Stardock Entertainment has announced the early access release for Elemental: Reforged, their long-awaited sequel to their fantasy strategy series.

Elemental: Reforged is now available for Windows PC (via Steam) in early access. The game’s early access build is designed to showcase the new game as early as possible, and shape it based on feedback by fans.

“Elemental: Reforged is the culmination of the vision Stardock had for this series since we started work on it over 15 years ago,” said Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock and designer of Elemental: Reforged. “The design of the game was ahead of its time, but limited by PC consumer hardware of the late 2000s. Now with a 64-bit engine, updated graphical fidelity, and a combination of features from all previous releases in the Elemental series, Reforged is exactly what we hoped the original game would be.

“Each game had certain key features that the others couldn’t fit.  For instance, War of Magic has family dynasties where characters could get married, have children and the children visibly carried a blending of the parents. That meant even trolls and humans could have children. Probably best not to dwell too much on that. For Fallen Enchantress we focused on detailed unit stats and well-paced tactical combat.  For Sorcerer King we had crafting and quests.”

Wardell added, “We wanted to get players into the game as soon as possible. As a way of making good on the promise of the original game’s ambitious design, our aim is to make sure we shape this the way our fans want to see.”

Here’s a rundown on the new game, plus a new trailer:

Build a civilization to survive in an RPG style world in Elemental: Reforged. Start the game by creating a unique character, setting up your opponents and entering a randomly generated world with the objective of finding and controlling the shards of magic. With each shard you capture, your power will grow unlocking more powerful spells and abilities. But be mindful for the other civilizations share your ambition.

Reforged

Long ago, Stardock sought to create the ultimate fantasy civilization game. It was called Elemental. In this game, every unit was singular with its own unique items and equipment. Players could design their own cities, leveraging the resources and magic of the world. The world itself was transformable through magic with players able to mold it to their liking. The technical challenges in getting all this to fit into a 32-bit engine led the game to being re-designed and ultimately released in 3 different games that focused on key elements of the design: War of Magic, Fallen Enchantress, and Sorcerer King.

Now, thanks to a remastered 64-bit engine, Stardock has finally been able to take the best parts of the three games and bring them together; as well as add features that were cut before War of Magic was released including building cities to leverage the magic of the world.

Features

• Ultimate Fantasy Sandbox. Players can create their own leaders, their own factions, and build a fantasy civilization with its own history and lore.
• 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, Short 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