Sorcerer King

About

"Sorcerer King" is a single-player fantasy turn-based strategy game with a beautiful story and fantastic mechanics, but be prepared for a lot of grinding and some bugs. In this unique 4X game, you must build your empire and challenge the all-powerful Sorcerer King, who has already conquered the world and controlling the remaining outposts of civilization. The game offers stunning graphics and is full of hilarious moments, making it an exciting and immersive experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

70%

Audience ScoreBased on 364 reviews

gameplay27 positive mentions

stability18 negative mentions

Engaging gameplay that combines RPG elements with 4X strategy, providing a unique experience.
Humorous writing and quests that add charm and personality to the game.
Crafting and enchanting systems allow for customization of units and items, enhancing strategic depth.

Frequent bugs and crashes that disrupt gameplay and can lead to lost progress.
Limited replayability due to a lack of diverse factions and a static campaign structure.
AI behavior is often predictable and lacks challenge, making the game feel less dynamic.

gameplay
80 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
63%
4%
The gameplay of "Sorcerer King" is characterized by a mix of innovative mechanics and traditional turn-based strategy elements, offering a unique experience with its asymmetrical gameplay and doomsday counter. However, many players criticize the game for its poor balance, limited unit options, and AI issues, which detract from the overall enjoyment. While some find the gameplay addictive and intuitive, others feel it lacks depth and suffers from design flaws that hinder long-term engagement.
- “The gameplay is pretty addictive and generally intuitive; dialogues are well written and often quite amusing.”
- “The strategy is deep, the gameplay is rich, and it keeps the 'one more turn' feeling going strong.”
- “So, all in all it's a great game with a few new and interesting ideas that make gameplay interesting and unique enough to make this game stand out from the crowd.”
- “I can't recommend this game even on sale; it's just not that fun due to poor balance, poor mechanics, poor AI, and a vast majority of the spells and units being useless.”
- “While by no means the worst game out there for turn-based fantasy, Sorcerer King somehow manages to be clunky and slow in its mechanics, and the bugginess and inconsistent design leave an unsatisfactory experience.”
- “The game has a timer called the doom meter; no matter what level you play on, it goes pretty quick, ruining your enjoyment of the game. It really is a bad mechanic, especially where the game has nice little RPG elements, which are ruined as you are on a timer.”
story
69 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
65%
4%
The game's story is characterized by a mix of humor and engaging quest writing, with players enjoying the variety of quests and the unique mechanics like the doom counter that adds urgency to gameplay. While many found the campaign and world interesting, some expressed a desire for a deeper narrative and more challenging endgame content. Overall, the quests and character interactions are praised for their creativity, though some players noted that the main storyline could feel repetitive and simplistic.
- “The story and world are quite interesting.”
- “The writing for the quests is hilarious, and I really liked how every hero had a very distinct playstyle.”
- “Beautiful, crisp art style and an interesting plot also help to keep the player invested in the game.”
- “I wish the campaign was longer, had more story to it, and more in depth!”
- “The problem is that even the quest huts are static, so you can devise precise strategies to jumpstart your early game like 'go south to this inn to recruit this extra unit + quest attribute that lets you bypass the early area and expand quicker...'”
- “Story: there isn't one, other than kill the bad guy.”
graphics
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
65%
6%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the colorful and polished art style compared to its predecessor, "Fallen Enchantress." While some players appreciate the smooth animations and improved visuals, others criticize the cartoonish aesthetic and graphical glitches that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the graphics are seen as a significant upgrade, but there are still concerns about performance issues and the need for further optimization.
- “The animations are smooth, the art style is refined, and they pulled out some humor for the game as well.”
- “Beautiful, crisp art style and an interesting plot also help to keep the player invested in the game.”
- “The graphics are very good, lively and colorful.”
- “Sorcerer King is essentially Fallen Enchantress with a lot less features and saturated comic graphics instead of grim pale graphics.”
- “The serious marketing ('how do you kill a god?') and gloomy premise (bad guy in charge) seems at odds with the almost cartoony visuals and humorous writing.”
- “The graphics have not been updated and it seems like they made the detailed play map disappear at any distance away to try and improve performance.”
replayability
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
60%
20%
Overall, the game's replayability is a significant concern among players, with many noting a lack of variety in factions, leaders, and abilities, which limits the potential for multiple playthroughs. While some enjoy the initial experience and find value in custom games or skirmish modes, the consensus is that once the game is mastered, it becomes less engaging, leading to a diminished desire for replay. Comparisons to other titles like Fallen Enchantress highlight its shortcomings in this area, suggesting that players may find more depth and replay value elsewhere.
- “Definitively harkened back to Heroes 3 (Might and Magic, for those as old as me) and has some amount of replayability in terms of custom games.”
- “Most definitely has replay value with dozens of ways to set the game up with 6 unique sovereigns, heroes, spell books, and unique abilities.”
- “That being said, the game is fun to play and having to adjust your strategy for each sovereign gives the game replayability.”
- “I liked this game, but if you beat it once there's not much replayability.”
- “The game really needs more variety in leaders, abilities, etc., and more playable races than just human 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.”
- “Zero replayability, zero depth.”
humor
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
97%
9%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its clever and engaging writing, with many players highlighting the funny quest descriptions and dialogue that effectively balance the game's serious themes. While some find the humor to be a delightful addition that enhances the experience, others feel it can occasionally veer into awkwardness or silliness. Overall, the game's humor is seen as a standout feature, contributing to its charm and making the gameplay more enjoyable.
- “My personal highlight are the excellent and extremely funny quest and encounter descriptions - 12/10.”
- “The writing of various quests, item descriptions, as well as the types of responses you can choose from are often hilarious and make fun of the whole medieval fantasy genre.”
- “Smart, funny writing and some efficient world-building help avoid the self-important pomposity common to the fantasy genre.”
- “Unfortunately, the devs have continued to veer down the path of half-baked work smothered in awkward humor. Seriously, the jokes are not funny.”
- “The attempts at humor feel forced and often fall flat, making the experience more cringeworthy than entertaining.”
- “I found the humor to be stale and unoriginal, lacking the wit and charm that could have made the game enjoyable.”
stability
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The stability of the game has been widely criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs and glitches that detract from the overall experience. While some players note that the issues are not always game-breaking, they still lead to frustrating gameplay, including freezing during combat and problems with quest completion. Despite claims of being the "most polished" title from Stardock, many feel that the game is still not ready for full release, with ongoing stability concerns that require urgent attention.
- “I don't know what it is, I like their game's premise, but every Stardock game I have ever had is a broken, buggy piece of junk.”
- “While by no means the worst game out there for turn-based fantasy, Sorcerer King somehow manages to be clunky and slow in its mechanics, and the bugginess and inconsistent design leave an unsatisfactory experience.”
- “The game currently is buggy, and I don't see how they can release it so soon. This is not an early access title; it is a full-price game with a hefty price tag, but what do you get for this high price? Well, not a lot.”
music
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
27%
27%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players praise the soundtrack for its ability to create a heroic atmosphere and enhance the gameplay experience, others find it repetitive and occasionally annoying. Despite its shortcomings, the music is generally considered fitting for the game's themes, though it fails to consistently impress across all aspects. Overall, it contributes positively to the game's ambiance but may not meet the high expectations set by its epic narrative and battles.
- “The soundtrack for this game is awesome!”
- “Lovely music.”
- “Placing roads can be annoying, can't disband units, no multiplayer, no hotkey list or the option to rebind your keys, and the music goes from good to just annoying.”
- “The music is repetitive, but aptly accompanies the themes of the game, setting a good, heroic playing mood.”
- “Even the main menu, when it returned me to it, has no more music.”
grinding
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players consistently find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly in the late game where micromanagement of crafting armor and enchanting units becomes overwhelming. Many reviewers express frustration with the crafting subsystem, noting that it lacks efficiency and can lead to a frustrating experience as the game progresses. While there are enjoyable moments early on, the repetitive nature of grinding ultimately detracts from the overall experience.
- “There is a lot of tedious micromanagement which could be streamlined with a better UI.”
- “It gets tedious real quick, having to craft armor and add-ons for every unit.”
- “Crafting is too tedious, particularly late game, for what you get in return.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization is criticized for frequent tearing, stuttering, and occasional crashes to desktop. Additionally, the lack of updated graphics and the removal of detailed map visuals at a distance appear to be attempts to enhance performance, but they fall short of expectations.
- “It usually ends up having some tearing and stuttering, with the worst being a crash to desktop (CTD).”
- “The graphics have not been updated, and it seems like they made the detailed play map disappear at any distance to try and improve performance.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a sense of emotional emptiness after a few hours of gameplay, feeling as though they are stuck in a repetitive grind that lacks novelty or depth.
- “I don't know about much further down the line, but a couple of hours in, I felt like I was playing the same grind I've been playing my whole life, and it made me feel a little empty.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is described as peculiar and unconventional, creating a unique and intriguing experience for players.