Conquest of Elysium 3

It's one of the greatest sandbox strategy games

A turn based strategy game in a fantasy setting where you play the leader of a faction, and recruit units and expand to conquer the world. I'll start with the game's biggest flaw which is the UI and controls. There is a bit of a learning curve in terms of figuring out just how to play the game at all. But once you figure it out it's not so bad. The graphics are also simple but in this pixel renaissance of indie games I find them pretty charming. I like that all the leaders play very differently. There's straightforward leaders like the Baron who just recruits soldiers, but there's also leaders like a Necromancer who trades sanity to raise the dead, or the Troll King who is basically just an army on his own. I like this game a lot, though if you're curious you should probably check out Conquest of Elysium 4 which is the same game with some improvements.

First things first - if you are a player who needs modern, fancy sounds and graphics and a highly developed UI to enjoy a game, walk away from COE3; it is not for you. The game is hilariously retro, it is basically the fantasy world conquest game that everyone would have made in 1978 if the technology had allowed it.

The good news is that the gameplay itself is great, replayability is huge, and most of the possible sides differ greatly from one another in so far as the best ways to play them. They are also sometimes quite unexpected - for example, the Dwarves are some sort of bees, apparently? The AI is nothing special, but it's adequate. I have seen worse in much more expensive and flashier games.

If you like old-style TBS games, this one's a gem.

If you can look past the fairly simple graphics and don't mind reading a manual to help you overcome a steep learning curve and incomprehensible interface then there is a very enjoyable and strategic game waiting for you in CoE3. There is a great variety of races to play with heaps of interesting and different units. It is more strategy than tactics: you choose your army composition but the computer plays out battles automatically. You need to pay attention to ensure your heroes don't kill your own army with their spells, a creeping doom will single-handedly destroy your huge army of recruited units and the RNG will sometimes make you cry, but overcoming the challenges and emerging victorious is extremely satisfying.

This is a gem of a game, a stripped down Dominions 3/4, but not in any way a simple game. There is a hypnotic rhythm to the turns, and 60 turns in you can still process a turn in just a couple of minutes, letting you avoid the bogged down feeling you get with so many similar games in the mid-late game. Given, there are warts galore and lots of areas for improvement with the interface and AI, but it's such an elegant concept. The factions really play differently from each other and it is well worth your time spending a few games with each. Give it a go, or try COE 4 due out mid-November. It's also a great introduction to Illwinter's Dominions 4 which is a crazy deep deep deep deep game that i'm still just scratching the surface of.

This game has such primitive graphics that I think I would have turned my nose up at it were I to load it onto my Amiga 500, circa 1987. The sounds are atrocious, though the operatic soundtrack isn't bad. Combat just runs without any input from you. Your units hop up and down in clumsy drawn-out All-my-guys-go then all-your-guys-go rounds. It's impossible to recommened this game based on the way it looks or sounds. If you crave lots of colorful, well executed feedback and fireworks then this game isn't for you.

If, however, you enjoy truly diverse factions, random maps, tons of monsters, spells and items, executable at a reasonably fast pace, then you will find much to like about Conquest of Elysium.

Rather than attempting to describe the many factions or the different eras that you can play in, as well as the many ways to go about engineering total domination, I'd rather relate an impromptu story that I discovered while playing.

I'd started as the Troll King for no other reason than that I relish having a giant with which to roam the landscape from the very first turn of the game.

Well into the run I'd developed a sizable squad of armored, regenerating trolls that had been the front line for a vast army of goblin archers. While there were enough trolls with enough hit points and armor to absorb serious frontal assaults, they couldn't protect my numerous, but vulnerable, archers from the spells of an enemy Pyromancer that I'd stumbled into.

My trolls didn't care for immolation but they were tough enough to survive the blaze. All my goblin archers, except one lone fellow, were incinerated.

I was momentarily amused by my single tiny camp follower for my troll army and figured I'd eventually make it back to a city where I could recruit more archers. It was not to be, however, because I found myself pushing farther and farther into enemy territory: even without the support of sixty screaming goblin sharpshooters, my trolls were laying waste.

Fight after fight, I marched across the map, more than a dozen armored trolls accompanying the Troll King with this one goblin who hung around in the back.

Perhaps an hour into this Sherman's March, I began noticing that the goblin was comically ineffective. All the trolls would attack and then this one sad goblin would shoot a single arrow, never hitting anything.

After several battles, I finally clicked on the little guy and was amazed by what I saw.

This one goblin had maxed out his level, lost both eyes (which explained all the missing), lost one arm (which doesn't explain how he still managed to shoot his bow), was lamed and had a chest injury that reduced his hit points to the level that a fairy farting at him would have put him in the ground.

I was astounded at how this guy kept kicking along in the company of a massive troll army, fighting devils and hordes of undead, dragons and wizards. Not only had he survived, but he'd become the ultimate veteran. I couldn't help but to imagine this poor wrecked creature and wonder: how does he manage?

I decided that he was sort of a mascot to the trolls, a seemingly immortal mystery that they largely ignored. They allowed him to follow along as a curiosity, feeding him tidbits and saving him from wandering into holes and what not, if only to see how many more battles he could survive, one-armed, lamed and blind.

My imagination went so far as to picture some of his stray shots hitting his troll allies in the back, but that they were so ineffective that the only response to getting shot by the goblin was the laughter and pointing of your troll comrades-in-slaughter.

I'd never have made up that little story if there weren't so many status effects, magic items, buffs and curses and so very many enemy types available to mix and match. By keeping track of individual unit's injuries in such detail and allowing them to accumulate scars and skills makes them into characters.

If you can look past the presentational limitations, there is a ton of content and gameplay, supporting many different styles, for anyone looking for a fast-paced turn-based (is that even possible?) strategy game. Should the high fantasy genre appeal, then this one provides all the grist a fertile imagination requires.

Pro

- factions look and play very differently; many have entirely different resources and mechanics
- lots of factions to choose from
- excellent battle system that doesn't rely too much on RNG but rather, you having imperfect information
- battles resolve before being played, so you don't have to watch them if you don't want
- lots of different types of units
- custom units and mods
- simple and easy multiplayer

Con

- Random roving monster bands often kill you at the start of games in a way that you can't control
- charming, but ultimately sometimes eye-straining and plain ugly sprite-based graphics
- antiquated UI that doesn't let you know what something does before clicking it
- manual doesn't explain too much
- very unbalanced factions
- no real "population" or "civilization" mechanics to speak of
- one way to win: conquest
- worldmaps are boring

It's okay. If you can get over the issues in the "Con" section above, you may get some enjoyment out of it, but Dominions 3/4 is ultimately a better game by the same developers, that allows you more customization and has more features anyway.

Even though I have Dominions 3, I recommend this. I might even enjoy this better, because it seems faster paced and less serious. You don't need much time investment to the starting game settings like in Dominions. Instead it's more of a rogue-like (I wanted to use this term rogue-like in an earlier review and thought "no all the rogue-like fans will get all over me about that" - but then saw another review using the term "rogue-like 4x" - yes that describes this game very well).

It's a rogue-like 4x with game saves! SAVES! Okay? All you rogue-like developer nutso's - think about adding game-saves to your rogue-likes - because I for one welcome our rogue-like game-saving not so much punsih the player when he makes a mistake overlords.

Okay.. so what else can I tell you?

The variety that's in Dominions still seems to be here - or most of it anyways. It's just buried under the hood. If I had a choice and could only buy one game between Dominions and Conquest of Elysium - I think I would pick this, just because it's a little more fun and not as taxing to play.

The game is so fast-paced (for a 4x) that several games can be played in succession. Yet it still has very much a Civilization 1 feeling to it.

Lastly, the sound effects (I know.. right?) - the sound effects are pleasant and not overbearing, if simplistic. One of those details they got right. That, and building a whole universe of interactions. :)

Intro:
Conquest of Elysium 3 is the latest in the CoE series made by Illwinter, who are also the designers of the Dominions series. In simple terms the game is about raising armies to defeat your opponenets. At the start of each game you select a class to play which determines how you go about raising your armies or what your fighting style is. An example is the enchanter class, at the start most of your army is composed of generic soldiers until you get resources to summon powerful constructs and golems in the mid to late game.

Pros:
-There are 18 different classes to pick from each having cool special abilities and playstyles unique to them.
-There are many cool units and magic spells to mess with.
-Games play quickly and end faster than most strategy games.
-Random generated maps allow for endless play.

Cons:
-The graphics are rather lacking.
-The unit animations are also rather lacking.
-Lots of unit stats to sift through.
-Some matches are doomed from the start due to bad spawn areas.

Bottom Line:
If you enjoy a strategy game where everytime you play you learn something new this game is for you. If you are short on time a lot but you love to play complex strategy games this is for you as well. If you are a person who cares about graphics do not pick this up, likewise if you are not willing to (possibly) read a manual sometimes then do not pick this up either. Illwinter has made many improvements from Conquest of Elysium 2 and at the cheap price of ten dollars it could be argued that this game beats many modern strategy games in terms of features and replayability.

I assume you saw the screenshots, understand that gfx aren't gonna carry this one and are interested in fantasy turn-based strategy games. In lieu of a review, here's some very early impressions:

- Fuck. Why did i buy this?
- I SO don't want to play this game.
- I don't even. All these stats... And the clunky menus.
- Allright lets get her holy high highnessness out there a-conquering. A cannibal camp... Oh well, gets me a ritual sacrifice bonus.
- Crap, you front line spearmen need to stay alive.
- Hahaha, suck on 3rd degree incineration spells hob.. er, half.. er. gn... whatever the hell you are, hahaha!
- Damn you and the planes you spawned on, and all other untis that show up to be recruited for 50 gold when i have 49! Still, with cheap summoning i get lots of fresh units. Mostly tiny rats and spiders. :\ Ooh o.O Giant Spider! That's more like it!
- Aw, crapdamn! Lost a town to 4 wolves. 4. Wolves. 4! C'mon town! Mmkay whatever, i'll just have this caster with leadership take a few archers and summoned monsters go and take it back. They can stop by the capital to pick up new recruits as well.
- Wait did my rookie summonamancer just blindly luck into summoning a demigod stronker than 3-4 of my combined armies???! Oooh, and he's a front row melee attacker, sweet!
- Damn these cheap summoning rituals, i'm up to my ascots in rats and scorpions. At least they soak damage really well.
- That... that giant moose is honestly too big. I heard of not seeing the forest from the trees but never a forest from a moose. Seriously.

At this point i have 4 stacks of mixed melee/archers/casters stomping things, leveling up, collecting shiny swords and boots of flight, and generally spreading peace, love and understanding of the Cult of the mad blood god whose return shall end the world in pools of pizza sauce.

The game is relatively straightforwad even if it takes a bit of figuring out. Time wasting features are thrown right out and all that is left aims to streamline fantasy flavored, turn based conquering. Might sound featureless but the unit type and terrain diversity, not to mention hosts of spells and artifacts, season changes and random events all keep your campaign interesting. Plus even mooks get item slots, so you will find plenty of uses for shiny loot.

I can't accurately appraise this game. Not at this time. Ok maybe i can. It's a victory of substance over generic shinied sparkly baubleness. You might wonder why a prettier game wouldn't ever have decent, simple and honest fun mechanics, but the anwser is in the question. If you have a VERY shiny wrapper, then you'd be a fool to put anything better than a turd in it. Final Fantasy says hello.

"I stomped things!"
The menus are a teeny bit clunky and take a few minutes to figure out but the rest is:
9000/9001

9/10. Easy to learn, hard to master.
I left my army on a frozen lake near the end of winter and they all drowned when spring came, then I went into a forest with fire elementals in the ranks and they burnt down all the trees.

Excellent Rogue like 4x. Simple graphics and (sometimes a lot) different mechanics/playstyles for each of the 20 factions. Start up, on a normal map, select number of opponents (difficulty Jester is advised - has no resource advantage for AI; be warned larger advantages can very quickly steamroll u, as mid and lategame mobs are significantly stronger than startups) and let her rip.

startupswitches (steam - select properties --> Launchoptions)
--battlereport
--rename
are advised (yes with two -)

Buy it!

I wish I'd bought it sooner. It deserves your attention. It's a little gem, a modern Master of Magic, streamlined and simpler but with a richness that stems from the vast treasure-trove of creatures, spells and unique races already made by Illwinter. While you may be familiar with many creatures from playing Dominions, Conquest of Elysium builds on the familiar and adds twists that make it a very different experience. Dominions is for the grand strategy, long turns and slow pace with lots of planning even before the game begins. Elysium is fast, smooth, clean and streamlined. It has a lot of depth without ever overwhelming you with it. The creatures have a massive collection of traits (all with icons) that make them much more than cosmetically different. Your magical resources are only seen by those able to use them - so you're never overwhelmed by having to keep track of gems/herbs/weeds/hands of glory...etc. If you have someone who can use a new resource then you're able to see it on the map, if you don't then you can't see or claim it. It's one of the little things that helps new players. It's simple, elegant and eases you into the game gently.

Simple, yes. But that isn't to say the game is easy. It's easy to lose and tricky to win. Early mistakes can end the game, losing all your commanders and castles ends the game so there's always some risk from stealthy bandits and animals capturing your castle or some invulnerable creeping doom rolling over your army. At the end of the game, the streamlined options makes the AI smarter and stronger than I've come to expect from many 'modern' games. Even on the default 'jester' difficulty setting the AI can have large armies that are quite happy to attack your towns and castles and use all the magic they have available.

I've not played as every race yet, but I'm looking forward to doing so. I'm looking forward to team games, trying the different map sizes, the different ages of the world and to seeing what other hidden gems I'll find. I hope you get a chance to do all that too.
So... Buy It!

I highly, HIGHLY recommend this game for anyone interested in playing a Turn-Based Strategy game that hasn't been made overtly complex. Just good, simple fun that will have you going "just one more turn..." more times than you can count!

Game is great.

Pros:
-Variety of classes
-Variety of units
-Variety of playstyles
-Extreme replayability
-Excellent multiplayer
-Feels very roguelike-ish
-Tons of spells/items
-Super random

Cons:
-Graphics
-Sound (god awful)
-UI

Wow! An oldschool turn based fantasy strategy game!

At first the game seemed a bit simple, but as I played it more, I realized that there is quite a lot of depth to it.
You can play as one of 18 different character classes and each one plays differently.

Witches need to collect mushrooms from forests and swamps to summon creatures.
Necromancers must find places with lots of dead bodies to grow their army.
Dwarves have one female dwarf in the city that gives birth to dwarf workers...

So while it doesnt look like much, it actually is a really fun and addictive game!

Just watch out for those deer taking over your castle...

This is one of my favourite games, I would value it at $60+ so it is an absolute bargain. All 17, yes 17, factions play in their own unque way and I have had fun playing every faction. This game is a must if your a Civilization fan or enjoy turn based strategy games in general. I found it very helpful to watch some lets plays on youtube by Das24680 I highly recomend watching these he explains all the controls and other basics very well.
I recommend the troll race for your first game as the troll king is a one man army at the beginning and is very forgiving of newbie errors.

This is my first steam review... yay! CoE3 is a nicely put together Turn-Based Stradegy game. It reminds me a lot of Master of Magic. There is no control in combat, and the game does not focus on research or city building, but instead, the acquisition of units and capture of cities/towns/villages/mines/outposts/towers/etc. With each capture, you increase your income, build your army, and set out to explore the map and find and conquer your enemies.

There are numberous races in this game, and most of them play differently. It's enough to keep me interested to keep playing and learning how they each work. There are a massive number of unique units, there are magic items you can find and equip, and random world events which can be good or bad... losing a town due to a meteor is never fun, but it sure keeps it interesting!

The game has multiplayer as well. My friend and I play all the time, and I can say after numerous games, that this is a stable, polished, and enjoyable game to play, either single-player or multiplayer. If you are into the turn-based world domination, my army is bigger than yours but not necessarily better type games, which offer randomly generated maps, exploration, and a whole bunch of other cool stuff, I'd highly recommend this one.

The learning curve for CoE3 is a bit steep, but most of the information you can find in the games manual. The graphics are not top-notch, but if you grew up on 90's gaming, the nostalgia is great!

This has to be one of the hardest games I've ever played, not only do you have to watch out for the AIs or players; you also have to watch out for ever plant, animal, and independent man out to murder you, your children, and your culture. I highly recommend Elysium 3 with the conditions that you're also good with not being able control thee individual battles, and that the game will batter you continuously with fictional monsters and men till you beat them back. As a side note, most of the lore is scarce in game, though you'll have descriptions for units, you'll find a lot more detail from the manual and the faction pages.

A fantastic turn-based strategy game, played it a lot with friends. Many different units and nations that play different. More casual than Illwinters Dominions, but still worth spending time. It may not look as pretty as other games, but if you don't care about that it's a great game.

A classic-style strategy game with a massive number of classes to choose from. Each of the unique classes have their own strengths and weaknesses that provide a high level of entertainment. The economy system is extremely innovative as different classes (armies) gather different types of resources from the same terrain. For example, a Baron (the knightly themed army) gathers an increased amount of gold from his villages and towns but finds little of value on forest squares, while a Druid gathers plants from the wild to produce his special units.

A very unique, yet nostalgic feel to this game. I highly recommend it.