Disciples: Domination

Disciples: Domination knows exactly what it is and what it wants to do. It's an old-school strategy game with great combat but also frustratingly shallow mechanics in other areas. Fans will love it; everyone else will wonder what the big deal is.

Disciples: Domination offers entertaining and strategic turn-based combat with loads of unit synergy to play and experiment with. Though the plot doesn’t quite deliver on its dark RPG aspirations, it’s still entertaining.

Disciples: Domination can feel slow, tedious, and grindy at times, but fun can still be had in its unique party recruitment mechanic and highly customizable player character. However, it doesn’t change enough from the game that came before to justify its existence as a sequel, and may even feel like a disappointing departure for returning fans.

Disciples: Domination is a sequel that embraces absolute continuity. It corrects some of Liberation's imbalances, increases the challenge, and consolidates the foundations, but it stops there. The combat system works, the factions offer distinct approaches, and the dark fantasy atmosphere remains intact. But it lacks the bold vision that could transform a good strategy game into a memorable one. Where evolution was expected, Domination opts for maintenance. Solid but predictable: it will convince those looking for exactly what they already know, disappointing those hoping for a decisive step forward.

Disciples: Domination offers a massive new campaign that spans anywhere between 30 and 50 hours depending on your level of difficulty and style of play, plenty of major new features with their own spin on systems and combat, baseline enhancements and QoL features that were patched into Liberation over time. But it still sticks too close to Liberation to be called an entirely new game. If you were looking to experience more of Nevendaar from Avyanna’s PoV or want to spend several evenings in a solid turn-based strategy, you will enjoy the new installment. But if you are waiting for the second coming of Disciples 2, Domination features vastly different vibes and aesthetics.

This is an average sequel to a tactical game, with the combat being the best aspect. Graphically, it has improved slightly compared to the last game, but the story and texts fail to attract much attention. Nevertheless, the game will find an audience eager to continue the story from Liberation.

Dark fantasy RPG with highly tactical and intense turn-based combat, but weaknesses in city building and character development.

In the end, Disciples: Domination stands in its own way and gives the impression that, although it has taken a step forward in some areas, this is offset by setbacks in others. That doesn't make it a bad game, but it's not enough to make it stand out in any way. It can't compete with a genre giant like Heroes of Might and Magic, especially in terms of complexity. However, those who enjoyed playing its predecessor will get their money's worth here as well. The developers could have dared to take it a little further, though.

Disciples: Domination does not upend what already works about the series. It moves Empress Avyanna’s narrative in a new direction and adds nuance and depth to all the game’s systems. There are a lot of mechanics at play, from combat to RPG-like elements to diplomacy, and they work together well and add up to a rich experience.

With noticeably less content and few innovations, Disciples: Domination feels more like an expansion than a full-fledged sequel. It's a decent game, nothing more, with a lackluster plot and a generic high fantasy world; a must-have for fans of Disciples: Liberation.

It’s difficult to fault Disciples: Domination for what it does well. The game delivers a tight tactical experience, supports a wide range of distinct factions, and offers plenty to explore. Its visuals are detailed, and the UI holds up well across long play sessions. Where the game stumbles, it does so in familiar ways: a disjointed narrative, forgettable voice acting, and the risk of loot overload. The game doesn’t push far beyond its predecessor, nor does it significantly shift expectations within the genre; its systems, story, and presentation all feel largely familiar. Like a friend whose dress sense hasn’t changed in twenty years, Disciples: Domination struggles to be truly relevant or fresh, but if you’re willing to dance to her older tunes, this is a queen who will happily conquer your doubts.

Disciples: Domination is a flawed, by-the-numbers strategy RPG that shows some creativity with its units and certain boss mechanics, but lacks enough depth and variety to sustain the amount of fights it throws at you across its decently lengthy campaign. Its writing lacks a consistent tone, its world fails to grip you, while Avyanna only stands out as one of the most unconvincing protagonists to date, making Domination a functional but rather forgettable second entry in the series.