Sorcerer King: Rivals

I love strategy games and magic. I also remember playing this particular game long time ago and liking it. The game has some interesting mechanics and spells. But now, after trying it again, I can't recommend it. The interface and controls are bad. The way the armies choose their path is ridiculous. The prediction of how far an army is able to travel in the current turn are incorrect - the game updates them as an army moves. So you can't plan moves in a strategy game, not really. The game crashes regularly. The map generation is bad - you can basically end up in a long corridor between the see and the mountains and be stuck there for 50 turns. I saw a faction spawning in a small pocket inside a ring of mountains - without any chance of getting out of there. The AI is idiotic - it might have a dozen one-unit armies at the same tile without ever merging those armies. And losing them one by one easily. The game quickly turns into a slog - with you just having to hold against waves and waves low-quality easy to defeat armies spawning and rushing you one by one. It is not hard to defeat those, but it takes a lot of time you could have spent doing something more interesting. I real…

Not having a great time, but it is hard to give a thumbs down to a game that I have played for over three hours. And I do intend to try at least a little more. I guess there are two games here, I am playing the first one, which I read somewhere is the more fun of the two. Unlike Fallen Enchantress, I feel like I can do stuff early on, fight some battles, though I still have to be careful. I have no clue if I am doing well or poorly, which kind of sucks. And the city building is tepid as best. All in all, one thumb up. ADDENDUM: Okay, played one game thru to the end on beginner. It was fun, but it had a lot of glitches and bugs that reduced my enjoyment. Getting off a boat is a pain in the rump. The crafting system is awkward and difficult, why can't you pick a unit then go to the crafting to pick what you want to make for it? Gotta keep going in and out if different menus to get there... Plus is it very hard to remember what you are doing with a unit. Still, it was fun, half a thumb up? ADDENDUM: Trying another game, this time as the Undead race. The flavor is surprising not much different. ADDENDUM: Still putzing with this one. it's one of those games that keeps my mind busy,…

I finally finished the campaign after 20+ hours. No tutorial. No YouTube guides. Just pure trial, error, and suffering. Turns out… I didn’t need to wait for my godhood bar to be full. Yes. You can just go straight to the boss. I could’ve finished the whole campaign in 4–5 hours. This game doesn’t teach you mechanics, it lets you discover them emotionally after wasting an entire day. But honestly? That made the victory even funnier. Beating the final boss didn’t feel heroic. It felt like realizing you’ve been pushing a pull door for 20 hours. Final Thought: Sorcerer King Rivals is fun, addictive, and unintentionally hilarious. You’ll either: Learn fast and finish quick. Or learn the hard way and finish with character development. I chose the second path. 10/10 wisdom gained, 0/10 time efficiency.

The game is an interesting combination of 4x Civ style play blended with an RPG style exploration -- great idea. But the interface is so poorly designed that each player action is a struggle with the GUI to enact a desired result. 2/5 stars, would not recommend

Sorcerer King: Rivals takes the familiar foundations of turn-based 4X strategy and reshapes them around a fantasy campaign where survival and preparation matter as much as territorial expansion. Developed and published by Stardock Entertainment, the game places you in the world of Elemental, a land already devastated by the immensely powerful Sorcerer King. Rather than beginning as one civilization among several roughly equal competitors, you enter a world where a dominant enemy already exists. Your kingdom must grow quickly enough to eventually challenge this threat, giving the campaign a stronger sense of direction than the typical open-ended strategy sandbox. Exploration plays a major role because the map is filled with more than empty territory waiting to be claimed. Ruins, dungeons, settlements, monsters, resources, quests, and valuable treasures encourage players to send armies and heroes beyond their borders. Procedurally generated worlds make each campaign somewhat unpredictable, while encounters scattered across the landscape help reinforce the RPG influence. Establishing cities remains important, but expansion feels more adventurous because new territory can lead to usef…

[h1]FR/EN Sorcerer King : Rivals[/h1] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3650744401 [h3]---FR---[/h3] Sorcerer King : Rivals est un bon RPG 4X stratégique. Ici on se retrouve à la tête d'une ville qu'il va falloir faire grandir au fil du temps et des tours qui vont s'enchaîner. On améliore petit à petit nos compétences et on étend notre territoire en visitant les environs. On développe notre royaume progressivement en veillant de ne pas provoquer notre maître sombre tant que l'on a pas les moyens de nos ambitions. [h3]---EN---[/h3] Sorcerer King: Rivals is a solid 4X strategy RPG. Here, you take command of a city that you must develop over time and through successive turns. You gradually improve your skills and expand your territory by exploring the surrounding areas. You develop your kingdom progressively, careful not to provoke your dark master until you have the resources to match your ambitions. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3650744273 [h3]---FR---[/h3] Le jeu offre la possibilité de former des alliances avec les divers royaumes voisins et on avance pas à pas à chaque nouveau tour. On découvre doucement le lore de cet univers q…