Stronghold: Warlords Review Summary

Enjoyable and fun gameplay: Players found the game enjoyable and fun, with a good mix of economy simulation and real-time strategy. The campaign, skirmishes, and multiplayer modes were particularly appreciated.

High-quality sound design: The soundtrack, sound design, and voice acting were praised for their high quality. The game's localization in different languages was also appreciated.

Warlords system adds depth: The new warlords system was seen as a significant and positive innovation. It adds depth to the gameplay with its diplomatic and warfare management aspects.

Variety in units and sieges: Players appreciated the variety in units and siege machines. The new units and buildings added interesting strategic possibilities and enhanced the siege gameplay.

Returns to Stronghold roots: The game successfully returns to the classic Stronghold gameplay while introducing new mechanics. It retains the DNA of the original Stronghold and Stronghold Crusader, appealing to longtime fans.

Lack of innovation: The game fails to introduce new features or innovations, making it feel like a downgrade compared to previous titles. Players note that it lacks the charm and depth of earlier Stronghold games.

Poor AI behavior: The AI in the game is criticized for being stupid, unpredictable, and poorly designed. It often behaves erratically, making the gameplay frustrating and less enjoyable.

Gameplay is repetitive: The gameplay is described as repetitive, boring, and lacking flexibility. The missions and campaigns are criticized for being uninteresting and poorly designed.

Game is extremely buggy: The game is plagued with numerous bugs, including frequent crashes, synchronization issues, and various graphical glitches. Players report crashes during autosave, random crashes, and issues with graphics settings.

Poor graphics and visuals: The graphics are considered outdated, ugly, and poorly developed. Players report issues with textures, visual clarity, and overall graphical quality.

Economic and castle management: The game emphasizes managing resources, building efficient production systems, and defending castles. Players must balance economy and military needs within limited castle areas.

Multiplayer and skirmish modes: Multiplayer and skirmish modes offer replay value with a variety of units and strategies. However, there are limitations such as a 4-player cap and sync issues.

Campaign and mission variety: The campaign mode offers substantial content with various missions and storylines. It introduces players to different units, buildings, and warlord types gradually.

Warlords system introduces new strategy: The Warlords system is a significant addition, offering passive benefits and dynamic gameplay. Players can level up warlords and issue specific commands, adding a layer of strategy and competition in multiplayer modes.

Unit and AI issues: Players report problems with unit balance, AI behavior, and pathfinding. Units can become unresponsive, and the AI often spams armies, leading to tactical depth issues.

Poor optimization and performance: The game suffers from various optimization issues, such as high GPU usage, heating problems, FPS drops, and stuttering. Players also report long loading screens and performance issues on certain computer configurations.

Frequent crashes and stability issues: The game experiences numerous crashes, including random crashes, crashes during autosave, and crashes to desktop. Players report frequent freezing, unexpected shutdowns, and issues with synchronization and connection.

Graphical and visual problems: The game has outdated and poorly developed graphics, disappearing textures, and graphical glitches. Players also mention issues with graphical settings and visual clarity of units, UI, and buildings.

Unit control and pathfinding issues: Players report clunky unit controls, units bunching up, failing to respond to commands, and taking inefficient routes. There are also stability issues and lags with high unit counts.

Frequent synchronization problems: The game has constant synchronization issues, with re-sync happening too often, causing disruptions in gameplay.

Mixed purchase recommendations: Players have varied opinions on whether to buy the game. Some recommend it, especially for fans of the series or RTS games, while others suggest waiting for a sale or playing older Stronghold games instead.

Suggestions for gameplay improvements: Players suggest improving building mechanics on warlords' land and enhancing the AI and personality of warlords. These changes are expected to make the game more enjoyable.

Positive feedback on DLCs: The DLCs are highly praised and considered worth buying, especially when on sale. Players find them exceptional and a good addition to the game.

Avoid until bugs fixed: Some players advise avoiding the game until bugs are fixed, indicating that there are significant issues affecting gameplay.

Worth the experience: Many players find the game worth their time and experience, indicating that it provides a good gaming experience overall.

Steam Deck: The Steam Deck experience with the game in question reveals several significant issues. The most critical problems include frequent crashes and instability, which severely impact the user experience. Additionally, high power consumption and heat generation are notable concerns, affecting the device's battery life and performance. Control issues are also mentioned, with mixed feedback indicating that while some users find the controls satisfactory, others experience significant problems. These issues collectively contribute to a less than optimal gaming experience on the Steam Deck.

Monetization: The game has received criticism for its monetization practices, particularly regarding the release of DLCs that users feel should have been included in the base game. This has led to perceptions of the game being a cash grab. However, there are also users who find value in the base game content and are willing to purchase additional DLCs for extended gameplay.

Save problems with account names: There is a specific issue where using full-width characters in account names causes problems with saving the game.

Request for higher zoom: Players have expressed a desire for an additional zoom level to enhance visibility or detail.

Documentary mentioned: A documentary was made about the game, indicating its significance or impact.