Strategy & Tactics: Dark Ages

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Strategy & Tactics: Dark Ages is a single player role playing game with a historical theme. It was developed by HeroLabs and was released on August 4, 2017. It received neutral reviews from players.

Dark Ages is a turn-based strategy game set in the violent world of an alternate Middle Ages. Vikings against war elephants, musketeers against the Mongol cavalry, ancient phalanx legions against crusaders; the deadliest armies in history clashing in bloody war.

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Play Modes

Single-Player

Strategy & Tactics: Dark Ages screenshot

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48%

Audience ScoreBased on 85 reviews

gameplay5 positive mentions

grinding9 negative mentions

The game offers a unique blend of historical and anachronistic units, creating an imaginative and playful campaign experience.
Players can engage in broad strategic planning, managing provinces and making decisions that have long-term consequences, reminiscent of tabletop war games.
The art direction and atmospheric soundtrack contribute to an immersive experience, enhancing the overall enjoyment of the game.

Combat is largely automated, leading to a lack of player involvement and making battles feel predetermined and detached from player strategy.
The game suffers from frequent crashes and technical issues, which can disrupt gameplay and diminish the overall experience.
The tutorial is inadequate, leaving many mechanics underexplained, which can confuse new players and hinder their understanding of the game.

gameplay
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
58%
16%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players noting that while it has interesting mechanics and potential, it suffers from a lack of depth and clarity, particularly in tutorials and battle mechanics. The AI is criticized for being ineffective, leading to an easy and grind-heavy experience that feels more suited to a simple board game than a full-fledged strategy title. Overall, while some find it addictive and enjoyable, many express disappointment in its unfinished state and the need for significant improvements.
- “This game has huge potential and interesting mechanics.”
- “Addicting gameplay.”
- “Good core mechanics and gameplay.”
- “The tutorial only covers the basics, leaving the deeper mechanics—such as how formations interact or how certain stats affect combat—underexplained.”
- “Apart from the glitches and crashes, the game mechanics don't make much sense; there is no real information about troop types/advantages or why the force that suddenly invaded from nowhere right in the middle of your stronghold that was garrisoned with troops can kick your ass even though they have half the attack points and don't look like they should have any real advantage.”
- “This game, although sold as fully released, is abandoned; only 9 scenarios available (including tutorial scenario), no editor, minimal battle mechanics, few different types of units... don't buy it, in a standard free game demo there is far more content than in this half-finished game.”
graphics
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
9%
27%
The game's graphics are characterized by a visually appealing art style that draws inspiration from physical strategy boards, featuring stylized maps and handcrafted unit icons. Players appreciate the beautiful artwork and the historical themes represented by various factions, although some express a desire for more graphical options and gameplay updates. Overall, the graphics are praised for their quality and aesthetic appeal, enhancing the game's immersive experience.
- “Faithful adaptation of history with nice graphics, awesome and epic wars.”
- “Great hand-drawn artwork.”
- “The game has no graphics settings, only the option to adjust the resolution.”
- “I like the game very much, and I would absolutely support more with money as long as I see some sort of update to the gameplay, maybe the graphics.”
- “Visually, the game borrows heavily from the aesthetics of physical strategy boards, with maps that feel like stylized battle plans and unit icons that resemble handcrafted counters.”
grinding
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is heavily criticized, with players noting that it requires an excessive amount of time—200-300 hours—to complete, primarily due to the need to farm "glory points" for upgrades. Many find the gameplay tedious and unbalanced, leading to a desire to exploit easier strategies to cope with the long scenarios and frequent crashes. Overall, the grinding is seen as a significant drawback that detracts from the game's potential enjoyment.
- “Otherwise to beat this entire game (which is only roughly 10 levels/maps) it will take you around 200-300 hours of grinding.”
- “If it wasn't for the worthless grinding only to reset you, it'd be 3/5.”
- “Furthermore, the upgrades that you can do require a lot of 'glory points' (given by winning scenario goals) and this makes it very grindy if you opt for upgrades.”
story
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
45%
33%
The game's story is criticized for its lack of depth and coherence, with many players noting that the missions feel scripted and disconnected from one another. While the initial missions are engaging, the overall narrative is weak, and the scenarios often lead to confusing or unrealistic situations. Despite some replay value from secondary objectives, the storytelling does not significantly enhance the gameplay experience.
- “Honestly, very good board game - every mission feels unique and poses its own challenges.”
- “This is merely a personal thing, as I know there are a lot of people that do like the scenario or individual mission system.”
- “Nearly no real story.”
- “Story... don't get me started... let's say I was playing a scenario where I was leading an English nobleman feuding with another. Not only was most of the map occupied by French neutrals (that remain neutral until you attack them, and otherwise just move troops aimlessly around their lands... slowing down the AI turns), but suddenly I am attacked in the back by a Mongolian horde. That is just bonkers and shows the lack of polish this game received before release.”
- “The game features a small number of scenarios (eight); while the missions have plentiful secondary objectives that add some replay value, the general plan in each is fairly scripted based on the fixed starting conditions.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with frequent bugs and crashes reported, particularly when changing screen resolution or adjusting display settings. While players acknowledge some potential in the gameplay, the persistent glitches detract from the overall experience, making it frustrating and inconsistent.
- “It's very buggy, but figured out what causes crashes for the most part.”
- “A fun strategy game, but buggy and crashes all the time.”
- “Buggy as heck and crashes even just when attempting to change screen resolution.”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
The game's replayability is somewhat limited due to a small number of scenarios and the lack of skirmish or multiplayer modes, but players can find enjoyment in structured campaigns and secondary objectives. Once completed, players can enhance replay value by retaining skilled generals and upgrading units, allowing for varied strategies in subsequent playthroughs. Overall, while the replayability is decent, it primarily caters to those who appreciate the challenge of the defined campaign structure.
- “This game delivers some fun and challenge while providing a reasonable challenge and replayability for the price.”
- “The game features a small number of scenarios (eight); while the missions have plentiful secondary objectives that add some replay value, the general plan in each is fairly scripted based on the fixed starting conditions.”
- “Replayability is decent; you have the armory to upgrade units and the pantheon where you can retain favorite generals.”
- “What makes this game quite replayable once you beat all the scenarios is that you can choose and spend your glory points to keep highly skilled generals and use them again in other scenarios.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
The game's atmosphere is effectively conveyed through its art direction and an atmospheric medieval soundtrack, which enhances the overall mood. While the visuals may not be extravagant, the music and text contribute positively to the immersive dark fantasy setting, creating a compelling environment for players.
- “The art direction may not be lavish, but it effectively communicates the information you need to play, and the mood is enhanced by a soundtrack that leans toward atmospheric medieval tones.”
- “Of positive things, music and text should be noted; they helped to create some atmosphere after all.”
- “Dark atmosphere is really cool too!”
- “The music and text are the only positive aspects; they helped to create some atmosphere after all.”
- “The overall atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking any real depth or engagement.”
- “Despite the potential for a rich environment, the atmosphere falls short, leaving players feeling disconnected.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
The music in the game is praised for its atmospheric medieval tones, effectively enhancing the overall mood and complementing the gameplay experience. While the art direction is noted as effective rather than lavish, the soundtrack is consistently described as splendid and well-suited to the game's theme, contributing positively to the atmosphere.
- “The art direction may not be lavish, but it effectively communicates the information you need to play, and the mood is enhanced by a soundtrack that leans toward atmospheric medieval tones.”
- “Of positive things, music and text should be noted; they helped to create some atmosphere after all.”
- “Good music that suits the game.”
- “The music is repetitive and lacks variety, making it hard to stay engaged during gameplay.”
- “While the soundtrack attempts to set a mood, it often feels out of place and fails to enhance the overall experience.”
- “The audio quality of the music is subpar, which detracts from the immersion and enjoyment of the game.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The optimization of the game is criticized for being minimal, as roads primarily serve to provide only slight performance boosts to units without significantly enhancing gameplay or functionality.
- “In fact, roads don’t do anything outside of giving some minor boosts to certain unit performances.”
- “In fact, roads don’t do anything outside of providing minor boosts to certain unit performances.”
- “The optimization in this game feels lacking, as many features seem underdeveloped and ineffective.”
- “I often find myself frustrated with the optimization, as it seems like the game struggles to run smoothly even on high-end hardware.”

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435h Median play time

435h Average play time

435-435h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Strategy & Tactics: Dark Ages is a role playing game with historical theme.

Strategy & Tactics: Dark Ages is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 435 hours playing Strategy & Tactics: Dark Ages.

Strategy & Tactics: Dark Ages was released on August 4, 2017.

Strategy & Tactics: Dark Ages was developed by HeroLabs.

Strategy & Tactics: Dark Ages has received neutral reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its grinding.

Strategy & Tactics: Dark Ages is a single player game.

Similar games include Eador. Masters of the Broken World, Oriental Empires, Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars, Circle Empires, Knights of Honor II: Sovereign and others.

Strategy & Tactics: Dark Ages

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