Info about Stronghold Legends: Steam Edition:

Official game description:
Lead the siege as fantasy characters throughout history! _Stronghold Legends: Steam Edition_ takes the beloved castle building series and plunges it into myth and legend with three unique factions and new Steam-exclusive content. Play as King Arthur and command his Knights of the Round Table, ally with the demonic Vlad Dracula or relive the heroic saga of Siegfried of Xanten in 24 story missions. Build and destroy castles using powerful spells, mythical beasts and legendary hero units!  
Key Features
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*   **Remastered for Steam** - Steam multiplayer, Workshop support, achievements, new maps, a digital art book, trading cards and DLC campaigns.  
*   **Become Legendary Heroes** - Unique fantasy setting with campaigns following the exploits of King Arthur, Siegfried and Vlad Dracula.  
*   **Command Mythical Beasts** - Three playable factions with access to frost giants, creepers, werewolves and more!  
*   **Cast Powerful Spells** - Hero units ranging from the wizard Merlin to fire breathing dragons and the Knights of the Round Table.  
*   **Battle AI Lords** - Skirmish multiplayer against computer-controlled opponents and human players.  
*   **Besiege Players Online** - Deathmatch, King of the Hill, Economic War and Capture the Flag game modes.
Steam Edition
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Inspired by medieval folklore and introducing magic to the series for the first time, Stronghold Legends adds new environments, units, challenges and gameplay with each single player campaign and bonus trail. Catapult werewolves over castle walls, incinerate troops using dragon fire or command mighty ice giants to obliterate enemy defenses! Go online with up to four players in competitive multiplayer over Steam or skirmish offline against computer-controlled opponents.  
Created exclusively for Steam, _Stronghold Legends: Steam Edition_ comes with full Steam multiplayer, achievements, new maps, a digital art book, trading cards and all DLC campaigns. The Steam edition also updates Legends with full Steam Workshop support! Sculpt an icy tundra to wage war on, a scorched earth battleground using the evil terrain type or conjure up a magical kingdom fit for King Arthur himself.

Release date: Sep 15, 2016

Categories: Strategy, Base Building, Fantasy-themed Shooter, Multiplayer, Tactical Real-time with Pause, Castle Construction, Faction System


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Fantasy elements enhance battles (weight 0.77): The game introduces a variety of fantasy elements such as heroes, magic, dragons, and mythical units, making battles more spectacular and diverse.
- Nostalgic and reminiscent (weight 0.65): The game evokes a sense of nostalgia, reminding players of simpler times and their childhood.
- Performance on older hardware (weight 0.55): The game reportedly works better on older hardware, such as an old office laptop, and older crack versions are functional.
- Unique factions and units (weight 0.43): The game features three unique factions, each with their own castles, units, and abilities. New units and heroes come with unique abilities, adding depth to the gameplay.
- Classic gameplay with improvements (weight 0.24): The classic Stronghold gameplay is still present, with some quality-of-life additions, streamlining, and strategy improvements.
- Challenging campaigns (weight 0.13): The campaigns in the game are simplistic but challenging, providing a good balance for players.

Common complaints:
- Compatibility and Stability Issues (weight 0.91): The game suffers from significant compatibility issues with modern PCs, including frequent crashes, runtime errors, and problems with launching the game. These issues make the game unplayable for many users.
- Severe FPS and Optimization Problems (weight 0.51): The game experiences extreme FPS drops, regardless of hardware settings, making it poorly optimized and unstable. Crashes and frustrating lags are common, with some users reporting the game becoming a slideshow.
- Weakest in Series (weight 0.23): Many players consider this the weakest entry in the 'Stronghold' series, citing various issues that make it the worst part of the franchise.
- Unit Balance Issues (weight 0.23): Some units are excessively strong, leading to an extremely lopsided unit balance that affects gameplay negatively.
- Poor AI and Music (weight 0.22): The artificial intelligence is criticized for being very weak, and the music is described as hopeless, detracting from the overall gaming experience.
- Dated UI and Graphics (weight 0.22): The game features a dated and frustratingly sparse UI, along with outdated CGI, which detracts from the visual experience.
- Disappointing Plot and Visuals (weight 0.22): The plot is criticized for being worse than in previous games, and the visuals are considered inferior to those of its predecessor.
- Simplified Building Mechanics (weight 0.22): The castle building aspect is oversimplified, with towers and keeps lacking interiors, which disappoints players expecting more depth.
- Clunky Controls (weight 0.13): The game features clunky camera and unit controls, making it difficult to navigate and play smoothly.
- Underdeveloped Mythological Twist (weight 0.12): The mythological twist in the game is not fully realized until very late, leaving players unsatisfied with the plot development.
- Limited Unit Access (weight 0.12): The first single-player campaign lacks access to new units, limiting the gameplay experience and variety.
- Tedious Campaign (weight 0.12): The campaign becomes tedious and mediocre after a few missions, failing to maintain player engagement.
- Difficult Campaign (weight 0.12): The campaign is criticized for being teeth-pullingly difficult, which may frustrate many players.
- Removed or Worsened Features (weight 0.12): The game has removed or worsened features for seemingly no good reason, disappointing players who enjoyed these features in previous installments.
- Slower Building Aspect (weight 0.12): The building aspect feels slower and dumbed down, reducing the complexity and enjoyment of the gameplay.
- Limited Fun Factions (weight 0.12): Only two of the factions are fun to play, limiting the variety and replayability of the game.
- Failed Fix Attempts (weight 0.11): Attempts to fix the game using ChatGPT have failed, indicating persistent and unresolved issues.
- Language Support Issues (weight 0.11): Polish dubbing only works in trivial skirmishes, limiting the language support and accessibility for non-English speakers.
- Limited View Options (weight 0.11): The game lacks a free view option like in Stronghold 2, limiting the player's control and perspective.
- Stockpile Limitations (weight 0.11): Stockpiles now only have one entrance, which can be inconvenient and limit strategic options.
- Lack of Tower Variety (weight 0.11): Towers lack variety and free stairs, making the building aspect less engaging and creative.

Gameplay feedback:
- Unique Factions and Units (weight 0.71): The game features three distinct factions, each with unique castles, units, and abilities. This includes specific factions like the Ice faction and unique units such as spearmen who can throw their spears.
- Gameplay Mechanics and Features (weight 0.65): The game includes several unique mechanics such as automatic feasts, pathfinding, and the ability to directly access taxes and food levels. Additionally, features like autobuy and autosell are handy for skirmishes.
- Diverse Units and Tactics (weight 0.54): New and varied units are introduced, allowing for diversified tactics. This includes units like bats, werewolves, and catapults on werewolves, as well as giants and pike-men.
- Fantasy and Mythological Elements (weight 0.41): The game incorporates a strong fantasy aesthetic with mythological twists, including heroes, magic, and mythical units like witches and shield maidens.
- UI and Technical Issues (weight 0.39): There are some technical issues reported, such as problems with fullscreen and windowed mode, and the framerate being coupled to game speed. Players also request the ability to scale up the UI size and change game speed in multiplayer mode.
- Decent Campaign Story (weight 0.11): The campaign story is generally considered decent, providing an overall enjoyable narrative experience.

Performance notes:
- Severe performance issues (weight 0.97): The game suffers from extreme FPS drops, frequent crashes, and significant lag issues, especially during large battles or when moving the mouse. These problems make the game poorly optimized and unstable, leading to a frustrating experience.
- Launch and entry problems (weight 0.32): Players report issues with the game launcher and difficulties entering the game. These problems prevent users from even starting the game properly.

Recommendations:
- Game not recommendable (weight 0.25): Players find it difficult to recommend the game due to it being broken and preferring older versions like Stronghold 1 and Crusader.
- Limited enjoyment with bots (weight 0.14): The game is only enjoyable in battles with friends, not with bots, limiting its appeal.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Disappointment (weight 0.47): Players feel disappointed because the game fails to meet the series' established standards and does not live up to the legacy of its predecessors. Technical issues such as frequent crashes, poor optimization, and a significant bug causing FPS drops contribute to this sentiment. Additionally, some players believe the game is not worth its price due to these various problems.
- Frustration (weight 0.47): Frustration stems from the game's poor performance and stability issues, making it unplayable on modern PCs. Players are also annoyed by the removal or worsening of features without clear reasons, as well as technical problems like mouse lag and pathfinding issues. The game's failure to launch properly and its overall technical framework further exacerbate this frustration.}