Relic Arena

About

Relic Arena is a single player and multiplayer tactical strategy game with fantasy and historical themes. It was developed by Double Edge Games and was released on May 7, 2026. It received positive reviews from players.

Relic Arena is a free-to-play multiplayer autobattler from the unhinged minds of Dota legends SUNSfan and Jenkins. Build your own heroes, craft insane combos, and rewrite history with style! Unlike other autobattlers, units are free—you just buy the spells. Each round, grab historical Relics from the shop and slap them onto any unit you want. Every Relic provides unique abilities and upgrade …

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84%

Audience ScoreBased on 594 reviews

gameplay29 positive mentions

monetization8 negative mentions

Unique and fresh take on the autobattler genre with relic-focused gameplay and ability draft mechanics providing deep strategic variety.
Polished and well-optimized game with fast-paced matches, smooth UI, and engaging tactical depth that keeps players experimenting with new builds.
Completely free-to-play with no mandatory pay-to-win elements; developers actively listen to community feedback and regularly update the game.

Monetization is aggressive and controversial, with some leaders locked behind a battle pass and paid subscription features granting gameplay advantages, leading to pay-to-win concerns.
Balance issues persist, especially with certain leaders and level 9 relic upgrades being overwhelmingly powerful, resulting in frustrating RNG and meta dominance.
Long match lengths with excessive downtime, a confusing UI for new players, and humor and art style that some find cringy or off-putting.

gameplay
75 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
57%
4%
The gameplay of the game is generally praised for its engaging, smooth, and satisfying auto-battler mechanics with unique features like leader abilities and a relic-focused system that add depth and replayability. However, criticism centers on the presence of pay-to-win elements, grind-heavy progression, stat complexity, and a potential for gameplay to feel formulaic or stale over time. Overall, the core loop is well-crafted and enjoyable, especially for fans of the genre, but some aspects may alienate newcomers or those against monetization influencing competitive play.
- “I was skeptical at first, but the gameplay loop is great and it's incredible how much attention to detail and features you would expect at a later time are already in, like replays and the ability to just test builds.”
- “If you are a fan of the autobattler genre, this may become your new favourite game, with a satisfying gameplay loop and so far has felt quite balanced for a game that has only just released.”
- “Its blend of tactical gameplay, absurd humor, roguelike progression, and explosive battles creates a highly entertaining experience for players willing to embrace experimentation.”
- “If a paid feature directly affects gameplay performance, that’s the definition of pay-to-win.”
- “Horrible pay-to-win mechanics or at best a grindfest.”
- “Keep all of the above in mind and then think about the fact that the game has a 5€/month subscription which provides gameplay benefits, as it provides an extra reroll during the start of the game when you pick from a randomly drafted set of strategies.”
humor
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
98%
3%
The game's humor is highly polarizing, blending absurd, meme-heavy, and often cringy jokes reminiscent of early 2000s and internet culture, which some players find hilarious and charming, while others see it as forced, dated, or juvenile. Fans appreciate the comedic nods and funny voice lines tied to well-known Dota personalities, but the frequent reliance on edgy or "potty" humor and meme spam detracts from the experience for many. Overall, the humor works best for those willing to embrace its unconventional and intentionally silly style.
- “Developed and published by Double Edge Games, the title enters the autobattler genre with a style that embraces absurd combinations, exaggerated powers, and unconventional humor while still offering a solid tactical foundation underneath the madness.”
- “The humor works because Relic Arena fully commits to its strange concept rather than trying to balance comedy with realism.”
- “Its blend of tactical gameplay, absurd humor, roguelike progression, and explosive battles creates a highly entertaining experience for players willing to embrace experimentation.”
monetization
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
64%
24%
Monetization in the game is generally viewed as overly aggressive, expensive, and somewhat poorly designed, with many players perceiving it as a cash grab that hinders enjoyment. While some acknowledge that free-to-play progression is possible and developers are aware of these issues, critics highlight the harsh pricing, forced secondary currency purchases, and slow unlocking of content as major drawbacks. Overall, the monetization detracts from the game's potential and is a common point of frustration among users.
- “+ Free; fair microtransactions.”
- “Pretty great auto-battler and they seem to give a lot of the currency used to unlock stuff just for playing, very low greed factor on the monetization and no pay-to-win stuff (for now).”
- “It has a good tutorial and monetization doesn't seem egregious.”
- “The monetization is pretty brutal and extremely overpriced, especially considering you can't buy anything directly and have to purchase a secondary currency which is a very annoying dark pattern.”
- “The monetization from a team that has previously chided Valve for their monetization sure is happy to go above and beyond in terms of gouging their players.”
- “Since the monetization expects you to spend around $100 per year to unlock content and avoid being at a disadvantage, they definitely should act professionally — unfortunately, their streams and communication show otherwise.”
graphics
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
66%
10%
The graphics receive mixed reactions, with many criticizing the art style as outdated, cringy, or resembling low-quality or mobile game visuals, while others appreciate the distinct leader portraits, detailed unit animations, and fitting art direction. Although not AAA-level, the artwork often matches the game’s humorous and quirky tone, attracting some players despite limited graphics settings and occasional visual design complaints. Overall, the graphics are seen as suitable but polarizing depending on personal taste.
- “Graphic design and interface are excellent!”
- “Great attention to detail with the graphics like the way the units equip the items you buy.”
- “The leaders are all extremely distinct from one another and while the theming/aesthetics may not be for everyone, it's all done fairly well.”
- “The pass progress is slow and cosmetics look like they were made by first year graphic design students from 15 years ago.”
- “The visuals and animations are trash.”
- “Gameplay feedback is lacking, the tempo of the game is odd in both directions, overall it feels very formulaic after a bit, and the overall art style makes the 'no ai art' logo they proudly put forth seem like an insult to humanity.”
replayability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The game offers a strong core gameplay loop with high overall replayability, especially due to its unique blend of auto-battler and slot mechanics. However, some players feel the replay value diminishes after learning all relics and desire more variety or impact from leader abilities to enhance long-term engagement. Expanding item and leader pools could further boost replay value and player enjoyment.
- “Fun game, high replayability.”
- “That, combined with the fact that all players are competing for the items in the shop between rounds, contributes heavily to the replayability and my personal enjoyment.”
- “Fortunately, the foundation here is strong because the core gameplay loop already feels highly replayable.”
- “Don't really understand the replay value after seeing what every relic does in the first game, with leader passives having a very unnoticeable effect.”
- “Wish there was more replayability for the leaders somehow.”
- “Adding to each of those pools will increase replayability a lot.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
Reviews highlight that the game is exceptionally well-optimized, running smoothly with minimal lag and quick load times, especially impressive for a newly launched title. While some see room for further optimization, overall it balances technical performance with enjoyable gameplay without sacrificing fun for competitive balance.
- “It is super fun and is one of the most optimized games I've played in years.”
- “For a newly launched game, this is highly optimized and runs smoothly.”
- “Excellent game, especially noteworthy is how well optimized the game runs, opens instantly, no lag.”
- “Could definitely be optimized a bit better but hey it's free.”
- “If a paid feature directly affects gameplay performance, that’s the definition of pay-to-win.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is generally seen as time-consuming and tedious, with players needing to invest significant hours to unlock content or reach higher ranks. However, some appreciate that recent changes reduce tedious mechanics, making gameplay feel less fatiguing and more focused on enjoyable chaos rather than perfection. Despite this, the grind for cosmetic items remains lengthy and costly.
- “This game is not only grindy but makes it extremely time consuming to unlock anything.”
- “You'll be grinding for weeks to even afford 1 skin, which is highly overpriced in coins.”
- “You can probably play a couple of multiplayer games past the tutorial and enjoy it, but I can't see myself putting more hours into grinding to reach higher ranks unless something about the game fundamentally changes.”
story
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The story is presented clearly and efficiently through concise tutorial and intro missions, allowing players to quickly grasp the context. While monetization is notable, it doesn't negatively impact the narrative experience, focusing mainly on cosmetics and early access rather than gameplay advantages.
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game experiences significant stability issues, with frequent freezes reported after the latest patch, rendering it unplayable for some users.
- “Freezes after patch and unplayable for me”
music
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music is praised for its relaxing, soft jazz style, providing a soothing and calming background perfect for unwinding after a long day.
- “After a long and tiresome day of work, I grab my beer, whisky, red wine, or gin and tonic, and then chill out with the game and soft jazz music in the background.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is criticized for lacking originality, with designs and traits feeling generic and uninspired, as if generated by an automated system rather than crafted thoughtfully.