Etherlords Review

Etherlords feels potentially like the next step for card battling RPGs. Sure it might try to be like something else, but that’s exactly what it is at heart; it’s just been spruced up with some much more attractive visuals than usual. Unfortunately, its tutorial is pretty unwieldy so you’re going to spend a while trying to figure out just what’s going on. But stick with it and there’s fun to be had.

There’s a fairly convoluted storyline within Etherlords but the main thing to know is that your aim is to battle enemies and piece together worlds, after they’ve been destroyed by the Cataclysm. You do this by defeating enemies in order to earn tiles that can be placed on the map.

Each chapter of Etherlords is a form of puzzle, requiring you to piece together the island or part of the world in order to reach the goal that’s been given to you. It’s not very well explained but a bit of practice goes a long way, and soon enough you’ll start figuring out how to piece things back together. This side of things isn’t as interesting as the combat, admittedly, but it does provide some structure to why you’re doing what you’re doing.

Combat is a matter of lining up your team of three monsters and battling it out against a similarly sized team. Regular moves are done automatically with special moves available when the timer allows you. These can include singular attacks against one foe, earthquake moves that attack all enemies, or healing/buff spells. In all cases though, being a higher level is key to succeeding.

Leveling can be done through a mixture of regularly fighting it out and fusing together other monsters. You collect cards/monsters at a steady rate by defeating bosses and completing worlds, and these can then be combined to make a more powerful individual. Again, it’s not brilliantly explained, but a bit of experimentation goes a long way here. Somewhere along the line you’ll also piece it together that you’re fighting it out amongst real players, which is a neat touch even if it’s not brilliantly realized.

The key thing with Etherlords is practice and experimentation. It’s an interesting mix of card battling and world building. Even better: it’s not restricted by an energy meter, which is the kind of thing you’d expect from such a game. There are some pricey boosters to pick up, but it’s simple enough to keep grinding to avoid these. As a slow burner, Etherlords does the job.

Video Source: AppSpy