SpellForce 3

 PC
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 37 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 37
  3. Negative: 0 out of 37
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  1. Eurogamer
    Dec 13, 2017
    I'd even go so far as to say that SpellForce 3 is the best Baldur's Gate meets Age of Mythology ever. [Recommended]
  2. Rock, Paper, Shotgun
    Dec 8, 2017
    SpellForce 3 is a game that, when pulled apart, doesn’t always come out looking great, but that I’ve still really enjoyed. I get a sort of primal delight in seeing two of my favourite genres blended together competently, and that’s definitely SpellForce — competent. It probably seems like I’m damning it with faint praise, but it’s a cautious recommendation. So many RPGs give you positions of power and authority but then just throw a few arbitrary choices your way; SpellForce lets you actually wield that authority, both as a sword and a hammer.

Awards & Rankings

70
#70 Most Discussed PC Game of 2017
44
#44 Most Shared PC Game of 2017

User Reviews

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User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 187 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 126 out of 187
  2. Mixed: 32 out of 187
  3. Negative: 29 out of 187
  1. KingsmanAgent
    Dec 7, 2017
    10
    Amazing game, nothing like Wacraft 3 or Age of Empires level of amazing but still insanely good.

    A consistent RTS with some little RPG bult    Amazing game, nothing like Wacraft 3 or Age of Empires level of amazing but still insanely good.

    A consistent RTS with some little RPG bult in, it offers awesome soundtracks and gorgeous graphics. Top notch quality right here    … Full Review »
  2. Shikyo
    Dec 12, 2017
    10
    After reading a lot of user reviews here, I can't help but wonder how many of the people writing bad critics actually played the game longerAfter reading a lot of user reviews here, I can't help but wonder how many of the people writing bad critics actually played the game longer than just the intro before the character creation.
    Personally, I got reminded of Spellforce 1 a lot, I was a bit disappointed of the lack of playable races and the fact that yet again you have to play a human (the character creation itself was well done, I loved the implementation of different body types). I heard about expansions and them planning to add the other races so that's why this point is irrelevant to my rating.
    I can only praise the storytelling and writing, it feels authentic, darker than its predecessors, the characters are extremly well written and made the RPG part of the game yet again the most important one with the strategy aspect remaining a little flawed compared to pure RTS games. Actually, the implementation of real RPG companions like in good old Neverwinter, DOS, PoE etc was done way better than I expected - I was surprised to find myself enjoying to play with a team rather than controlling a single character as I preferred in Spellforce 1. I was also surprised and happy to see a base in the game and then such a beautifully designed one.
    RPG part deserves a 10/10 from my side.

    Now, the "bugs" everyone seems to be talking about so much. I am well aware that everyone has different ones and a different experience but I'm gonna be honest, after about 25 hours of gameplay I have encountered only one single bug which was an NPC in Greyfell being constantly stuck between my two characters due to body block, so technically not even a bug (and I managed to get rid of him without reloading). Again, it's different for everyone but I can't say I shared this bad experience of others and even if, DOS2 had a LOT more bugs after its release and yet no one was rating the game so much by them so I don't understand why it's the case here, please be a bit more fair or at least wait a few weeks, the game was just released.

    Now, the RTS part... While staying true to the Spellforce 1 experience, I found it lacked improvement in comparison to that. I often got frustrated because apparently the best strategy is still to strike as fast as possible with little to no planning or building and I felt like the more you build, the less chances to win you actually have (doesn't sound very immersive, does it?) because you obviously can't do so many things at the same time and there's the catch: A simple "pause" option would solve that problem so you can order your workers to build and assign them to their tasks and order/reposition and plan your troop movements meanwhile. I understand this feeling of a "rush" was intented and supposed to feel more realistic because in real war you can't just pause to plan but then again it's usually not a single person doing it and the game mechanics itself are limiting.

    Then, the controls... I still cannot get used to them and as soon as I play something else I will have to get used to them every time again, making things "different" doesn't always mean "better", that's definitely a major flaw and even when rebinding keys, the interface itself is confusing and switching from 3 skills to the next is overly complicated, a simple skillbar would have served this purpose way better. Holding Alt to use skills also felt inconvenient and in larger battles it's incredibly hard to select the right unit. What I liked is the option of slowmotion during holding Alt and not just pause, after a while it's actually getting more fun to play like that but I wonder if this couldn't have been done in a simpler way as well.

    To sum it all up, I have to say this is a very well done game in my opinion and certainly comparable to other and bigger game releases this year, namely DOS2. The start in Spellforce 3 is slow but once you get to a certain point, the game is absolutelty enjoyable and the complicated controls and flaws in the RTS system don't break this picture for me.    … Full Review »
  3. guinevere2
    Dec 9, 2017
    2
    Beautiful on the outside, ugly inside. This game has terrible controls, Imagine playing Pillars of Eternity or Baldur's Gate but controllingBeautiful on the outside, ugly inside. This game has terrible controls, Imagine playing Pillars of Eternity or Baldur's Gate but controlling not 6 but 60 units with no possibility of pause at all to issue commands. Total chaos and zerg are the only strategy here, no chance for any tactical approach whatsoever. On top of that the beautiful graphic is totally misplaced - very often trees and building simply obscure the units and heroes, and the details of the units and environment are not visible outside close zoom anyway. Also heroes are premade and one cannot customize them the way it was possible in previous games. Disappointment of the year for me, just next to DOW III.… Full Review »
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