“Eador. Masters of the Worlds” is a reimagining of the famous turn-based strategy “Eador. Genesis”, which made quite a stir at the time. It’s not just that the 2009 game turned out to be very high-quality and atmospheric. As many already know, it was created by the efforts of just one person. Alexey Bokulev, a talented self-taught developer, managed to combine in his game everything that could be found in such renowned projects as Age of Wonders, Warlords, or HoMM (Heroes of Might and Magic). “Eador. Genesis” did not achieve commercial success, although Alexey managed to attract attention not only from the public but also from the gaming industry. Thus, the game “Eador. Masters of the Worlds” came into being, developed by Unicorn Games in collaboration with Alexey himself, the author of the idea and creator of the Eador game universe.
The game retains all the developments of “Eador. Genesis,” but now boasts very charming 3D graphics. The action of “Eador. Masters of the Worlds” takes place in the same world as the “test” version from 2009. The player acts as the Master of one of the many floating islands in the Astral (or cosmos). Once, these gigantic land masses were unified and inseparable from each other, but a terrible cataclysm shattered the fantastical world into pieces. Thus, the floating islands emerged, transforming into separate states. On the remnants of the fallen world, a vibrant life thrives, and a constant struggle for power ensues, as almost every island has its own Master – a king and god to the local population. However, such disunity does not sit well with the potential savior of the fragmented world, that is, the player. His main task is to gather all the islands into one and restore the equilibrium disturbed by Chaos.
One could say that “Eador. Masters of the Worlds” consists of three equal parts: the Astral itself, where the islands float, and the strategic and tactical maps. In the Astral, the player must plan the capture of land fragments, negotiate with the Masters, and conduct diplomatic negotiations about merging. “Docking” is not always possible due to a limited amount of energy, so large islands can only be annexed some time later. Moreover, the Masters are not always pleased with the possibility of losing power. If heated discussions lead to nothing, there remains only one way to compel a Master to submit – military invasion. In this case, the player enters the strategic map.
The strategic part of “Eador. Masters of the Worlds” is a territory divided into provinces of the island. The player has their own castle, where they can recruit troops, hire heroes, and build structures. Somewhere at the other end of the map stands the castle of an unyielding Master, which must be besieged and, accordingly, captured. Furthermore, the strategic map does not consist only of two opposing citadels – on every patch-province, one can find a lot of interesting and also dangerous things (for example, monsters).
Lastly, the final part of the game is the tactical turn-based battles, made in the best traditions of Heroes of Might and Magic. The sides arrange their troops at different ends of the map, after which the battle begins on a hexagonal divided territory. This is indeed a feast for gamers nostalgic for past times.