Lay out your grand strategy on the land of Eagarlnia where humans, elves, orcs, dwarves, and the undead each battle out a corner of land. Manage your territories by navigating complex decisions and grow your economy.
Players can choose from over 10 unique factions, each with their own distinct units, heroes, and playstyles. To expand your territory, you must make strategic decisions on how to develop your cities, invest in infrastructure, recruit and train new soldiers, and navigate complex diplomatic relationships with neighbors. The territory management offers a wealth of options each turn, such as investing in city improvements, searching for valuable resources and items, repairing city walls, and more. Carefully allocating your limited actions per turn creates meaningful strategic tradeoffs.
The game features a roster of over 200 unique hero characters, each with their own backstories, personalities, stats, and special abilities. You can recruit these heroes through diplomacy, conquest, or other means, and then equip them with weapons and armor. As heroes gain experience and level up, you can unlock new abilities and skills to further customize their capabilities. Assembling the optimal roster of heroes is a key strategic challenge, as you leverage their diverse strengths to overcome obstacles.
While the main campaign map plays out in a turn-based format, battles between armies are resolved in real-time, with the option to pause and issue orders. You must position your troops effectively, utilize the strengths of different unit types, and activate hero abilities at the right moments to secure victory. The combat system strikes a balance between complexity and accessibility, with a rock-paper-scissors dynamic between unit types and impactful hero abilities. Players who prefer to minimize micromanagement can opt for the auto-resolve function, but the manual battles are widely praised as the more engaging experience.
Alongside the core strategic gameplay, the game offers a rich narrative and worldbuilding element. The fantasy continent of Eagarlnia is deeply fleshed out, with each faction and hero having their own detailed backstories and motivations. Hundreds of character biographies provide a wealth of lore and personality, and the intertwining narratives and relationships between the various heroes and factions add a strong sense of engagement. The game's anime-inspired aesthetic and pixel-art visuals contribute to the overall sense of personality and immersion.
The game's replayability is a major strength, with multiple factions to choose from, each offering a distinct challenge and playstyle. Players can also customize the game's difficulty and rulesets to tailor the experience to their preferences. Additionally, the streamlined and accessible design, combined with a robust tutorial system, makes the game approachable for newcomers to the grand strategy genre, without sacrificing the depth and complexity that veteran players crave.