Sorcerer King

 PC
User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 51 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 51
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 51
  3. Negative: 18 out of 51

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  1. Potatoer
    Jul 27, 2015
    9
    I've found the game very interesting. It's a mix of 4X and RPG and you're fighting an enemy much bigger than you. It feels unfair in a way, but the Sorcerer king doesn't start all in against you.

    The most appealing concept included for me is the crafting system, creating equipment, potions and scrolls can change the approach to battles that would otherwise be impossible. And the    I've found the game very interesting. It's a mix of 4X and RPG and you're fighting an enemy much bigger than you. It feels unfair in a way, but the Sorcerer king doesn't start all in against you.

    The most appealing concept included for me is the crafting system, creating equipment, potions and scrolls can change the approach to battles that would otherwise be impossible. And the enchantments give a lot of versatility, you can improve stats or you can give your units the possiblity to use special abilities.

    There's a fun balance found on research, at least in the early game. All the mana gathered each turn can be distributed between researching the abilities of your sovereign (kind of like a regular tech tree), researching spells or be used as mana to cast spells. It's possible to change how much mana you want to put into each field each turn, but the decision becomes a bit automatic in the late game, once you've found 12+ spells, finding new ones starts having diminishing returns. Each sovereign has a different research tree and they make the gameplay feel different enough, even if the buildings are basically identical independently of who you choose.

    The game still falls short in some aspects. The other factions feel like glorified mobs, they won't solve your game or make you lose it, I feel there's a big missed opportunity here, maybe expansions will look further into that. The complaints about the AI are certainly justified in maps larger than normal size (or in campaign, where the AI mostly sits around, but it's my understanding that's a design decision to make the campaign work as a tutorial of sorts). In higher difficulties in smaller maps, the AI is actually very competent, but playing in small maps removes part of the appeal of 4X games. As for the replayability, the sovereigns and starting hero makes the starting portion of the game feel different and the premade maps make some zones/resources to be prioritized, but once you understand what's the objective of the game, the late game is mostly about defending your borders until your army is big enough and it can get a bit repetitive.

    Overall I've enjoyed it a lot, I have over 80 hours on it. I would recommend it to anyone who likes 4X and wants to play something original. If you're only interested in the RPG part of the game, this may not be for you.    … Expand
  2. blubberguts
    Nov 5, 2015
    10
    Brilliant. It's as if they took Fallen Enchantress and fixed everything that was wrong with it. The UI makes MUCH more sense, it's intuitive now. Crafting is fun. The doomsday clock adds excitement to lengthy campaign games. The map looks better now. No bugs or crashes after hours of play.

    Finally the tactical maps are much more fun. They look better and play better. I'm recommending    Brilliant. It's as if they took Fallen Enchantress and fixed everything that was wrong with it. The UI makes MUCH more sense, it's intuitive now. Crafting is fun. The doomsday clock adds excitement to lengthy campaign games. The map looks better now. No bugs or crashes after hours of play.

    Finally the tactical maps are much more fun. They look better and play better.

    I'm recommending this one to my friends. If you like fantasy strategy games, do yourself a favour and try this one.

    I notice there's a few very negative reviews out there - it might be that some people are still "punishing" stardock for the buggy mess they released last time. It's been known to happen before.

    Keep an open mind, and try this for yourself. It's currently my favorite strategy game.    … Expand
  3. Sjalka
    Jul 29, 2015
    7
    A fantasy based 4x by the guys that made Sins of a Solar Empire? (or at least so i think they are those guys) - that got me interested.... .

    The first thought of course is ... how can it compere with such heavy weights like civilization? ... The answer is... it can't - at least form my pov. But to be fair ... maybe it does not need to. It is small(er) scale - and does not feel like it    A fantasy based 4x by the guys that made Sins of a Solar Empire? (or at least so i think they are those guys) - that got me interested.... .

    The first thought of course is ... how can it compere with such heavy weights like civilization? ... The answer is... it can't - at least form my pov. But to be fair ... maybe it does not need to. It is small(er) scale - and does not feel like it requires 10+ hours to complete ( fyi, i never ever managed to actually FINISH a marathon setting on civilization 5 on a large map ).

    This game has hero customization and leveling, it has crafting, it has tactical combat, special abilities, strategic spells, tactical spells, world terra-forming and so much. - Not all those features are fully fleshed out though - so it sometimes feels like they took the best of other classic strategical games and smashed it into one. The result is well done ... but not perfect.

    All in all - the game feels a bit like a mixture between Disciples 2 and HoMM. Good tactical AI - but only adequate/average strategical AI. OKish diplomatic AI ... but i have yet to find any 4x that offers good diplomacy anyway. The AI uses special abilities mercilessly - and .. in most cases pretty well. The game is more for the micro army manager - than a grand scale strategist; with supply points encouraging small and few roaming parties rather than vast armies.

    While on the strategical map - the AI behaves a little to tame instead of exploiting obvious weaknesses in the players design ( like hardly - if at all defended cities ), it does a ( mostly ) good job in combat - targetting high DPS but low HP second line casters etc. - it also does not cheat - as in .. ignoring a unit that was cast invulnerability on even if its priority is still highest ( meaning - it keeps attacking it as if the spell had been unknown or invisible .. not so sure if that is the case if playing vs. another human ... if the opponent can actually see the spells casted by the other side - then the AI might just be dumb ... but it does feel "human like" in a so called "double-blind" setup )

    Now - there are some weaknesses about the game that come with the load of features offered.

    While city-building feels well done, the options are few - and there is no pathing ( like disciples 2 ) where you have to make a choice of units or rewards - excluding the other path options. So my cities turned out to be clones - which made building the city a rather dull affair.

    One of my main concerns is the lack of unit variety. There is but the utmost standard units available ... and that is it. Some of them come in unique dresses ( like named ) but all in all - the units variety is lacking hugely. - And with it the tactical variety.

    There is a lack of ranged fighters - which makes melee combat king ( at least for me it did ) - with tactical grids usually being fairly small compared to the movement speed of units. ( compared to HoMM or even Armored Princess or similar games )
    There is also a lack of terrain effects. It seems to matter little if anything if i am fighting on mountainous terrain, a beach, forest or grassland. It may have been nice to see certain units doing better on one or another terrain ( like raiders doing better on flat terrain, while beast doing better in mountainous or so... )

    It is likely that units may be delivered via DLC though - or modding.

    Then there is the visual presentation. Now i will compare it to Sins of a Solar Empire - sort of. The style is different of course - being much more cartoonish than the semi-realistic look of Sins. However - model quality as well as world design is not a strong point of Sorcerer King. On the other hand - animation quality is sufficient.

    The whole doomsday counter is nice, too ... but it may be a little repetative ( much like Beyond Earth ) as it does not quite allow the same freedom as Civilization. ( Also - there are not enough maps included as of now ... especially not enough larger ones )

    So - right now - i would give the game a 7/10 - placing it above average - but not close to 4x giants like Civilization. Replayability and design currently keeps it back. Modding and expanding on the formula may catapult it to a much higher rating though.

    It is a game for a 4x player that likes the tactical management more than the epic grand scale of hundreds of cities and thousands of troops.    … Expand
  4. loco_che
    Feb 2, 2018
    3
    A pale and cut reincarnation of Fallen Enchantress. Doesn't worth to play, not speaking to buy.
    Previous commentators already said that - no control over other races(you play humans all the time), no custom units, and idiotic crafting system. Such a disappointment
    Play warlock 2 better, or good old FE
  5. marc5477
    Sep 18, 2016
    2
    I dont understand why this game was made. This is basically a phone version of Fallen Enchantress. They cut half of the features from Fallen Enchantress (cant control races, make your own race, create units, etc) and they added absolutely nothing new aside from some items here and there while also cutting others. Graphics are not improved in any way. AI is not improved. Story is anI dont understand why this game was made. This is basically a phone version of Fallen Enchantress. They cut half of the features from Fallen Enchantress (cant control races, make your own race, create units, etc) and they added absolutely nothing new aside from some items here and there while also cutting others. Graphics are not improved in any way. AI is not improved. Story is an afterthought (though even the old games are weak in story). There are fewer heroes now which is fine but makes the start and mid-game very slow. That is basically all there is to say about this game. It almost feels like something from the SNES era. Why they decided to go down this route is beyond me but this hurt the franchise reputation.… Expand
  6. mweagle
    Jul 25, 2015
    6
    Not bad, not bad at all.

    The game is nice and robust, things work as they are suppose to work and it's fun to level up your heroes. In the beginning the game is kinda challenging, but later on, once you get a proper army, you quickly dispose of every enemy, of which some can still be quite hard. Combat is nice and fluent. But, the game has a load of flaws. A couple thing: Combat    Not bad, not bad at all.

    The game is nice and robust, things work as they are suppose to work and it's fun to level up your heroes. In the beginning the game is kinda challenging, but later on, once you get a proper army, you quickly dispose of every enemy, of which some can still be quite hard. Combat is nice and fluent.

    But, the game has a load of flaws. A couple thing:
    Combat units are unbalanced. For example, archers. They are the base of every game with medievalish combat, yet here they are utterly useless. Not because they die fast or are weak, they are quite decent early game... if they finally get to shoot their freaking bows! The order of conbat is done via initiative, but I actually managed to get my hero do 3 attacks before it was my archer's turn. The unbalance in these things is ridiculous. Same with some equipement. Some are nice, but once you get in mid/late game, most items add little to the unit to the point where it's not really worth investing in: just build more units.

    But the worst thing about this game is the lack or replayability. All factions are basically the same, apart from some units and abilites, but they play exactly the same. And the goals in the game is exactly the same, always: collect shards, build army, defeat SK. That's it. A couple side-missions that involve alliying with the AI. Which basically does nothing apart from just sitting there occupying space you can have. AI factions are either turned off, or someone really messed up.

    Despite there, kinda big, disappointments, the game is quite enjoyable for one or maybe even 2 playthroughs, but not for a pricetags above €30.    … Expand
  7. Athena324
    Jul 21, 2015
    10
    As a newer gamer, I found the game to be super fun and beautiful. I think fantasy is my niche. The art is incredible, the quests are witty and make me laugh regularly. I didn't think I'd enjoy turn-based but Sorcerer King has me hooked. Just one more turn...
  8. Czar
    Jul 16, 2015
    10
    I love the turn based 4x style game. I have played all of the stardock variations. And this one is simply brilliant. You have lost the war, now it is time to ensure you don't cease to exist. While the Sorcerer King is busy trying to destroy the shards in order to ascend to godhood you have to build your rag tag empire up out of the muck and not only prevent it happening but take him down.I love the turn based 4x style game. I have played all of the stardock variations. And this one is simply brilliant. You have lost the war, now it is time to ensure you don't cease to exist. While the Sorcerer King is busy trying to destroy the shards in order to ascend to godhood you have to build your rag tag empire up out of the muck and not only prevent it happening but take him down. This game has the "just-one-more-turn" factor in spades. I have spent over 60 hours on it already and most of that was during beta development. If you enjoy fantasy 4x games then this is a must-get game. It is not difficult to get into it but the replay value is enormous and each time the game feels different. Different adversaries, different heroes and magic all make sure that the game has a great deal of variation.… Expand
  9. sniper1120
    Jul 21, 2015
    9
    I have to say - I actually like this game. I've never been a big fan of any type of turned based games, but after playing Sorcerer king for a few days, I'm hooked! I haven't run into any game breaking bugs, i'm playing a class i never thought I'd play (Tinkerer!.... I'm more of a 'build a huge army and overwhelm them' type of person), and having a blast doing so. I've tried CivilizationI have to say - I actually like this game. I've never been a big fan of any type of turned based games, but after playing Sorcerer king for a few days, I'm hooked! I haven't run into any game breaking bugs, i'm playing a class i never thought I'd play (Tinkerer!.... I'm more of a 'build a huge army and overwhelm them' type of person), and having a blast doing so. I've tried Civilization and even Galactic Civilization... and while they look like they can be lots of fun for many users, they just didn't hook like like this one did. Part of what hooked me was some of the funny dialogues that went on. I, for one, like yelling back at ghosts.

    I'm giving this game a 9/10, because the game really did interest me over many of the other turn-based games out there - and kept me interested. I haven't beaten it yet, but I'm getting closer and closer. If only I had more time on my hands...    … Expand
  10. littleduckie
    Jul 18, 2015
    4
    (This review based on the 1.0 release day version) The game is designed to give you a great initial impression in the opening acts, but after beating the game for the first time and having figured out how the game works, issues like the narrow scope, lack of replayability the many balance issues and iffy design choices will become apparent. Somehow, Stardock has managed to produce a game(This review based on the 1.0 release day version) The game is designed to give you a great initial impression in the opening acts, but after beating the game for the first time and having figured out how the game works, issues like the narrow scope, lack of replayability the many balance issues and iffy design choices will become apparent. Somehow, Stardock has managed to produce a game that ends up feeling lesser than its predecessors (Fallen Enchantress/Legendary Heroes) despite the fresh coat of paint over what is fundamentally the same base game.… Expand
  11. tommybiznas
    Jul 21, 2015
    10
    Had a lot of fun even though this is not my normal go to game type. I don't normally like turned based strategy but am a huge fantasy fan and this game hit the spot.
  12. jclaiborne2007
    Sep 29, 2015
    0
    I saw 3 minutes of this and knew exactly what this is. Its a redo of Fallen Enchantress because the moron that runs Stardock is incapable of hiring anyone that is creative or knows anything about AI. Shame on you Stardock and my vow to keep you out of my wallet forever more still stands strong!
  13. Yosa
    Jul 16, 2015
    2
    I gave it less time than I normally would a 4x game as they are not a very good game format; legendary heroes changed my mind on that last and I had hoped this would be a continuation on the work, it has some familiar options and other mimickery, but dissapointed me rather quick.

    This game adopts most aspects of civilization in reguards to city building and turns, it has a main    I gave it less time than I normally would a 4x game as they are not a very good game format; legendary heroes changed my mind on that last and I had hoped this would be a continuation on the work, it has some familiar options and other mimickery, but dissapointed me rather quick.

    This game adopts most aspects of civilization in reguards to city building and turns, it has a main character and as such makes use of rpg elements; the main game is simplified and the ui is more limited, the loot system imediatly turned me off.

    The grafix are undetailed, mediocre and bland unmemorable thing.

    I enjoy legendary heroes now and then, this game I will give a good go one more time to be fair, mabey I played too little to see it properly, some effort went into it, just seemed watered down.    … Expand
  14. dk3d
    Jul 23, 2015
    4
    Once again I should have ignored the reviewers and listened to the owners/players. The concept is nice, but the rest of the game is weak, AI is non-existent, graphics are primitive and show seams in places. I do like not having to juggle 50 different cities aka AWIII, but at the same time, what you do with the cities, how they progress feels very weak and lethargic and I guess very static.Once again I should have ignored the reviewers and listened to the owners/players. The concept is nice, but the rest of the game is weak, AI is non-existent, graphics are primitive and show seams in places. I do like not having to juggle 50 different cities aka AWIII, but at the same time, what you do with the cities, how they progress feels very weak and lethargic and I guess very static.

    I'm still playing but as time goes on not totally sure I have the interest.

    I like the crafting thing, to a point. I like where it can be applied as it relates to the heroes, but I really feel like outfitting every darn soldier piece and knight and all also. There should be some more automated way of dealing with the rest of your armies. What feels a bit weak about the crafting however is that you really aren't seeking out any particular materials, you just randomly acquire them, and then even more randomly see new things you can craft. There's no mental connection between "Ah, I must get some of THIS.... so I can make ...THAT."

    None at all.

    Doomsday clock, no big issue as it turns out, a spell can wipe much of it out every few turns. The maps, even the random big ones, feel cramped, like the first civilization on the iPad.. no hexes here, blocky.

    Fallen Enchantress from a few years back, I thought, had far superior graphics and game play. This feels a bit like a ported iPhone app in many respects.    … Expand
  15. Imnotaddicted
    Jul 21, 2015
    0
    Don't bother with it, it's just not finished enough. You're better off buying civilization V or Endless Legend. You should expect more at this price-point. This dev has a habit of not finishing their games properly so I wouldn't risk it.
  16. Sakuravoid
    Aug 11, 2015
    10
    This game is fantastic. Learning how to play, and surviving under the pressure of sorcerer king is a different kind of fun at first place. The quests have humors, and the choices are tricky. I like the part that the troops can only get stronger by surviving. Thanks.
  17. Demonk
    Jul 21, 2015
    1
    i had such high hopes for this game, i expected Fallen Enchantres improved. Instead we got boring game with 0 replayability value. Campaign gets boring after 2 hours. AI does not exist. 1 faction only. I finished game on Insane difficulty in 3 hours / never going back to it.. shame
  18. carnettb
    Jul 21, 2015
    0
    Buggy unfinished game. There is very little here. And the game is super easy to play. Rather boring, no strategy really. Just blah. Good concept but not nearly fleshed out enough. Did I mention its buggy as all can be? so much stuff is broken, useless, while other things are super powerful. Also lots of annoying unit bugs.
  19. JAreeve
    Jul 17, 2015
    1
    This game just has no replay value whatsoever. Once you play it two or three times, you'll never play it again. Unfortunately you'll probably be past the 2 hour Steam Refund window. Buyer BEWARE!
  20. thvaz
    Jul 21, 2015
    4
    Good concept but (like most of the recent Stardock titles) failed execution. You can see the reused assets from Fallen Enchantress...even the glitches are still there.

    It is a very boring 4x fantasy game, even inferior to Fallen Enchantress as they removed what made that game interesting for the sake of streamlined gameplay. Tactical combat is devoid of any tactics, and the strategy    Good concept but (like most of the recent Stardock titles) failed execution. You can see the reused assets from Fallen Enchantress...even the glitches are still there.

    It is a very boring 4x fantasy game, even inferior to Fallen Enchantress as they removed what made that game interesting for the sake of streamlined gameplay. Tactical combat is devoid of any tactics, and the strategy element is devoid of any strategy. You just go from quest to quest collecting loot and leveling your champions (the only thing remotely interesting in this game) and pressing NEXT turn after turn. I fell asleep many times while playing the game, expecting something interesting to happen.

    I have no expectations the game will be better by the launch, such is the state it is now.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 21
  3. Negative: 1 out of 21
  1. CD-Action
    Oct 17, 2015
    40
    I honestly don’t know who was the intended target group for Sorcerer King. There’s almost nothing fresh in this game to attract those who avoided 4X strategies and the genre’s veterans will snarl with disgust and return to much more complex Age of Wonders III. [10/2015, p.66]
  2. GameOver.gr
    Oct 14, 2015
    70
    A fine example of 4X strategy, Sorcerer King may not have what it takes to compare with the best of its genre; nonetheless, it’s a great and uncomplicated first step for newcomers, offering at the same time a substitute for veterans.
    Read full review
  3. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Sep 25, 2015
    66
    To increase gameplay speed, Stardock had to sacrifice a lot; perhaps, too much. Building variety went down the drain, you don’t have to balance the budget because concept of money is gone, and tech trees regressed back to Master of Magic-style magic books. [Issue#201, p.66]
See all critic reviews »