is a strategy role-playing game where players build their own kingdom amidst a fantasy world filled with magical creatures. Gain the loyalty of legendary heroes through fame and utilize their unique skills to defeat formidable enemies. The game features a new leveling system, allowing players to customize their characters through a visual skill tree and specialize in various abilities. The ultimate goal is to rule the world of Elemental by conquering enemies and completing quests.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Highly customizable heroes, factions, and units, allowing for a unique gameplay experience.
- Engaging mix of 4X strategy and RPG elements, with quests and tactical combat.
- Rich lore and a variety of factions, each with distinct playstyles.
- Frequent crashes and bugs, particularly when loading saved games.
- Poor AI behavior, leading to unchallenging gameplay.
- Dated graphics and a clunky user interface that detracts from the overall experience.
- story241 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating the rich lore and variety of quests that enhance the gameplay experience, while others criticize it for being underdeveloped and repetitive. Many reviews highlight the engaging hero and quest systems that add depth, but also note issues with quest bugs and a lack of compelling main storylines. Overall, while the game offers a fantasy setting with interesting mechanics, the narrative elements often feel clichéd or lacking in polish.
“The story and background are entrancing, amazing.”
“There was a lot of effort and creative writing with the incredible number of quests and lore that is included in each game.”
“This game is rich with great story, characters, spells, monsters, and a ton of other great stuff.”
“The story is bland.”
“The entire backstory and current story of the game setting feels a bit bland and unrefined.”
“The storyline is pretty non-existent.”
- gameplay233 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes" is characterized by a blend of turn-based strategy and RPG elements, offering a rich and customizable experience with various mechanics that encourage strategic planning and unit management. While many players appreciate the depth and unique features, such as hero customization and tactical spellcasting, the game is often criticized for its stability issues, bugs, and a lack of clear documentation, which can detract from the overall enjoyment. Despite these drawbacks, the game remains engaging for fans of the genre, providing hours of replayability and a distinct fantasy ambiance.
“Amazing gameplay, tons of fun and challenging on any difficulty, turn-based building and movement for your armies.”
“Gameplay in Fallen Enchantress is both challenging and rewarding.”
“This is now a fantastic fantasy-based 4x experience with lots of faction/hero customization options that really adds a great RPG element, as well as a smart implementation of the core 4x gameplay dynamic.”
“It may have been fun a decade ago when it was released, but the genre has evolved and this game remained as a stagnant pool of buggy gameplay, crashes, and poor mechanics.”
“Game balance is a mess with plenty of poorly explained mechanics just left there for people to somehow figure out despite a total lack of in-game explanation.”
“Crashes multiple times, the UI is bad, lack of automated notifications, terrible balance and mechanics, and battles feel like a chore instead of fun, and to skip them you have to rely on a retarded AI that manages to get your entire army killed in a match you can easily win.”
- graphics208 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting that they appear dated and lack polish, reminiscent of older titles from the mid-90s. While some appreciate the unique art style and find it charming, others criticize it as bland or amateurish, leading to a general consensus that the visuals are a significant downside. Despite these criticisms, many players emphasize that the gameplay and mechanics can still provide an enjoyable experience, even if the graphics do not meet modern standards.
“A beautiful game with a very special art style and gameplay mechanics, a gem to come back to again and again.”
“The in-game graphics are also notable, with detailed units and environments that bring the fantasy world to life.”
“The graphics, while sharp, are overall not appealing compared to other games in this genre.”
“The graphics were surprisingly bad, but I got over that and largely had a blast.”
“The biggest and pretty much only downside are the dumpster fire graphics.”
“First, the graphics are just awful; it feels like the game was developed 10 years ago.”
- stability99 mentions
- 3 % positive mentions
- 1 % neutral mentions
- 96 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous users reporting persistent bugs, crashes, and glitches that detract from the overall experience. While some players note improvements following patches, many still experience frequent issues, particularly in late-game scenarios, leading to frustration and a sense of unfinished mechanics. Overall, the game is described as "buggy" and "unstable," with a mix of enjoyment overshadowed by technical problems.
“No glitches again!”
“It worked seemingly totally bug free :) .”
“There seems to be a bug though where the first game you play is fairly bug free but then each successive game has more and more bugs until you need to reinstall to reset this.”
“It is one of the most unstable, buggy, and crash-happy games I have ever encountered, at least with newer systems.”
“The game came out as a buggy, nigh unplayable piece of crap.”
“However, I cannot recommend this game because of how incredibly buggy and poorly polished it is.”
- replayability75 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game is widely praised for its exceptional replayability, with many users highlighting the extensive customization options, randomly generated maps, and diverse factions that contribute to varied gameplay experiences. Players appreciate the depth and complexity, which encourage repeated playthroughs, often citing hundreds of hours of engaging content. Overall, it is considered one of the most replayable titles in the 4X genre, offering a rich and immersive experience that keeps players returning.
“The game is a bit complex, yet very rewarding and offers an unlimited replayability rarely seen in modern-day titles.”
“The variety and amount of customization gives this game a high replay value.”
“Customizable classes, sovereigns, and moddability give this game unlimited replay value.”
“The result is that the game feels very hollow, where it looks on the surface like there's a lot of replay value but there actually isn't.”
“Seeing as replay value is the ultimate goal for a 4x game, this is a serious shortcoming.”
“For me though, I didn't feel it was replayable enough as every game seemed to feel the same (I just wanted things to hurry up!), and perhaps I missed out on important aspects of the game.”
- optimization41 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with many players reporting persistent bugs, crashes, and poor performance, particularly on larger maps and with more AI opponents. While some updates have improved stability, issues like slow processing times and weak AI remain prevalent, leading to a mixed reception regarding overall playability. Despite these challenges, a few users have noted that the game runs adequately on lower-spec systems, but the general consensus is that it is poorly optimized and could benefit from further improvements.
“To me this warrants recommending this game to those that like turn-based strategy games as they are still willing to make performance changes despite the game's age.”
“Great for laptop; optimized for being playable on low spec.”
“Note: I have not had a crash at all since I upgraded the RAM in my computer, so that has improved performance and stability considerably.”
“Some of the random bugs that have been added lately, enemy units in fights stopped using their skills (the most well-known one with several threads on the forums, the summon issue, that was fixed by a modder/player in the end). More crashes (caused by bad memory management), horrible performance with zooming in and out on the map, very weak AI on the strategic map, and in combat. The enemy units don't even have a default 'strong' unit in their unit creations, so in the end game, you can see enemy units running around with the heaviest armors and absolutely horrible traits and weapons, which makes them entirely pointless.”
“This game is horribly optimized.”
“Although I like it, this game could have been awesome if the bugs had been fixed and it had been optimized.”
- music34 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its pleasantness and versatility, while others find it bland and forgettable. Many note that the soundtrack is decent but lacks memorability, with some even preferring to listen to their own music instead. Overall, while the music has its moments, it often fails to elevate the game's atmosphere significantly.
“The music is pretty good and the graphics aren't too bad for its age.”
“One of the best main menu soundtracks I've ever heard.”
“The music score is well done and appropriate for the game.”
“The ambiance is composed of short, irritating loops and the music starts to jar very quickly.”
“I preferred to mute the game and just listen to my own music or podcasts while trying to slog my way through.”
“The music is extremely terrible, the sound effects seem like they are 20 years old.”
- grinding23 mentions
- 9 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 91 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and often frustrating, particularly due to slow movement, repetitive questing, and micromanagement. While some enjoy the depth and complexity it offers, many feel that the initial and endgame experiences drag on, making progression feel laborious and unengaging. The lack of clear guidance and balance issues further contribute to the perception of grinding as a chore rather than an enjoyable challenge.
“No tedious micromanagement.”
“I got three endings: the ultimate spell (which I did only out of curiosity, not knowing that it would end the game), by losing to the final dragon behind the gates, and by killing it (the last two with the use of cheats because of the difficulty jump - I could easily kill any monster or AI unit on the map, but this thing obliterates me in, like, three turns? Yeah, no, I'm not grinding for that - and by the way: those cheats? Did not help much).”
“If you have a poor starting location (and you don't continually restart until you get a better one), the game can be pretty tedious.”
“The questing system is tedious - the master quest involves you moving around just to prolong the fighting portions.”
“The game decided to follow 'a lot of a little is a lot,' making city progression a very long and tedious task that does not factor in units or later buildings, meaning they take forever to build.”
- humor15 mentions
- 93 % positive mentions
- -13 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game features a surprising and quirky sense of humor that emerges through various elements, such as battlefield voice acting and character interactions, which can be both hilarious and absurd. Players appreciate the comedic aspects of AI behavior and character designs, as well as the amusing consequences of in-game actions, like permanent injuries to champions. Overall, while the humor may not be the primary focus, it adds a delightful layer to the gameplay experience.
“You would never know it by looking at the game marketing, but the game has a sense of humor that comes up here and there, such as in the battlefield voice acting derpiness.”
“I love the whole injury aspect of it as well; when your 'champions' die in combat, they just suffer a permanent injury unless you heal them with an item. I killed an enemy champion a bunch of times and I got bored, so I wanted to see the damage I'd done to him. I'd basically scarred him for life mentally and physically, yet he was still fighting. I found this kind of hilarious.”
“Hero/troop poses are either sad or hilarious depending on your perspective.”
“Not funny.”
“The jokes fell flat and felt forced.”
“I expected more clever humor, but it was mostly cringeworthy.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is praised for its deep immersion, detailed environments, and expansive customization options, creating a unique blend of civilization-building and RPG elements. However, some players note that technical issues and a lackluster soundtrack detract from the overall experience, suggesting that improved audio could enhance the game's already beautiful world. Overall, it is regarded as one of the best in its genre for atmosphere.
“However, no other game I've played has quite the same blend of civilization-building, RPG elements, customizable units, magic, lore, fun combat system, and atmosphere/immersion as this one.”
“Atmospheric, deep, detailed, and infinitely customizable.”
“Beautiful atmospheric game world and amazing gameplay.”
“The game is decent; the battle encounters are fun and I like that there are a ton of quests that you can undertake. I like the art style of it too, but what kills it for me is that it's still buggy after 3 years. Also, the music is boring, which makes the atmosphere of the game feel dull. It's amazing what good sound can do for a game; I use Steam music and play the soundtrack from Endless Legend while I play this, and it makes it a lot better.”
- monetization4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a cash grab, with users expressing frustration over the lack of developer support for existing bugs and issues. This has led to concerns about the game's credibility and the developer's commitment to quality, overshadowing its potential. Players appreciate platforms like Steam for avoiding excessive advertisements and unnecessary registrations.
“Do not encourage this kind of cash grab and don't get cheated.”
“It's a great concept, however poorly executed. The fact that the developer has made little to no attempts to fix very old bugs and obvious functional issues speaks poorly for the credibility of what amounts to a cash grab, or simply a developer that doesn't care about their game.”
“This game feels like a cash grab, with monetization tactics that overshadow the gameplay experience.”
- emotional3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the game emotionally engaging, particularly in its ability to enhance emotional intelligence, though some feel that the experience becomes repetitive and less impactful over time due to a lackluster story and graphics. Overall, it offers a strong initial emotional connection but may not sustain it throughout extended play.
“The first lengthy playthrough made me feel like I barely scratched the surface.”
“A very good game to train your emotional intelligence.”
“The emotional depth of the story quickly fades, leaving behind a repetitive and uninspired experience.”
“Initially engaging, but the emotional impact diminishes as the gameplay becomes monotonous.”
“What starts as a compelling narrative turns into a dull and predictable journey, lacking true emotional resonance.”
- character development1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Reviewers appreciate the depth of character development in the game, highlighting the ability to customize the player's sovereign and champions to suit individual playstyles, while also offering diverse options for experimentation.
“I particularly appreciate the depth of character development that is put into the player's sovereign and his champions. You can tailor them to your playstyle, or there's always something new to try.”
“The character development in this game is incredibly rich, allowing players to explore different facets of their characters and make meaningful choices that impact the story.”
“I love how the game encourages you to invest in your characters, providing a variety of skills and traits that evolve based on your decisions throughout the gameplay.”
“The character development feels shallow and lacks meaningful choices that impact the story.”
“I was disappointed by the lack of growth in the characters; they felt one-dimensional throughout the game.”
“The character arcs are predictable and fail to engage the player on an emotional level.”
