The third beta update to Stardock’s Sorcerer King delivers on the promise of endless replayability for the uniquely asymmetrical fantasy 4X strategy game. Available now via Steam Early Access for $39.99 at http://store.steampowered.com/app/241990/, the Sorcerer King beta now includes the divinely powered Priest and military-focused Commander: new classes that enable entirely new playstyles as they join the existing roster of Tyrant, Wizard, and Guardian sovereigns.
Sorcerer King is a different kind of 4X game from Stardock, one of the longest-tenured independent studios in the video game industry. Rather than racing equally matched rivals for abstract victory conditions, Sorcerer King puts players in charge of the last remaining kingdom in the wake of an apocalyptic war that the evil empire has already won. Only by rallying the shattered remnants of fallen civilizations, and defending the shards that are the lifeblood of the world’s magic, can the player stop the Sorcerer King himself from consuming all life in his quest to become a dark god.
Sorcerer King Beta 3 adds the Priest and Commander sovereigns as options for players. The Priest focuses on healing and defensive magic, flying under the Sorcerer King’s radar until she is ready to call in her divine favors for the most powerful effects in the game in a final effort to bring down the big bad. Unlike other sovereigns, the Priest can even reverse the spread of the Sorcerer King’s corruption across the land, buying time before the final confrontation.
The Commander is a leader without equal, whose armies can prevail with force of arms where any other sovereign’s forces would require dramatic magical backup to carry the day. Players with an interest in fielding the strongest armies in the world – well, short of the Sorcerer King’s personal guard, which is a whole different kettle of murderous, twisted monsters – will find the Commander’s unique capabilities well-suited to their plans.
This major update also enables random maps, ensuring virtually limitless replayability. The placement of quests, monster lairs, remnant factions, and the Sorcerer King’s fortress itself have massive effects on each playthrough, and so every random map presents significantly different challenges – not to mention the adaptive “dungeon master” AI that controls the world’s reaction to the player and the differences between each of the (now five) sovereigns.
Sorcerer King Beta 3 is available now via Steam Early Access. The full game is scheduled to release in spring 2015. To learn more, please visit http://www.sorcererking.com.