SpellForce: Conquest of Eo Review (PC)

A farmer’s village is not the best space for a battle involving magic users and many archers. It is hard to find space to fire and attack channels are easy to block. So I move my brawlers to the front, trying to make sure enemies cannot sneak past them. My long-ranged troops and magic users stay behind them, hoping for plenty of shots before close-quarters engagement.

The opposing army gets into a solid defensive position and does not seem inclined to attack, so my forces take the initiative. A big area-of-effect volley eliminates some of them, and some boulder throwing from my mage adds more to the casualty list. I add three more ranged attacks from another archer group.

Then it’s time for some melee work. My first goblin group goes in the ones that have upgrades that improve their anti-armor capabilities. The enemy militia strikes back and deals plenty of casualties of its own. Fighting continues, one of my goblin groups is eliminated, but I manage to break the morale of the enemy force and then eliminate them, with my hero doing most of the work. Let’s hope they drop some stuff to compensate me for my losses.

Meanwhile, on the strategic map, I am constantly expanding my domain, trying to mine as many resources as possible, and working hard to find all the lost pages of my master’s studies on magic. One elven city is open to me, offering some quality troops, but two other wizards have strong stacks on the field, which might move toward my tower soon.

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SpellForce: Conquest of Eo is created by Owned by Gravity, with publishing from THQ Nordic. I played using Steam on the PC. The title is a mix of map strategy, tactical battles, and the careful use of magical resources.

Players will become a wizard in the magic-infused world of Eo. They will first secure the tower of their master and will then embark on an adventure, trying to find out why the mysterious Circle is moving against them while mastering the power of the Allfire. The writing is well-suited for the fantasy theme, without too many stand-out moments.

The gameplay of SpellForce: Conquest of Eo is centered on the beautifully crafted map. It features many points of interest, ranging from magic wells to mining sites, the cities of various races, quest locations, and more. As the wizard’s magical prowess grows, he will dominate more space, with other recruited heroes able to contribute their own zones of control by building manors.

Player-controlled stacks will move through the world, interacting with locations, revealing more of the map, solving story and more random quests. Neutral armies guard the most important locations and, of course, the forces of other magic-wielders are doing the same. And they are not afraid of initiating combat when they have the required strength, so do not be afraid to retreat if an overwhelming force is coming.

Focus on finding and securing the Allfire locations, which need to be locked down by a spirit unit to provide a steady flow of power. Players can then choose how much to allocate to their mastery, the mana that powers their spells and to research. Try to always have a set of miners hunting down resources. The wizard’s unlocked spells are also prepared and activated on the strategic map. Don’t forget to also add new rooms to the tower.

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When two forces meet, SpellForce shifts to turn-based tactical engagements. The pre-battle screen shows the balance of power and players can auto-resolve if the result is pretty clear (results tend to be very close to the prediction).

For tight contests, it’s better to control forces directly. Each unit has three potential actions each turn but once it chooses to attack, use a special ability, or deploy magic, it commits to that action. So I can move my hero once and have him attack two times but I cannot move him once, attack once, and move again.

Winning battles requires careful use of abilities and good unit placement. Units that survive get experience, which in turn gives them new capabilities. It’s a good idea to try to keep veterans alive, even if it means sacrificing newcomers. They also benefit greatly from friendly spells and other boosts from the wizard.

I like the different ways the three wizard types play. Necromancers want powerful undead and can use their skills to raise more and better corpses to fight for them. Artificers are all about using glyphs and items to boost their heroes and units. The alchemist will try to enhance his own forces using potions and other consumables.

The combination of strategy and tactics is a good fit for the universe. My biggest issue was that might, in the form of powerful armies, tend to dominate the game, despite the narrative that talks about the impressive capabilities of magic users.

SpellForce: Conquest of Eo is a good-looking experience, mixing a wide range of influences when it comes to presentation. I love the way the heroes look and how each gets his own backstory and linked quest. The world feels live, with a lot of detail for units and locations. The game’s interface is well-structured, with clear alerts for the player to keep up with all aspects of real management. The sound part of the presentation is decent but the soundtrack never tries to get out of the fantasy orchestral safe zone.

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The Good

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Conclusion