Stardock Entertainment announced today Elemental: Reforged, a definitive re-imagining of the ambitious fantasy 4X strategy series Elemental. Integrating the strongest elements from Elemental: War of Magic, Fallen Enchantress, and Sorcerer King, Elemental: Reforged finally brings to life the comprehensive vision originally set out nearly two decades ago.
First conceived in 2008 following Stardock’s successes with Galactic Civilizations II and Sins of a Solar Empire, Elemental was planned as the ultimate fantasy civilization strategy experience. Technical constraints at the time, particularly 32-bit memory limitations, prevented the full realization of that ambitious design. The result was Elemental: War of Magic (2010), a highly ambitious game whose innovative concepts were overshadowed by significant technical issues at launch.
Stardock learned from these challenges, releasing the acclaimed Elemental: Fallen Enchantress and later the crafting-focused Sorcerer King. However, neither fully captured the original comprehensive vision due to technology constraints. Now, with a modernized 64-bit engine, Elemental: Reforged is able to deliver on the original vision for Elemental.
“With Elemental: Reforged, we’re finally able to deliver the original design we wanted,” said Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock Entertainment and lead designer of the original Elemental game. “As we developed Elemental, we realized that the design wouldn’t fit in a 32-bit game and pared it down to into Elemental: War of Magic, which still had challenges fitting in 32-bit memory space. So then we made Elemental: Fallen Enchantress, which did much better but was still a shadow of what we had designed. Then we made Elemental: Sorcerer King where we focused on the crafting and quest elements of the original design. Now, thanks to remastering the engine to 64-bit, we can actually make the full game we originally envisioned in 2008.”
Elemental: Reforged will feature elements and mechanics from each of the previously released 32-bit games, along with entirely new features, in a new 64-bit engine with enhanced visuals.
“What makes Elemental unique is that it’s a strategy game in an RPG world,” said Wardell. “The world really is your sandbox. You can create your own character and even your own faction to bring into this world.”
Elemental: Reforged Highlights:
Unified Elemental Experience. Brings together the strategic depth, smart AI, and rich gameplay from Fallen Enchantress, the immersive crafting and quest systems from Sorcerer King, and the dynasty-building, terraforming, and innovative mechanics first introduced in War of Magic.
Rich, Dynamic Worlds. Enjoy endless replayability through procedurally generated fantasy worlds filled with lore-rich quests, evolving environments that respond to your magic, unique fantasy civilizations, and bustling cities populated with individually simulated characters.
RPG-Infused Unit Design. Customize heroes and armies through an intuitive RPG-style character designer, crafting each unit with their own unique history, stats, equipment, and abilities, growing stronger with experience.
Compelling Tactical Combat. See how your designed units and characters fare in battle in highly refined tactical battles that reward strategic thinking, or leverage a sophisticated auto-resolve system powered by advanced AI for streamlined empire management.
Deep Quest and Story Integration. Embark on rich, narrative-driven quests seamlessly woven into the empire-building experience, influencing diplomacy, unlocking secrets, and offering meaningful rewards.
Modernized UI and Graphics Engine. Explore enhanced visuals powered by DirectX 11, seamless zooming from strategic cloth-map to detailed tactical view.
Integrated Modding tools. A comprehensive built-in modding and map-editing tools, and a fully redesigned user interface optimized for modern PC gaming with Steam workshop integration.
Elemental: Reforged now fully realizes Stardock’s original vision, bringing a richly immersive fantasy strategy experience to fans and newcomers alike.
