Game Review: Legends of Eisenwald

The Legends of Eisenwald is a game released in July 2015 by Aterdux Entertainment.  It is an adventure game with tactical battles, RPG and strategy elements. Take the lead of a small feudal army and try to defend your right to survive in this ruthless medieval world.

The mysterious lands of old Germany are waiting for you – it’s a land where the superstitions of the time have come to life. This isn’t a fantasy game. There are no elves or dragons here. There are only people – and their passions, sins and fears that often take a tangible form. Which path will you choose? Live according to your conscience? Or live by power and might? Or will you live by justice? And what is your justice, really?

MY REVIEW:

Just like books, sometimes you run across one that can be both good and bad.  Such is Eisenwald.  I really wanted to give this game a solid 4 star rating, but I just can’t. 

What I LOVED:

The graphics are amazing and I found myself enchanted by the scenery and some of the cut-screen artwork.  The attention to detail cant be beat.  A solid 5 stars.

If you’ve played King’s Bounty, you will be familiar with how combat works here.  It is turn-based.  There is some grinding involved, but which game doesn’t?  The description of the game states not fantasy, but thee are supernatural beings such as vampires, ghosts, and ghouls.  I love this type of combat but fighting the ghosts ended up being so annoying.  Half of your troops won’t be able to do any damage to them and it just prolongs the battle. Ugh.  4 stars.

The storyline is very intriguing and I enjoyed the witty dialogue.  Some of the German names were tongue twisters to an English speaking person, and I apologize for my horrid mispronunciations.  I played as the Baroness as I love ranged combat.  However, there were some encounters with NPC’s where they kept referring to me as male.  Really?  There were also numerous editing issues throughout the game.  Leave it to an author to complain.    Four stars.

WHAT I HATED:

There are multiple maps we move onto as we progress through the game.  Almost every one you end up losing all your troops or get to retain only one or two.  You also lose either all your money and every thing in your inventory.  That means every new map you are hiring new people to level up again, and buying the same armor/weapons over and over.  I totally understand why so few people finish the game.   3 stars.

When moving around the game, some maps have horrible pathfinding.  You click on a spot and then you’re suddenly going a long way around, right into the path of your enemies.  Or,you click and click to find the exact spot you need to stand on to trigger dialogue/action.  Also, the quest instructions have a lot to be desired.  I spent forever just trying to find the Crystal Apple Tree.  Since its part of the main quest, I had no choice but to find it.  2 stars.

The game does have more than one ending, depending on the choices you make.  I did the REVENGE ending, as I did not want to be a puppet for Von Sterch.  However, I will never replay this game to find out how the other ending goes.  Nope.  Nada.

All in all, I do recommend this game.  However, if you do play it, you might want to use this walkthrough.  There is no way I could’ve finished this game without it.  If you paly Eisenwald and go with the other ending, please let me know how it went.

You  can check out my Let’s Play here.