SpellForce III – Reforced is the latest installment in a popular franchise of video games. The SpellForce series combines elements of real-time strategy and role-playing games, and SpellForce III – Reforced is the third game in the series. The original SpellForce III was released on December 7, 2017, and it is available for PC, Mac, and Linux. Now the Reforced edition has come out and is also available for consoles. We reviewed the title and here are our thoughts on it.
SpellForce III – Reforced is a great game for fans of the franchise. It has all of the elements that made the original SpellForce III great, but with some new features and improvements. The biggest change in this edition is the addition of console support. This means that SpellForce III – Reforced can be played on PlayStation and Xbox. The other major change is the addition of new campaign missions. These missions are set after the events of SpellForce III, and they follow the story of Selan, an elven ranger who is trying to stop an evil sorcerer from taking over the world.
If I had to explain what SpellForce III is like without writing down many words I’d say it’s as if Warcraft and Sacred had a game-child. There are heavy RTS elements in the game but there is also a strong focus on RPG elements and there are even dungeons to explore in which you can’t build up a base and take your troops with you as support. SpellForce III runs in real-time but I think calling it an ARPG would go a little too far. It’s not like Sacred, Diablo, or another fantasy ARPG. The combat is strategic but it feels a bit more round-based than it probably should.
Features of SpellForce III – Reforced
SpellForce III – Reforced is a unique blend of RTS and RPG that feels natural together. The game tasks you with building up a base, gathering resources, and commanding an army to take on enemies in real-time strategy combat. However, SpellForce III also allows you to control your character directly in RPG style, giving you more of a personal connection to the story. It feels old-school, in a good way, but it leverages a modern graphic engine and gameplay mechanics.
The Reforced edition has been streamlined for consoles. This means that the developers have paid close attention to detail in order to create an intuitive gamepad integration and tailor-made UI that smoothly controls a strategy/RPG mix with complex mechanics. The aim was to make SpellForce III playable on any device, without sacrificing any of its tactical depth. I think that it’s certainly playable on consoles, I tested on Xbox, but you’ll take a while to get used to the controls. I’d say it’s not as intuitive as the marketing suggests but it’s not terrible either.
The game brings you various campaigns and you can play as part of various races with different backgrounds and political backgrounds. In some modes of the game, you can even create your own hero, change the appearance, and select skill trees that you want for the character. There are different difficulty settings to make the game more challenging and you can also increase the AI’s strength if you want.
I think SpellForce III is a good game for those who like RTS but also want something more in-depth than what other fantasy titles offer, and for those who like ARPGs but don’t want to focus too much on just clicking and killing. SpellForce III offers an interesting story, state-of-the-art graphics, and a lot of replay value. Fans of either genre should certainly have a look at this title.
SpellForce III Reforced – Feature Trailer
Photo credit: All media shown is owned by THQ Nordic.
Editorial notice: We received a free review copy of the game to test it out, but were not paid for the review article.
