Etherlords II

Etherlords II, developed and published by Nival, takes the experimental foundation of the first game and reshapes it into something more focused and approachable, trading some of the original’s grand strategic scope for a tighter, more character-driven experience. Instead of trying to balance two equally dominant systems, the sequel clearly prioritizes its card-based combat while streamlining the surrounding structure, resulting in a game that feels more cohesive, even if it sacrifices some of the ambition that made the original so distinctive. One of the most noticeable changes is the shift in how progression is handled. Rather than juggling multiple heroes across a large strategic map, you now follow a single protagonist through a series of interconnected missions. This design gives the game a stronger sense of continuity, as your character grows steadily over time, carrying abilities, spells, and equipment from one encounter to the next. The experience feels closer to an RPG than a traditional strategy game, with exploration, questing, and gradual power progression forming the backbone of the campaign. Combat remains the centerpiece, and it’s here that Etherlords II truly exce…

A surprisingly fun mixture of Magic the Gathering, Warcraft and Might & Magic. Game's a little buggy but if you set it to Windows XP compatibility mode and run as admin it solved 90% of the problems for me.

Etherlords II solves the dilemna of non-creativity in card games, from classic TCGs to rogueli?es : In these games, there usually are clear and few METAs, because you want a single deck that can deal with most of the situations you might encounter. In the Etherlords II campaign, instead of a one-deck-fits-all approach, each of the enemie's decks are very strong against certain strategies and weaker against others, making each fight a puzzle that you must solve with the right deck. Even if some are more versatile than others, it's not about how strong a strategy is, it's about whether the enemy is vulnerable to it. Thanks to this, the game features plenty of relevant and balanced strategies that are more busted than what you would find in any other CCG, and that you will actually want to use in your playthrough.

It has not aged well, but if you want a game that lets you do a sort of fucion of RPG and MTG-style combat, this might be for you.

The game introduces us to a world shaped by Ether, a mystical force that is the very source of life and existence. The atmosphere is fantastic, the music is awesome. There are mysteries upon mysteries and the game gives you a sense that anything and everything is possible. I love the writing because it provokes questions instead of giving you final answers. The main plot revolves around a new form of life mysteriously appearing in the Ether World and beginning to consume all color and vitality, leading to the ultimate destrution of the ether flows. You get to play as a representative of each of these metaphysical forces and the story naturally unfolds via some fun tactical combat. The story IS simple, but very satisfying, and the artistic choices are excellent. I fully recommend this game to anyone, it's really good. Despite (or exactly because) it's simplicity it really speaks to you on some existential level.

Jestem EIleen z klanu jarzębiny... This gameplay and music are forever engraved in my memory. I loved the graphics and the story those 20 years ago. Now I'm not into turn-based games but I still think fondly of this one