SpellForce 3

SpellForce 3 is a role-playing video game with real-time strategy game elements. Usually, players control a character they created and up to three companions, each with different abilities. Like many role-playing games, these characters can be customized by equipping them with different items such as weapons, armor and jewelry which influence their various abilities and effectiveness in battle. Some maps require players to construct a base of operations and specialized buildings to gather resources and recruit units to defeat larger groups of enemies or fulfill certain tasks.

The game features a story-driven campaign and a skirmish mode which allows players to fight battles on the game's maps without previously playing through the campaign mode. Both modes can be played alone or with other players online. In skirmish mode, players can share responsibilities of managing a single race with others.

SpellForce 3 is set in a fictional fantasy world called Eo, 500 years before events in SpellForce: The Order of Dawn. Several races such as humans, elves, orcs and dwarves co-exist and magic is an important part of life. The player controls Tahar, the child of Isamo Tahar. Tahar quests alongside a number of characters that were mentioned in the first game as the mages of The Circle. Among them are Yria, an elven white mage; Isgrimm, a dwarven archaeologist; Rohen Tahir, a human mage and former follower of Isamo; Uram, a demon summoner; Ianna, an assassin; Undergast, a mage who is able to wield both light and dark magic; and Gor, an orcish shaman and chieftain.

Isamo Tahar, a powerful mage, has started a rebellion of fellow mages against the crown (known as the Mage Wars). General Sentenza Noria, tasked by the queen of Nortander with eliminating Isamo, travels with his companions – siblings Anselm and Gwen and young Betrand – to Isamo's hideout in The Eye. Upon arrival at Isamo's laboratory, they learn that his child tried to betray him and is about to be executed. Noria saves the child, but Gwen dies and Isamo escapes. Noria takes Isamo's child to the queen, who grants them amnesty and allows them to train as a Wolf Guard.

The SpellForce series was originally developed by Phenomic, which were bought and later disbanded by Electronic Arts. The original publisher, JoWooD Entertainment, had to file for bankruptcy and was bought by Nordic Games (which later bought the THQ trademark to become THQ Nordic). With the acquisition of JoWooD Entertainment, THQ Nordic also gained the rights to the SpellForce franchise.

Development of SpellForce 3 took over four years. THQ Nordic first mentioned a new entry in the SpellForce series was in development in September 2013, while announcing the release date for SpellForce 2: Demons of the Past, the third expansion for SpellForce 2. Development began at the start of 2014 at the gaming studio Grimlore Games, which THQ Nordic established in Munich in 2013. It was Grimlore Games' first game, although the studio consisted of a number of experienced programmers, designers and graphic artists, who worked on titles like The Settlers II, Knights and Merchants: The Shattered Kingdom and SpellForce 2.

SpellForce 3 garnered "mixed or average reviews" from critics according to review aggregator Metacritic, based on 37 reviews for Windows.

Critics lauded the visual design and the attention to detail as well as the variety of settings and lighting effects which enhanced the realism of the landscapes. Reviewers also highlighted the character and building models and details. German magazine PC Games compared the graphics and level of detail positively to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, although they noted the game no longer offered a third person perspective as previous games of the series did. GameSpot criticized the amount of detail, which caused slow loading times and overwhelmed the player, making it hard to notice certain important elements.