Eador: Masters of the Broken World

 PC
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 222 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 135 out of 222
  2. Mixed: 42 out of 222
  3. Negative: 45 out of 222

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  1. klauskjensen
    Apr 25, 2013
    9
    This is a great little gem for anyone who likes HoMM, King's Bounty, Crusader Kings etc. kind of games. There's a lot of depth to the gameplay mechanics and the graphics, music and atmosphere in the game is nice.

    I've played 7 hours into the game so far and have not experienced a single crash or freeze. The devs are comitted to making this game the best that it can be with regular    This is a great little gem for anyone who likes HoMM, King's Bounty, Crusader Kings etc. kind of games. There's a lot of depth to the gameplay mechanics and the graphics, music and atmosphere in the game is nice.

    I've played 7 hours into the game so far and have not experienced a single crash or freeze. The devs are comitted to making this game the best that it can be with regular patches so there's no reason not to dive into Eador. I'm happy that I bought the game.    … Expand
  2. LD9000
    Apr 22, 2013
    8
    The game has a fantastic RPG system and is a very close recreation of Eador: Genesis. Better graphics make this game more appealing to the mainstream crowd. WIth that said, the game at release is very buggy. The developers appear to be patching it daily though, so in a couple weeks this game would be very worth purchasing. It is a masterpiece.
  3. mitra76
    Apr 28, 2013
    10
    The game is very complex and gift hours of intense gameplay. I have experimented no bugs and major problem and the developers released 2 patch in a single week for correctimprove the game. For every bug reporter probably there will be hundred of people which play without problems. In the gameplay you have a full mix of strategy,RPG,management game style
  4. curvy2
    Apr 22, 2013
    9
    While playing Eador: Masters of the Broken World, several recurring thoughts kept running through my head. I wasn’t sure what to think, because as huge a Heroes of Might and Magic & Civilization fan I am, part of me thought I knew what to expect. Let me make this clear, Eador is a great game. Allow me to also make something else very clear; Eador is a massive game.

    I couldn’t believe    While playing Eador: Masters of the Broken World, several recurring thoughts kept running through my head. I wasn’t sure what to think, because as huge a Heroes of Might and Magic & Civilization fan I am, part of me thought I knew what to expect. Let me make this clear, Eador is a great game. Allow me to also make something else very clear; Eador is a massive game.

    I couldn’t believe the overall scope of the game. I don’t think I have ever personally played a game with such an immense gameplay experience. For those of you out there that are turn-based strategy fans that loved the days of having a single game of Heroes of Might and Magic last for 3 weeks because you chose the biggest map with 8 opposing heroes while playing it as a multiplayer hotseat with two of your best friends will certainly love Eador. There is no shortage of gameplay, that’s for damn sure    … Expand
  5. Retropunch
    Apr 21, 2013
    9
    This is a fantastic turn based game which easily rivals (and beats) fallen enchantress and the latest HOMMs. Where both of those games may have interesting aspects, one of the cornerstones of strategy games is the need for depth and size, which Eador definitely delivers.
    I have no idea where the extremely negative reviews are coming from and can only assume that they were either paid for    This is a fantastic turn based game which easily rivals (and beats) fallen enchantress and the latest HOMMs. Where both of those games may have interesting aspects, one of the cornerstones of strategy games is the need for depth and size, which Eador definitely delivers.
    I have no idea where the extremely negative reviews are coming from and can only assume that they were either paid for by the competition or that that the players have ridiculously high standards. I never experienced any of the problems the negative reviewers experienced. Although it does lack a bit of polish (mainly in terms of some graphical issues and very minor bugs) this is incredible for a $20 game, especially considering the huge size of the game (think days not hours!) and is much better than the horribly overpriced Fallen Enchantress/HOMM
    .
    The amount of building options and units is huge, especially combined with the random events and exploration the fights are very HOMM3 style, but with a lot more options and variety (such as terrain differences and more RPG style equipment and levelling). The writing is funny and interesting, and the graphics are very good with an interesting and competent enough AI to not get bored.

    My only reasons for not giving it a 10 is that it is slightly buggy in parts, but mostly it suffers from a slightly confusing interface design which takes a bit of getting used to/figuring out (although really not that much). The campaign was also obviously a bit of an afterthought, but it hardly ever a focus of such games so I can't mark it too negatively on that alone.

    Overall, well worth a buy!    … Expand
  6. jamezy
    Apr 21, 2013
    9
    This is a great game, lots of features and content, I don't normally go for this type of game but when I saw it on steam I was interested straight away. I haven't come across any bugs at all so far and therefore agree with retropunch that maybe the competition are being paid to say it. I feel the game is quite well finished, the graphics are great and the game style isn't as slow as IThis is a great game, lots of features and content, I don't normally go for this type of game but when I saw it on steam I was interested straight away. I haven't come across any bugs at all so far and therefore agree with retropunch that maybe the competition are being paid to say it. I feel the game is quite well finished, the graphics are great and the game style isn't as slow as I thought it would be. The reason I didn't give it a 10 is because I do agree the interface is complicated but like any game you need to get used to it that's all. Overall a fantastic game and for £14.99 you wont be disappointed.… Expand
  7. zanz
    Apr 20, 2013
    9
    A very good turn based strategy game, which is essentially identical to the previous Eador game, with the exception of the graphics. First of all, this isn't a $60 (no DLC included) HOMM title, neither is it a $40 overpriced Fallen Enchantress game... It is $20 and it has comparable amount of content to the other titles I mentioned. I had no technical issues whatsoever. Graphics are good,A very good turn based strategy game, which is essentially identical to the previous Eador game, with the exception of the graphics. First of all, this isn't a $60 (no DLC included) HOMM title, neither is it a $40 overpriced Fallen Enchantress game... It is $20 and it has comparable amount of content to the other titles I mentioned. I had no technical issues whatsoever. Graphics are good, without being amazing. Gameplay is deep, relatively challenging, but can get repetitive. This game can use a bit more content (like units, more terrain types, etc.) but, in all honesty, it already has enough. If it was more expensive I'd give it an average score, but for $20 this is a solid, 8.5 or 9 from me.… Expand
  8. Esquire
    Apr 27, 2013
    10
    Exciting game, just a couple of bugs which should get fixed with the next patch, impressive overall. Those who like the genre will definitely enjoy the gameplay.
  9. NichG
    Apr 29, 2013
    8
    Eador makes for a nice quick strategy game experience in its shard mechanic, while its campaign structure allows progress to be gradually made as one moves from shard to shard. One can play a quick 1 hour session conquering a Tiny shard or can go for a much larger conquest when more time is available, but either way this advances the player's overall agenda due to the campaign mode. ThisEador makes for a nice quick strategy game experience in its shard mechanic, while its campaign structure allows progress to be gradually made as one moves from shard to shard. One can play a quick 1 hour session conquering a Tiny shard or can go for a much larger conquest when more time is available, but either way this advances the player's overall agenda due to the campaign mode. This brings me to something that Eador has that is missing from most other games of its genre there is a plot to be discovered amidst the strategic conquest. At first this is just dialogues with your advisor or your opponents in between shard conquests, but there are indications that it goes deeper as you conquer shards you occasionally find things that you can ask your advisor about, leading to a feeling of searching for and discovering secrets that makes for a much deeper game and creates a feel of continuity between the separate conquests. I have a feeling it goes beyond this, as new mechanics keep opening up even after 10+ conquests, and I'm looking forward to that.

    The downsides: though I've enjoyed probably 20-30 hours of play so far, it feels like the gameplay is going to get repetitive before I uncover the game's secrets. Since each shard starts you from scratch, you tend to learn a sequence of buildings and actions that pretty much work. Certain options seem much stronger than others, to the point where once you figure them out you don't have a strong incentive to explore the other options deeply. Because you can level your heroes more or less arbitrarily, but your buildings are limited until you unlock higher tiers you may very well decide that Warriors are the way to go before you ever get the buildings that let Wizards achieve their potential.

    On a technical level: game turns can get slow when the AI has two or more heroes going around doing stuff. There are a number of bugs right now that can be very disruptive, though the per-turn auto-save helps ameliorate some of the pain of a crash. Generally I've found that its possible to work around all of the bugs in play except for a crash pinned to a random event that requires you to go back a few turns to re-seed the random number generator. Hopefully this will be fixed soon since there have already been a number of patches in the week since release.    … Expand
  10. Abaleth
    Apr 27, 2013
    9
    Although slightly glitchy, I found the game perfectly playable. I've played Armored Princess, and a number of other indie strategy games, and there's something about this which just makes me love it. I do have a bit of an issue with the balance, lawful troops just rule so hard in the early game that it seems pointless to use anything else, also sometimes if your hero gets the wrong statsAlthough slightly glitchy, I found the game perfectly playable. I've played Armored Princess, and a number of other indie strategy games, and there's something about this which just makes me love it. I do have a bit of an issue with the balance, lawful troops just rule so hard in the early game that it seems pointless to use anything else, also sometimes if your hero gets the wrong stats on levelling you're just screwed. However, I'm still really enjoying it, been playing for about 30 hours and far from bored.… Expand
  11. evild4ve
    Jul 15, 2013
    8
    Taking a critical appraisal, this is a better successor to Heroes of Might and Magic III than the official sequels. It's not without its flaws, which I'll list a few of, but the "solidness" and balance of the game more than make up for them.

    Whether its due to patches or having a top-end CPU and graphics card, I haven't had any of the problems with bugginess or slowdown that others have    Taking a critical appraisal, this is a better successor to Heroes of Might and Magic III than the official sequels. It's not without its flaws, which I'll list a few of, but the "solidness" and balance of the game more than make up for them.

    Whether its due to patches or having a top-end CPU and graphics card, I haven't had any of the problems with bugginess or slowdown that others have mentioned. As with a lot of games like this it feels like if I played it solidly for 12 hours it would probably crash, but the impressive implementation of auto-save means there probably wouldn't be too much of a problem if it it.

    The fantasy setting is workmanlike not embellished like Disciples, or entirely superfluous like Fantasy General or Warlock:master of the arcane. The units on the battlefield behave 'just right' and seem to be quite carefully balanced so that even after 10+ hours of obsessively harvesting every experience point and magic on a map (which in this game isn't remotely necessary, to its credit), there will still be encounters that are challenging.

    Exploration is cleverly compacted so that each individual map tile has loads of encounters inside it, which are found by exploring on the spot. This avoids the common problem of getting wiped out by a strategic-level rush while your hero was off doing a quest far away from the capital city they should have been defending.

    The combat is so similar to HOMM3 that they should be paying royalties for it. You can't build up huge stacks of 1,000 skeletons, there is no "Defend" command, no "Retreat" option, and no bonuses (as far as I can tell) for surrounding or flanking enemies, or "zones of control". I was surprised I didn't miss these things much and I think it's probably because there is a bigger random element to the combat and multiple counterattacks. If an imp squares up to a spearman, it isn't predictable which will live and the advantage goes to the side that best distributes counterattack damage between its units.

    The hero units seem very similar I haven't tried them all, but they are tide-turners rather than single-handed army wiper-outers. Although there are only 4 classes, there is a fair bit of specialization between them, and their perks are subtler than HOMM3 no adding +1 damage to every archer in the army type stuff (yet, afaik).

    One big negative for me was the realization that the game didn't involve a 4D strategic layer like Empire of the Fading Suns there aren't payoffs between fighting a war on one shard and building up defences on another. The shards are more like the successive progression from mission to mission (e.g. Dawn of War II) different routes to suit different playstyles.

    Special mention goes to the people who painstakingly wrote very literal descriptions of each type of unit along the lines of "A dragon is a big, flying reptile that breathes fire and lives along time". Personally I preferred that to the tendency of these games to give everything a backstory and put their own spin on every unit. In Eador, a dragon is a dragon, an elf is an elf, and a giant slug is a giant slug.

    The tutorial is a totally different (and inferior) experience to the actual game. City building is routine stuff with a bit of ability to optimize territories for different resources, but no microscopic focus.

    There is a random event system like in Castles, or Galactic Civilizations do you send local adventurers to kill the spiders, or the town guard, or do you send the adventurers to kill the spiders and then the town guard to kill the adventurers and steal all their equipment causing some other unforeseen consequence to pop up 50 turns later.

    Overall I think they spent a huge amount of time on the game balance and it pays off the encounters match the territories they happen in, the units have the right relative strengths, the improvements from levelling them up make the right amount of difference, no one spell, item or creature makes an army unbeatable, and numerical advantages can be made up for with creature tiering and vice-versa. Probably the work of several people with degrees in writing wargames and a long playtesting process, which might have happened on a pen and paper hex-grid between two beardy dungeons & dragons fans, with funny shaped dice, over the course of the last 20 years before they made a PC version.

    They deserve some of your money.    … Expand
  12. Cordsmith
    May 18, 2013
    9
    This is a complex game, not for those with zero patience. Be prepared to learn from your mistakes, and to spend scores of hours figuring out this game. However the reward for patience is an excellent game, with a committed developer (7 patches in two weeks). You must make sure that your system is in the recommended spec range (why do people complain when they have crappy computers, andThis is a complex game, not for those with zero patience. Be prepared to learn from your mistakes, and to spend scores of hours figuring out this game. However the reward for patience is an excellent game, with a committed developer (7 patches in two weeks). You must make sure that your system is in the recommended spec range (why do people complain when they have crappy computers, and try to play newer games).

    The more time you put into this game, the more you understand that it is perfectly balanced. Every gold counts, every hit point. Your decisions on what to build will certainly affect your early game, thus an entire shard. Graphics are excellent (with a machine that can handle it). Be prepared to sink 100+ hours into learning how to master this game on expert (no bonus) difficulty. Good stuff all around. A point off for some leftover annoying bugs (all of which have a work around, and are fairly minor).    … Expand
  13. Kimril
    Jun 30, 2013
    9
    All strategy fans will enjoy this game, so much to do, so much depth. Yes it had an iffy, buggy release but so does every game, the devs are committed to patching it and we've already had around 12 patches fixing things and adding content.

    I really enjoy the game and I think everybody who enjoys strategy should get it!
  14. abraxes
    May 26, 2013
    10
    If you like depth and strategic challenge, buy this game. Period. There hasn't been a game like it since Heroes III, and the developer has been on it when it comes to responding to the community's feedback. This game deserves a look; more like it would sure be nice in this Call of Duty age.
  15. thvaz
    Jun 2, 2013
    9
    It is turn based (both the strategic map and the battles, an interesting campaign, has random events, a deep building and item system...what more could I want?
    Well, a game that wasn't unplayable for me at release, but now (two months later?) I didn't found any game breaking bug, the game runs and plays fine. Its fails aren't that many as I had a lot of fun with Eador already.
  16. Mivo
    Jun 8, 2013
    9
    What an awesome game this is. Or could be. And hopefully will be!

    First off, when you read user reviews, look at the date. There have been weekly patches and much has been improved since the release, so if you see a negative review from April 2013, keep in mind that a lot of work has been done since. Eador: MotBW is a fantasy-themed turn-based strategy game that takes its inspiration    What an awesome game this is. Or could be. And hopefully will be!

    First off, when you read user reviews, look at the date. There have been weekly patches and much has been improved since the release, so if you see a negative review from April 2013, keep in mind that a lot of work has been done since.

    Eador: MotBW is a fantasy-themed turn-based strategy game that takes its inspiration from classics such as HoMM, Age of Wonders and, of course, Master of Magic. There are some elements from Civilization, too, but it is much more tactical than the Civ games and, in my opinion, undoubtedly richer.

    It is very complex, and clearly deeper than what we are normally fed these days. To give you a broad and incomplete overview:

    - Units are individuals (no stacking), have their own XP, and their own skills.
    - Terrain matters, so place your ranged units on mountains (auto-resolve is offered too).
    - Unit types have alignments that influence moral (think King's Bounty here).
    - Heroes have a custom spellbook and you can choose what spells go into it.
    - There are tactical and strategic spells (think Age of Wonders)
    - You can construct and upgrade a huge variety of functional buildings.
    - You can craft gear and find rare and even legendary loot.
    - Mercenaries are available, requiring upkeep, like most other units.
    - Random events and quests pop up, giving you additional tasks.
    - Each province (a hex on the strategic map) can be explored dozens of times and you will keep finding new lairs, caves and ruins,
    - Units level up and gain extra traits (chosen by the player).
    - Heroes have classes and can be fully equipped with items.
    - Distance matter: the farther away from home you are, the stronger the enemies.
    - And so much more.

    The game is hard, and the learning curve is steep, but the tutorial does help and the game is easier to get into than others that leave you confused as what to do next. There is a campaign, custom games (random maps) and multiplayer, as well as Steam achievements. You'll struggle even on the lowest difficulty setting, but as you learn you'll improve and the tough-as-nails AI will continuously challenge you and keep you engaged.

    If the developers keep working on this game and continue to polish it, then this will be a milestone. The game has everything that a genre classic is made of, and it's super inexpensive, as well. Give this a try, you won't be disappointed. (But do bring patient and the willingness to learn the game!)    … Expand
  17. Cords
    Jul 23, 2013
    10
    This game is complex, and hard, even on beginner. The complexity and difficulty are what makes this game shine. They could have dumbed it down a bit, and made it more accessible to more people, but shame on them if they had done so. If you are prepared to put the time into learning this game then you will be well rewarded. If you are not the patient type, this game will make you wantThis game is complex, and hard, even on beginner. The complexity and difficulty are what makes this game shine. They could have dumbed it down a bit, and made it more accessible to more people, but shame on them if they had done so. If you are prepared to put the time into learning this game then you will be well rewarded. If you are not the patient type, this game will make you want to toss your monitor out the window! I think this game beats other games in it's genre hands down (Kings Bounty, HOMM, and Fallen Enchantress). Once you get to the 20-30 hour mark, beginner will actually start to become too easy, assuming you learn from your mistakes. The game is very well balanced, although you may not say that early on, as the AI will trounce you if you make too many mistakes. Every gold piece counts, and you must choose your hero carefully based on resources on the current shard you are playing on. I have easily sunk over 200 hours into this game, and am far from tired or bored from playing it. The Dev's are very committed. I have emailed them save game files twice from bugs that I have discovered, and they responded back, thanked me for my save game, and included it in the next patch. This game has had over a dozen patches since release, something you NEVER see from some of the larger game developers. I had to wait months for patches for Civ V and Xcom. Some system configurations had trouble running this game early on, so make sure your system is within the recommended specs. I noticed a lot of people having problems with this game had older machines, your machine will probably choke and die if is not well within the specs. This is for me one of the best games in its genre to come out in the last 25 years. Have been playing games like this since MOM and probably before, this one has me totally hooked!… Expand
  18. Reikes
    Aug 29, 2013
    9
    I have played about 80-90 hours over 3 different periods of play. First I thought it was just a really weird version King's Bounty, but after forcing myself to give it a shot, it turned out to be a pretty awesome game with a mix between tactics-style fighting, strategic thought (at a game level), and a story (at the campaign level).

    I have not had any issues with bugs and the game is    I have played about 80-90 hours over 3 different periods of play. First I thought it was just a really weird version King's Bounty, but after forcing myself to give it a shot, it turned out to be a pretty awesome game with a mix between tactics-style fighting, strategic thought (at a game level), and a story (at the campaign level).

    I have not had any issues with bugs and the game is generally interesting. I did not play the earlier versions, but this version continues to draw me back in.    … Expand
  19. arudresa
    Dec 23, 2013
    8
    Mix of civilization and heroes. you build, hire heroes, rise armies and fight enemies on maps named shards. Would've loved to see more playable races/army units and a bit more diversity in gameplay.
  20. JoeB666
    Jul 16, 2013
    9
    *The metacritic score is out-of-date*, because, in three months the studio has eliminated 175 bugs/game issues from the game.

    Almost no reviewers update their reviews, post-release. And few games are updated (much), post-release. This game is an exception. The profoundly long list of issues addressed by the developer in the three months since the game has been released can be found    *The metacritic score is out-of-date*, because, in three months the studio has eliminated 175 bugs/game issues from the game.

    Almost no reviewers update their reviews, post-release. And few games are updated (much), post-release. This game is an exception.

    The profoundly long list of issues addressed by the developer in the three months since the game has been released can be found here: http://store.steampowered.com/news/?feed=steam_updates&appids=232050 (or search the Steam site for "Eador", and click "view update history" on the right-hand side of the game's page).

    How do I know that 175 bugs were fixed? I pasted the list of bug fixes into Word. It was over 200 lines in length. I eliminated those lines that weren't bug fixes. Each remaining line of text was a bug fix, and there were about 175 remaining lines.

    Should the game have been released without said bugs? Perhaps. (Although, in the Studio's defense,
    it can be extremely difficult to eliminate bugs without widespread bug testing and user testing, for technical reasons.) *But,* the developer has shown extreme dedication in eliminating said bugs. They deserve kudos for that fact. I don't believe the decision to eliminate the bugs was made by some bean counter--sadly, I'm not sure you could easily make the case to such a person that it's in the studio's self-interest to patch a released product. But the studio decided to, anyway.

    Both this game and Snowbird Game Studios deserve your support.    … Expand
  21. BenJackson
    Oct 13, 2013
    9
    Now you know what I love about this game? Everything. This is a very perfect fantasy type game if you want a fantasy setting for one, not to mention it's also strategy if that is your thing. But one thing I love about this game is the story and the level of detail. Now, the story truly is non-linear as mentioned on the official site, you can make it however you want, it gives you perfectNow you know what I love about this game? Everything. This is a very perfect fantasy type game if you want a fantasy setting for one, not to mention it's also strategy if that is your thing. But one thing I love about this game is the story and the level of detail. Now, the story truly is non-linear as mentioned on the official site, you can make it however you want, it gives you perfect control over your own character and how you want to flesh out your "Master." Btw, your character and others you meet are all named Masters, to clear that up. Now, the level of detail is incredible, talking with your companion and even analyzing the history of units opens up a lot trove of detail that really helps with the immersion. Moving on, the combat and exploration is also a feature of noting. When it comes to exploration you can not just explore the world map, but explore your own provinces, find treasures, people to fight, you name it. It's like finding treasure within itself! Plus at the start of your turn you may get random events, which can branch out in a number of ways, I can't pin down an example but it's really great. Combat is nice too, on the strategic map you get strategy, terrain choices such as swamps, hills, forests will all affect your hero and units, enemy archers aren't so tough when you or your units are int he forest, but they are deadly if you are in the swamps, likewise, hills give archers more range, it gives you great advantages over the terrain from which you can plan, nice level of control.

    Now, the game is not perfect, but it's borderline on that, the user interface is confusing at first, and it will take some time getting used too, but hey! There are no game breaking bugs, so no worries. My one gripe though is that during battle, sounds are always out of sync, but it is not a big deal. Plus, Eador is still being updated, it's constantly being worked on now, so whatever issues there are now, will be patched.

    Aside from that, no issues really. It really is worth the cash, and the time investment if you are willing, also, character depth, every character you meet is very well fleshed out, and depending on your choices and how you make your story, you may admire or despise who you meet and learn of. And if you want it, Eador also has multiplayer.

    Overall, Eador is not perfect, but it is magnificent, short review end note, but hey, it really is magnificent!    … Expand
  22. koboldofthesea
    Oct 20, 2013
    9
    I've never been a huge fan of the unit disparities in these games. Some spells/units seem to be useless while others while others seem to be necessary/godly. But I'd only deduct one point from my experience for this since pretty much every american homm/rpg has this issue. I like the single unit approach over stackable, but the real under-appreciated part of this rpg is its dialogue. SomeI've never been a huge fan of the unit disparities in these games. Some spells/units seem to be useless while others while others seem to be necessary/godly. But I'd only deduct one point from my experience for this since pretty much every american homm/rpg has this issue. I like the single unit approach over stackable, but the real under-appreciated part of this rpg is its dialogue. Some parts are VERY well written. I especially like the gremlin's nonchalant responses.… Expand
  23. briefer
    Mar 1, 2016
    9
    For all the fans of Heroes I - III, Age of Wonders and similar titles. Not recommended for casuals and CoD kids, they will cry loud on the learning curve and difficulty
  24. s1eepy
    May 29, 2014
    9
    Concept
    This game deserves attention from anyone who thinks the two words "wizard" and "chess" sound great in any sort of combination. Eador is a great many things. I can not give it anything less than a 9 when i consider the genre as a whole and look at every other game has tried to do with the genre in the past. It has the expansiveness and structure of HOMM, it has more depth than the    Concept
    This game deserves attention from anyone who thinks the two words "wizard" and "chess" sound great in any sort of combination. Eador is a great many things. I can not give it anything less than a 9 when i consider the genre as a whole and look at every other game has tried to do with the genre in the past. It has the expansiveness and structure of HOMM, it has more depth than the Civ games, units as cleverly designed as the King's Bounty series, and put together as well as the most ingenious board games out there. The developers obviously are avid fans of the genre who decided to take some of the best elements from the best TBS out there, streamline all of them for turn duration considerations. Conceptually: Eador is the new gold standard by which i will have no choice but to compare all future encounters with titles in the same genre to.

    in short: Eador raises the bar. and not just a little bit.

    now that i've gushed about the game on paper. i'll get into how it handles on the road; in a more general fashion.

    Graphics - might as well start here.
    first; if you're looking to be impressed and wowed with visuals: go play a trippleA title. this is a thinking man's game not a popcorn flick. with that said: everything is clearly defined; there's no confusion as to what anything is. nothing looks out of place or cheesy. it's going to age pretty well. from that basis: i can't hold much of anything back from it's score here. a few more spell effects wouldn't hurt, but that's it.

    Audio
    Again, one of those things that isn't the point of the game. As with the visuals; everything fits. nothing feels out of place. the soundtrack is well thought out enough not to put you to sleep with tedium. it's enjoyable to listen to on your opponent's turns, but it's not going to jump out and demand your attention. I see that sort of ambient quality as being a positive here. The game is about considering your next move, and it considerately frees up any attention it can to keep you doing just that.

    Stability
    Admittedly; there were a number of bugs and non-functioning multiplayer. . . initially. However, since the latest patch: full scale multiplayer is working, and i have not run into a single bug after around 175 hours of play. if i were writing this months ago: the game would have suffered in it's scoring here. The developers are dedicated to making this game what they wanted it to be. Icebird is a small studio and if were to expect the speed of an army of 100 programmers out of a studio this size: i'd just be an impatient ass-hat. The only important part is that their commitment is genuine. Optimization issues have been resolves, crashes fixed, connectivity problems solved, etc. It's all good now. 6 months ago? that's a little bit of different a story.

    User Interface
    Two words: learning curve. Eador might benefit from a help pop-up that labels everything, but there are mouseovers. Once you've taken the time to figure out where everything is: it works. There's no confusion. You have access to everything from anywhere. Eador just has a lot of bits and pieces and it takes a little bit of time to see what they all are. I can't fault a game for having an extensive UI when the game it's self actually is extensive and requires it. That's like getting mad because the rulebook looks too thick.

    In summation
    King's Bounty with multiplayer/HOMM with more depth and faster turns. Sure to impress fans of the genre.    … Expand
  25. emerssso
    Jan 11, 2014
    8
    Complaints about bugs from the release are largely dealt with by the developers at this point, bringing up the correct rating for Eador:MotBM significantly. This is a sophisticated title with many play levels which are intricately woven together. Mechanics are thoughtfully combined to create an enjoyable title with a great "one more turn" feeling.

    The world-building is great.    Complaints about bugs from the release are largely dealt with by the developers at this point, bringing up the correct rating for Eador:MotBM significantly. This is a sophisticated title with many play levels which are intricately woven together. Mechanics are thoughtfully combined to create an enjoyable title with a great "one more turn" feeling.

    The world-building is great. Characters in the masterfully composed procedurally generated campaign glow with personality, and there is a ton of great text to be read (if one cares for that sort of thing). The universe is well fleshed out, and seems designed to perfectly house the core game themes. After being burnt out on fantasy worlds for so long, Eador is like a glass of water.

    My only complaints are the significant memory access errors and a few other bugs that stop the game at random intervals. These only seem to pop up once every ten hours or so, and are typically solved with a restart, but are jarring nontheless. Don't disable autosave! However, frequent dev attention suggests that these too will soon be fixed.    … Expand
  26. theirrelephants
    Sep 6, 2016
    8
    Possibly because I picked up this game in 2016 instead of 2013, but unlike the other reviewers I have had ZERO problems with bugs. Maybe they've all been fixed by now? Regardless, this is a good turn based strategy game.

    My complain is that the initial surface complexity is just that - surface complexity. Perhaps I'm spoiled for overly long tech trees after playing sword of the stars    Possibly because I picked up this game in 2016 instead of 2013, but unlike the other reviewers I have had ZERO problems with bugs. Maybe they've all been fixed by now? Regardless, this is a good turn based strategy game.

    My complain is that the initial surface complexity is just that - surface complexity. Perhaps I'm spoiled for overly long tech trees after playing sword of the stars 1 and Master of Orion 2 lately, but it seems like the building progression merely looks complicated until you dive into it for an hour or two. Like Fallen Enchantress from Stardock, there seem to be a lot of options, but only a few real choices.

    Don't let that minor gripe dissuade you, however, Eador is still an excellent turn based strategy game with unique mechanics that deserve to be pursued to their fullest. The way they use heroes and armies was refreshingly unique. If you're a fan of turn based games, you'll probably enjoy Eador. I know I did.    … Expand
  27. McWaffles
    Nov 10, 2013
    10
    You know, this really is a unique, interesting game.
    I mean Fallen Enchantress can off when compared.
    Bug free, and...more. My one issue is that the archers sounds tend not to be in sync with their animations, isn't bothersome enough to make me give it a lower score, I mean it is an indie group that made it. Look, I'd like to go indepth but that would drag on, it's honestly one of    You know, this really is a unique, interesting game.
    I mean Fallen Enchantress can off when compared.
    Bug free, and...more.
    My one issue is that the archers sounds tend not to be in sync with their animations, isn't bothersome enough to make me give it a lower score, I mean it is an indie group that made it.

    Look, I'd like to go indepth but that would drag on, it's honestly one of those games you have to try and then determine for yourself. I know I like it, that's for sure!    … Expand
  28. Devwar
    Dec 9, 2013
    10
    Love this game. Lots of depth and it keeps me coming back for more. It does a ton of things and does them well. I find this game better than other similar games such as HOMM. I do not understand the negative reviews, this game is awesome!
  29. El_Jairo
    Feb 5, 2014
    9
    I do like this game as I have enjoyed playing HoMM, Disciples II and this games even takes this genre to the next level: you have more options on how you attack each level and what strategy you will take.
    I have played over 300 hours and this is why it isn't perfect: the overall campaign is really long and the game doesn't support cloud saves.
    Also the fact that you have to restart from    I do like this game as I have enjoyed playing HoMM, Disciples II and this games even takes this genre to the next level: you have more options on how you attack each level and what strategy you will take.
    I have played over 300 hours and this is why it isn't perfect: the overall campaign is really long and the game doesn't support cloud saves.
    Also the fact that you have to restart from square one in each shard tends to get a little frustrating because you have to rethink you tactical game plan.
    All in all the typical: "just-one-more-turn" game, it's addictive and really sucks you in to planning how to conquer the shard and developing you provinces.    … Expand
  30. RagingPoet
    Nov 7, 2017
    8
    I've played Eador: Masters of the Broken World way after it's release for 100+ hours and didn't encounter any bugs at all. So if you are reading reviews for the game now, you can ignore all the rants about game-crashing bugs, they were fixed long time ago.
  31. apokalipto
    Aug 19, 2023
    8
    Very good game. I enjoyed playing this game a lot. I strongly recommend this.

Awards & Rankings

92
#92 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
98
#98 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 19
  3. Negative: 2 out of 19
  1. Eurogamer Italy
    Oct 8, 2013
    70
    A good strategic RPG, with some pretty ideas, but it lacks a clear interface and some design choices undermine the final result.
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  2. Pelit (Finland)
    Oct 5, 2013
    84
    Eador: Masters of the Broken World combines features from several fantasy games into one very nice package. [Sept 2013]
  3. DarkStation
    Jun 27, 2013
    60
    Eador: Masters of the Broken World has a lot going for it, but it buries a lot of its strong points under layers of monotony and frustration. It is a tough, but not impossible, game to recommend. If you are a hard core PC turn-based strategy junkie, your options or rather limited.
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