Onimusha: Way of the Sword
Onimusha: Way of the Sword
Game
Game2026
Elemental: Reforged
Developer Stardock Entertainment
A 4X strategy game in a fantasy RPG world. Create your own sovereign hero, build a dynasty, design custom units, and wage turn-based war across a world that's different every time you play. Every unit is an individual with their own name, gear, and story. From the Steam store page
303 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy) · newest Nov 3, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
67
Fresh
167 positive · 81 negative
95% range 61–73%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 167 | 81 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 6 | 0 | 46 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 3 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
296 of 399 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
68% recommend · 164 yes, 77 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 241 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (373 of 516 positive).
Many players praise the game as a dream come true that finally fulfills Stardock's vision. [1][2][3] Some reviewers note that the game still has bugs and crashes, though updates have reduced them. [4][5][6] Several players say the game is not for everyone and may feel dull or lacking compared to other 4X titles. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [15]
The game is broken, contains many bugs, and crashes. This is an 'updated' graphics version of some of the other games. But several features are just broken. Do not purchases this version, if the game seems interesting please see older versions.
- [9]
I came back after the game made some updates...apparently taking in some of my earlier suggestions. I now have 45 hours in and a complete playthrough where I pretty much dominated every other kingdom, killed all the monsters on the map, and colonized / captured / outposted 80% of the map (I left 2 kingdoms alive), researched the majority of the tech tree, completed nearly almost all the random quests. .and then won …
- [4]
I don't do reviews much, but with the latest stable release most (95%)ctd's are gone, and for 3 separate games across the years stitched together? Golden. I think people's biggest problems is with expectations. This is not Age of Wonders or Age of Wonders Lite. Your not going to solo armies with just your Hero from the get go. It's more of a band of adventurers who happen to stumble upon running a kingdom / empire. …
- [1]
This game is literally a dream come true! It finally fulfills Stardock's vision from 15 plus years ago and delivers the full experience and promise of this game series. I still can't quite believe it exists because it isn't their big money maker and more of a passion project. Probably my favorite fantasy 4X of all time. Really enjoy the work they've put in so far and really hope it's successful so we can get some …
- [7]
This is a soft thumbs up recommendation. Elemental: Reforged isn't going to be for everyone. If you're not sure if you'll like this, then just pick up Fallen Enchantress on a steep sale. It's almost exactly this game, but it runs better on older hardware. I've been enjoying the Elemental game series ever since the admittedly poor initial game launch many years ago. Brad Wardell and Stardock have been supporting this …
Summarised from 34 of the 285 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked Elemental: Reforged talk about combines three previous games into one package; those who didn't talk about still has bugs and crashes, though less frequent. Which matters more to you?
Reactions
60 of 303 · most liked firstConcept studies for Khastaer, my Ridgeborne Firbolg Sorcerer (Elemental Origin - Lightning), he/him. I'll soon get to play him in my first game of #Daggerheart and I am SO excited! He's way too excited all the time, absolute shounen himbo energy 💙⚡
neutral · AI labelView post →📖 Bytes of Game Ads 📺 One of the most amazingly intricate pieces of artwork for a game with a striking artwork style of its own: Elemental Gimmick Gear, aka EGG. Inspired by French artist Mœbius, something you'll often hear with exotic Japanese science fantasy of the early-mid 90s.
neutral · AI labelView post →First act of the current Love:99 game comm I'm working on. Sand Elemental
neutral · AI labelView post →Do NOT BUY THIS GAME If you are reading this review that means you are on the fence not a hardcore fan driven by pure nostalgia for those fans this game is a buggy not very impressive but still enjoyable trip down memory lane for anyone new to the series this is the culmination of stardocks work indeed unfortunately that includes their work in overselling and underperforming and never fixing bugs errors or crashes for decades after release if you decide to buy this game wait a year or two by…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →January 15th 2000, Elemental Tale Jack no Daibouken: Daimaou no Gyakushuu was released on the GBC in Japan! The game is an 8-bit version of the wildly popular Quest 64 with expansion to the story and dialogue.. but much of the beloved core gameplay remains intact, just handheld ❤️
neutral · AI labelView post →January 15th 2000, Elemental Tale Jack no Daibouken: Daimaou no Gyakushuu was released on the GBC in Japan! The game is an 8-bit remake of the wildly popular Quest 64 with expansion to the story and dialogue.. but much of the beloved core gameplay remains intact, just handheld ❤️
neutral · AI labelView post →Hey, I’m Kuiper Vanrel! Elemental, card game enthusiast and size/paw enthusiast. You’ll hopefully get to know my characters better over time! Kuiper, Keset, Vanrel, Alara, Raja and Kai!
neutral · AI labelView post →The game is broken, contains many bugs, and crashes. This is an 'updated' graphics version of some of the other games. But several features are just broken. Do not purchases this version, if the game seems interesting please see older versions.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →More on the Sand Elemental game commission Do a WIL save
neutral · AI labelView post →New Love:99 game commission is now available on Patreon Sand Elemental, for SQ www.patreon.com/posts/new-lo...
neutral · AI labelView post →IM GOING TO BAT FOR THE SHARDS IN DAI. IT WAS GREAT. A LITTLE HIDE AND SEEK GAME, ELEMENTAL DEBUFFS, WEIRD LORE THING. FUCK YOU ALL FOR NOT SEEING THE VISION.
neutral · AI labelView post →Despite this, a lot of Filipino players love and play the game! And the video is completely damning that they are aware of this fact because the DC specifically pictured here is Elemental - which is the DC which statistically has the most concentration of Filipinos.
neutral · AI labelView post →"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Stardock has fooled me on Elemental four times. I wanted to love this game. I've played Stardock games for literally decades. I happily use their productivity software. I played the living crap out of every earlier version of Elemental despite the bugs and making my reasonable PC then wheeze. I even "forgave" them when they sold off their Steam competitor, Impulse, leading to me losing every game I had there. (And you better believe…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Took a little while but the re-release version of Temple Of Elemental Evil is up on GOG, and free if you had the original release. And better still, you can switch between the two versions freely if you like. It includes all the fixes & restored content from the Co8 & Temple+ mods, but no expansion
neutral · AI labelView post →I don't do reviews much, but with the latest stable release most (95%)ctd's are gone, and for 3 separate games across the years stitched together? Golden. I think people's biggest problems is with expectations. This is not Age of Wonders or Age of Wonders Lite. Your not going to solo armies with just your Hero from the get go. It's more of a band of adventurers who happen to stumble upon running a kingdom / empire. Combat is the same, not hard core aow with zone control, opportunity fire,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"Calling on the Dark Dragon King - Stage 5 Boss" from Elemental Master [Genesis/Mega Drive] with @mr2600.bsky.social on drums/bass! First time for me doing a game cover collab with someone :> We'll have another song soon. This isn't a planned album or anything, just doing game covers for fun 🤘
neutral · AI labelView post →I keep playing this game in the hope I'll find something I've missed previously. But nope, its so unbelievably dull. A collection of everything fantasy 4X but with all the fun, colour and interest drained from it. I mean, it has all the things you'd expect or want. Spells, heroes, city building, quest type stuff, levelling and gear and artifacts from battles and quests. Yet not one of these feels like its done better than any other 4X game you;ve played before, often worse and in a way…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is just the same re-hash of "Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes" with no real upgrades worthy of note. Not worth the coin at this stage.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ignore most of these negative reviews, Look at the hours played. Most havnt delved deep enough into the game for an honest assement. If you like turn based 4x with custom units and custom hero leader advancement... this is the game for you! Ive been playing computer games since 1977 ive been a top pvp gamer but my reflexes are long gone now. so i buy and play mostly turn based 4x games now. I have 1000+ hours on fallen enchantress. This game i have 34 hours. I am really enjoying. no…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"Elemental Gearbolt’s an admirable game. It’s not interested in conforming to any rules, behaving itself, or making you feel comfortable—it only wants to see its imaginative idea through to completion." kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com/2023/03/14/e...
neutral · AI labelView post →If you want some of these crystalline critters in your game, they’re available to Patrons! She comes in Ice, Ruby and Earth Elemental flavors! www.patreon.com/trashmobminis
neutral · AI labelView post →I've put a ton of time into this game, and really quite love it, despite crashing many times and freezing and many issues...but only when heavily modded. Because god it is slow. It is legitimately the slowest 4X I have ever played, even on the fastest setting. But the reason I can't recommend it is the devs, and the community they create. The forums and discord are a cesspit of sycophants. Give suggestions on how to make the game more enjoyable for the sort of players who would like faster…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Full of bugs - half the time you have to exit and come back because you can't click on your units or choose a building feature.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I came back after the game made some updates...apparently taking in some of my earlier suggestions. I now have 45 hours in and a complete playthrough where I pretty much dominated every other kingdom, killed all the monsters on the map, and colonized / captured / outposted 80% of the map (I left 2 kingdoms alive), researched the majority of the tech tree, completed nearly almost all the random quests. .and then won by the final quest / killing the dragon. With all that said. -Game still feels…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This guy made a patch for the PS1 game Elemental Gearbolt that ports the english stuff from the American version to the Japanese release. For those who don't know, the NA version had increased difficulty, making the game harder. The JP version is much fairer. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDOh...
neutral · AI labelView post →Classic PC RPGs This caught my interest: GOG has the original versions of 3 classic RPGs. Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone The Temple of Elemental Evil Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshard (a GOG Preservation game) Now STEAM is adding these games in Aug/Sept. -> 2
neutral · AI labelView post →I have all the games in the series. This is supposed to be one Elemental to rule them all. It is not. It just a box with all the old and broken games thrown in and shaken a bit. I do not know what is happening with Stardock. It feels it is run by AI or raccoons, maybe racoons prompting AI. I can see them trying, but they just do not know how humans work, and so the result is is a pile of unfinished systems that do not integrate or balance with each other, and after so many years, I do not…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is literally a dream come true! It finally fulfills Stardock's vision from 15 plus years ago and delivers the full experience and promise of this game series. I still can't quite believe it exists because it isn't their big money maker and more of a passion project. Probably my favorite fantasy 4X of all time. Really enjoy the work they've put in so far and really hope it's successful so we can get some future DLC!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →** Don't let you fool by the dev comment below. A damage reduction attempt because the reviews went haywire. They speak volumes. Dev tries to play a strawman on this review by picking a balancing topic and trying to "rule out" the imbalance and bug feast they have fabricated with that one fish alone. Review limit disallows me to put in words gently how stupid that one topic was. Note: Some of the "nice" users, had their "nice" comments removed. They keep the game bad and alive and made…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's the same game. I read there are improvements but everything seems exactly the same. Same skills, research, battles, city building. I'll just play the old game if I'm feeling up for it as I don't see any reason to pay for what seemingly amounts to nothing new. So disappointing. I'll check it out once it's finally released. Maybe after playing longer than the refundable period you find new stuff but I'll let others take that chance.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love it and thought that it deserves the thumbs up already. Please notice that I'm not doing this review after only playing for a couple of hours, and I plan to be playing it much more. It's still early (beta) and many things aren't in yet that will be added before release. Also an occasional bug or crash can occur. With that in mind I will adjust this review on full release if necessary. If you loved Fallen Enchantress Legendary Heroes then you will love this as it appears to just be a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really liked Fallen Enchantress Legendary Heroes, but it had a lot of issues that they never fixed. I was hoping that this one would be better, but its looking like it is not. After awhile the game crashes every 7 to 10 turns, mostly at the end of the turn. There is an NPC in my current game that has a score/ranking of 20k but only has 10 cities that are all smaller than mine and it looks like its score goes up several hundred each turn and as far as I can tell there tech is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Most anemic "Fantasy" 4X game I've ever played. Even Old World, a strictly historical game, has way more unit variety and diversity than this game does. I think this was supposed to be a successor to MoM, at least in its first inception way back when. I don't see it. MoM oozes with magic and mystique. This game is even more mundane than Civilizations. I feel nothing for the setting or atmosphere in this game. The DLC added potions that can turn your units into dragons or other more fantastical…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →They say they realesed it finally - but I have never seen such buggy game (literally unplayable because of bugs). Just wasted time with no chance to play the intended content
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game, lots of work done on the engine making the game run much smoother and more stable then before. Been playing for hours and no crashes or problems. Has that Master of Magic one more turn feel. I hope this game does well so that the developers can continue to add new content for it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →1.5/10 Extremely poor in almost every aspect. Severely disappointing but at least I now know to avoid their other games. This is basically a fantasy 4x game but that's not one of the tags for some reason? I should mention that I have not played the original, so I have no nostalgia here. Given how poor it is, it's probably better to just play the original if possible. Pros: - Decent looking cutscenes - Besides being a visual/audial disaster, combat seems... ok - It actually has a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's unfinished, not tested properly, has a lot of bugs and not ready for a public release even for an early access. Don't get me wrong - it's a good upgrade from the original and i like the updated mechanics, but this version has a lot of bugs, lags all the time, i'm getting same equipment from the half of the loot and there are placeholders in the text instead on names and places. Battle loot don't make any sense - you defeat the wolf pack, but get spider webs as loot instead of hides.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Day 21 of posting everyday until my game is released! That's three weeks! 🔥 Earth Elemental fighting the Goblins 🧌 #indiegame #roguelite #indiedev #pixelart #deckbuildingroguelite #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →I've played a ton of FFH2, AOW, Deity Empires, and have at least tried most fantasy 4x games on the market. Here's how Elemental stacks up: 1. Atmosphere: Elemental nails the fantasy post-apocalyptic vibe. You start vanishingly weak as a single unit (your sovereign) in a ruined and hostile world that initially starts overrun with aggressive wildlife and creatures that can and will attack your units and destroy your cities. These normally originate from a lair that, if not dealt with, will…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazing creature in a Dreamcast game called 'E.G.G.: Elemental Gimmick Gear'
neutral · AI labelView post →I really wanted to like this, having played the other games in the series. However, for what is intended to be the ultimate version of Elemental, it has completely unacceptable bugs for a game released in 2026, and many are incredibly basic issues. For a very simple example: Loading an autosave will result in any units that are trained that turn to disappear. There is no focus on game balance at all, with the logic being "this is a single player game, so game balance isn't necessary - the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really want to like this game, but it crash all the time. I cant make it 10 turns without the game crashing. Until they can make the game more stable I would not recommend buying this game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was big fan of previous game in this series Fallen Enchantress and Legends, but this is garbage. Basically the same with minor updates, and tons of new bugs added. Autosaves are sometime saved between getting a quest and resolving it, which means loading it will leave it stuck and unresolved. If enemies attack your city only the default defenders will defend it not the units you have placed inside of it. Beast behave as opposing human players, and will always target the units they can…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Top OST & Top Game Elemental Master Technosoft 1990 MegaDrive #retrogaming #sega #pixelart
neutral · AI labelView post →As a fan who put a lot of hours into Fallen Enchantress I'm enjoying the game but some of the bugs are not only frustrating, but they beg the question, how the hell did the team not squash them before putting the EA out? Do game developing teams just no longer play test their own products anymore? It's quite baffling. I don't recommend the game at the moment but hoping the none existent play testing doesn't continue, an example is equipping units with powerful weapons/armor/anything you find…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Well I was a huge fan of this series, however... This is a copy of Fallen Enchantress Legendary Heroes with a massive amount of bugs unfortunately. I can't even scroll around the map half the time (tactical or strategic). It's the worst beta I've ever played. I know they'll fix them, but to release a game even in beta with this sort of unplayable content is insane. It really highlights the level of quality that the company has accepted. Wait until it's been properly patched before…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For something supposedly on it's third beta version, the game is still absolutely riddled with bugs. It crashes to desktop many times per gaming session. At heart it's still basically Fallen Enchantress - a decent game - but the extra features they are trying to bolt on feel like they are still a long way from working. The RPG unit upgrade clashes with the standard unit upgrade mechanics. And the dynasty screen might as well just hang a sign saying "coming soon". There will be a good game here…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I see here the same old glitches the original game had with battles that freeze when AI is unable to complete its turn. sound conking out and getting screwy out of nowhere. Do yourself a favor and skip this one. its just a lazy reskin.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is great. The bump from 32bit to 64bit was worth the price. Stardock is very passionate about this title and are jamming a tremendous amount of value into the game considering the price.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Curious about our new board game Elemental Stones? Come watch Paizo staff play it on Tabletop Simulator at 12:30 to get a feel for it. Available at your local game store this month! twitch.tv/officialpaizo
neutral · AI labelView post →I don't know what was "reforged" in March 2026. It looks and feels like 2006. It has the same plot and all the checked boxes of so many better versions of the same genre. It just lacks anything that would make it special. I would take my time and play almost any other more recent game in the crowded 4X magic genre. Even Fallen Enchantress from the same Stardock studio, has not aged well. They both remind me of board games in how they're laid out. What stardock does well is their space based…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is entertaining for sure, but at certain point it just crashes, again and again
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like this game, I love Fallen Enchantress and I have played Elemental War of Magic and Sorcerer King. Elemental Reforged suffers from many of the same issues as those games. I'm experiencing the same bugs as the other games but at least they've added multiple language support! Quests locations are unfinished, weapons are obtained that do no damage, and yes I know it's early access but come on, fix the issues that were in the other games before making this available. Why allow unfinished…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Still buggy on full release. Frequent CTD, tooltips give wrong information, units display on tiles where they aren't currently located. Extremely passive AI even on higher difficulty levels. Would have benefitted from another couple of months in early access.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Normally, I don't post reviews, but most of the negative ones are simply unfair. I'm going to focus on the criticisms and things other reviewers haven't mentioned. First, I haven't experienced any game-breaking bugs during or after early access. Of course, mileage may vary on different systems. It has had a couple of mild bugs, but they're rare, and solvable by save-exit-restart. I'll repeat, those bugs have been rare and show up maybe once every few hours. The graphics are well represented…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Day 22 of posting everyday until my game is released! Air Elemental against the slimes 🪽⚔️🟢 #indiegame #roguelite #indiedev #pixelart #deckbuildingroguelite #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →This game shows extreme promise. The original is a fantastic game, if a little buggy. Everything has been flawless so far. My guess is that there has been a lot of work done in the background before announcement. This could easily be Stardock's masterpiece.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →-English Review The game has been updated to version 1.03. Crash bugs have now noticeably decreased. If all the bugs are fixed, then this game will be one of the most fun fantasy 4X games. <Pros> 1. It is fun because it combines the Civilization style with RPG elements. 2. cheap price 3. Just one more turn! 4. Regular units can equip various items just like heroes.(equip armor, swords, and accessories) Regular units also level up 5. Heroes grow like in an RPG game. 6. Dynasty system 7. RPG…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Combo Elemental Transitions #indiegame #indiedev #gamedev #game #animation #PixelArt Music: Action Rock by AlexGrohl from Pixabay
neutral · AI labelView post →Gameplay is good. I had fun playing. Bad part is the game randomly locks up. Does not appear to have a steady reason, seems totally random. This in and of itself would not be game breaking except that any attempt to close the game (alt f4, task manager -> end task, steam page -> stop) results in completely locking up your entire computer so you are forced to turn it off and back on. After the 7th time doing it I finally gave up and said no bueno, I will wait til more is done with it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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