You need these Anime Squadron codes if you want to unlock and power up the best team of units possible. In any anime-themed Roblox tower defence game, your units are everything, they are what stand between you and success. Not only do you need to Summon the best ones, then, but you also need to power them up.

To do this, you need Gems, Stat Reroll Cubes, Trait Shards, and more, and you can get all of them with the latest Anime Squadron codes, which I've listen below. So redeem them in the popular Roblox experience right now, unlock those Legendary and Mythic Units like Zaro and Shinks, and perfect their stats in no time.

For some more general rewards that can be used across all of your favorite experiences, then check out our list of the current Roblox promo codes, too.

All Anime Squadron codes

These are all the Anime Squadron codes you can redeem in-game right now:

• UPD0.5! - 3x Bounty Tickets, 1,000x Gems, 50x Trait Shards, 1,000x Gold latest!
• Eclipse! - 50x Trait Shards, 30x Reroll Cubes, 3x Perfect Cubes latest!
• LongMaintenance! - 100x Trait Shards, 20x Reroll Cubes, 5x Bounty Tickets, 5x Perfect Cubes latest!
• Tysm80kCCU! - 75x Trait Shards, 50x Reroll Cubes, 5,000x Gold, 1,000x Gems (level 10 required)
• Tysm60kCCU! - 100x Trait Shards, 50x Reroll Cubes, 2,000x Gold, 1,000x Gems, 5x Bounty Tickets (level 10 required)
• EverythingIsPartOfMyPlan! - 25x Trait Shards (level 10 required)
• Yokoso! - 3x Perfect Cubes (level 15 required)

As you can see from the list above, each of the current Anime Squadron codes offers a load of cool rewards, including those all-important Gems for Summoning and Reroll cubes for perfecting your Units' stats.

How to redeem Anime Squadron codes

To redeem Anime Squadron codes, you need to make your way through part of the tutorial, until the menu opens up on the left-hand side of the screen. Then you can click on the Codes button, enter your code into the box, and hit Redeem Code to reap your rewards.

Anime Squadron codes are case-sensitive, so be careful to enter them correctly. If you're unsure or are having issues, you can always copy and paste them as they appear above.

Expired Anime Squadron codes

• 10MilVisits! - 50x Trait Shards, 2,000x Gold
• 50kCCU! - 100x Trait Shards, 1,000x Gold, 2,000x Gems, 25x Stat Cubes, 2x Perfect Cubes

The above Anime Squadron codes have sadly expired, and, like them, those that are currently active will soon expire, so be sure to redeem them as soon as possible to avoid missing out.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

I'm a sucker for a good tactics game – which is why Star Wars Zero Company already has me buzzing. It's a genre where almost any game could announce a tactics spinoff and I'd be down. Persona 5 Tactica? Sure, why not? Rayman Raving Rabbids and Super Mario forming a strategic alliance? Hell yeah. The power of a good tactics RPG even works when I'm not into the series itself; I'm not huge into Final Fantasy, but damn if Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles isn't an all-timer. And my Marvel fatigue was swiftly cured with a helping of Marvel's Midnight Suns.

And then there's Star Wars. I'll be frank, The Rise of Skywalker stank so much that any love and interest I had in Star Wars left me. I haven't watched any of its many TV series, I never played Star Wars Jedi: Survivor – despite loving Fallen Order – and I haven't had any desire to go back and watch the older films I actually do like… but the series' upcoming strategic foray has me looking from across the room like your da staring longingly at that photo of him holding a big fish.

Force pull

But that's the thing: Star Wars seems perfect for the tactics RPG treatment it's getting with the rather XCOM-like Star Wars Zero Company. As fun as the space wizards and midi-chlorians are, as I've gotten older, I've come to appreciate that the world is a lot more interesting outside of the Jedi and Sith. Sure, you have a Padawan on your squad, but having an R-series droid offsets that. I just know for a fact there's going to be a point when you face off against one of those magical bastards and things are going to feel bleak, like Darth Vader at the end of Rogue One bleak. I live for it. Plus, one of your team is a former boxer called Kabb Uppercut and if that isn't "Glup Shitto" adjacent I don't know what is.

But, thinking about how interested I am in a franchise I had sworn off of due to the virtue of it becoming tactical, it got me thinking. Why the hell has there never been another Metal Gear Acid?. If you know me, you know I may like Metal Gear, perhaps even a lot; and obviously Metal Gear is a massive series, but if there was ever to be something about it I'd call niche it would be the PSP duology.

Here's the pitch: first, take Metal Gear's tone, world, and somewhat approximate versions of its characters; second, make a story that is somehow more out there and silly than the games it's based on – the first game opens with psychic puppets hijacking a plane – and finally, adapt the stealth gameplay into a tactical RPG and imbue that with a deckbuilder with cards based off of older Metal Gear and Kojima games.

A stealth-based Tactical RPG deckbuilder doesn't sound like something that should work, and yet the duo of games stick out as two of the best games the PSP has to offer, and I'd say Metal Gear Acid 2 is among the best tactics RPGs ever made.

While it's not as punishing or hardcore as XCOM, what Metal Gear Acid does best is tension. The stealth aspects are extremely important on some missions, as – just like in the main series – you are not equipped to take on an army with ease. Which means every turn, and every card you can use to make a move, takes on even more importance. It's the same logic that means my Astromech GOAT in Zero Company will be racking up a sith kill count one way or another.

The deckbuilding itself also rules. Rather than just playing with cards each turn, your cards are given values like you've seen in games like Slay the Spire, except the catch here is rather than not being able to use cards if you don't have enough points, you can use whatever you want, as instead, points contribute to your turns, with the points you use needing to be counted down before you can take another.

This in-turn blends into the strategy RPG elements nicely, as something like the Metal Gear Rex card – which does 300 damage – is very powerful, but unless you are ending a battle with it or are far enough away from the next enemy, you're going to be at a major risk since it'll cost you 30 points to use. Again, it's the kind of balance I can also see Zero Company leveraging to explain why its ensemble cast aren't simply only to fight together, but complement one another.

Deckbuilders and tactics games have probably never been more popular than they are now, and so I ask, where is Metal Gear Acid 3 Konami? I see the publisher handing off Castlevania's reins to Dead Cells dev Evil Empire and think of what the likes of Fights in Tight Spaces dev Ground Shatter could do with Metal Gear. I know the series is still in a bit of limbo without Kojima, so why not bring things back gradually with a new iteration of one of its best spinoffs?

With such a lively franchise, a more ambitious attempt at the concept without the PSP's constraints could allow for some fantastic tactics design within that universe. When I see the cast of Star Wars: Zero Company combining moves, I can't help but think of the Rat Patrol's synchronized, nanomachine-enhanced teamwork in Metal Gear Solid 4 – those are the kind of team moves I'd love to orchestrate. At the very least get the Acid games into Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Volume 2 or into PlayStation's growing Classics Catalog of PSP games, I beg of you.

Can't wait a long time to visit the galaxy far, far away? Check out our best Star Wars games for what you can play in the meantime!

I've been praying for Total War: Warhammer 40K news since visiting Creative Assembly last year, and on Sunday (June 7), the Emperor delivered. Not only did we get our best look yet at how Total War's real-time battles will function in the sci-fi setting, but its appearance at the PC Gaming Show 2026 also confirmed that we're getting a Total War: Warhammer 40K closed beta later this year – although an exact date is yet to be confirmed.

Of all the new games heading our way, Total War: Warhammer 40K is the one I'm most excited for. Seeing it in action – and hearing I'll get the chance to play it by year's end – puts that anticipation into overdrive. I'm working through it the only way I know how: by watching the reveal again and breaking down everything in sight.

Git krumpin'

While a teaser trailer for Total War: Warhammer 40K debuted during last month's Warhammer Skulls showcase, its focus on narrative and lack of in-game footage suggested we'd be waiting a while longer to see more of the game itself. But the PC Gaming Show 2026 aired with a surprising amount of alpha build gameplay, leaving lots to get into.

30 seconds in, we're brought into a battle between the Astra Militarum and a horde of orcs. Taking place on what seems to be the outskirts of a war-torn hive city, the map is a lot more textured and urban-focused than much of what we've seen from past Total War games – with charred ruins shored against a bridge crossing, I get the sense that battles will be designed for players to dig into longer than Total War: Warhammer 3's comparatively quick clashes.

The most important detail, though, is nestled in the game's UI – revealing how Creative Assembly has made ranged combat work. Guns are prominent in the developer's Warhammer (Old World) trilogy and the likes of Total War: Napoleon and Empire have made gunpowder lines work in the past, but fans have long speculated how 40K's more advanced guns – often wielded in tandem with melee weapons – would synergize with the series' more medieval-style frontline clashes.

Here, we see that while most units do have ranged attacks as options (at least for the Astra Militarum), each has their own firepower value for light, medium, and heavy targets. Cadian Shock Troopers have 5/10 firepower effectiveness against light-class targets, for example, but that drops all the way down to 1/10 against medium and heavy foes. A tank commander, on the other hand, has 9/10 effectiveness against light targets and 10/10 against medium armor; but 6/10 against heavies. I can already see how this could encourage more fluid back-and-forth in battle – beefier units like Space Marines will be able to close in on small-arms fire without being torn to shreds, while Cadians will depend on a combined arms approach – think harder-hitting vehicles keeping melee-centric infantry from reaching their gunlines.

If anything, I'm starting to think that 40K's battles could be more fulfilling for strategy nerds. With there being so many options for melee versus ranged tactics and vice versa, real-time fights should be more strategic and slow-burn. The importance of cover should force players to spread their forces thinner and pay attention to wider battle lines, while environment destruction and having tools for fast-moving attacks (Space Marine drop pods, orbital strikes, jetpacks) will hopefully encourage more layered formations rather than one single frontline clash.

While I still have many unanswered questions about Total War: Warhammer 40K's campaign map and factions, its latest reveal has sent my imagination running wild. I've already registered for the closed beta – which you can do here – and even though it's scheduled to kick off later this year, the wait may well kill me. Although, with Total War: Warhammer 3's biggest DLC now within touching distance, there's going to be enough to keep us busy in the Old World for a long time to come.

Star Wars Zero Company, the upcoming strategy game from a team of XCOM veterans, is releasing August 27 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X, as confirmed in an action-packed gameplay trailer at Summer Game Fest.

The release date leaked this week just a day before the big show, which takes some of the wind out of the big reveal's sails, but at least we have a new trailer to pore over. In it, we see something rather surreal: the turn-based, tactical gameplay we've long associated with the XCOM series, but Star Wars-flavored. And it indeed looks very Star Wars, both in terms of production value and authenticity to the world of Lucasfilm, which collaborated closely with developer Bit Reactor.

"Our team has poured everything we love about Star Wars into Zero Company," says creative director Greg Foertsch. "The bold characters, powerful storytelling, striking settings and the sense of heart beneath the battles in Star Wars has helped us create an experience that pushes the tactics genre forward by combining deep gameplay with cinematic elegance.

"We've worked hand-in-hand with Lucasfilm Games to create an authentic Star Wars story packed with unique new characters, robust character customization, a new ship, Separatist Droids and much more, all rooted in the conflict of The Clone Wars."

Star Wars Zero Company is a collaborative effort between Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order studio Respawn and Bit Reactor, a studio founded by veterans of XCOM and Civilization developer Firaxis. The story takes place in the Clone Wars era and follows a ragtag outfit of mercenaries including a Clone Trooper, a Mandalorian of the ancient Clan Verminoth, a Jedi Padawan, and more. Under the banner of Zero Company, they're tasked with tracking down Separatist cult leader Kundri Fathom and putting a stop to his wicked deeds.

Here are the best Star Wars games to play right now.

Just one day before the main Summer Game Fest show kicks off, the release date for Star Wars Zero Company has been subject to last-minute leakage, and it looks like the new strategy game from former XCOM veterans is joining the crowd of games also taking refuge from the huge industry black hole known as GTA 6.

Summer Game Fest confirmed the new Star Wars game would be debuting another look at its turn-based tactical gameplay during tomorrow's show, but a new report from the ever-reliable Dealabs Magazine seemingly gives us an advanced look at a few details.

Star Wars Zero Company is reportedly launching on August 27, 2026, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S with a Standard Edition priced at $49.99 on PC and $59.99 on consoles. A Deluxe Edition is then said to cost $59.99 on PC and $69.99 on consoles, though there aren't yet any details as to what comes with the more expensive package or why there's a price difference between platforms.

The next far, far away adventure is only narrowly dodging the busiest September in years as multiple heavy hitters - such as Marvel's Wolverine, Control Resonant, Silent Hill: Townfall, and The Blood of Dawnwalker - look to avoid the incoming beast that is GTA 6. A few more games will probably try to squeeze in there when the dust on NotE3 season is settled, too - Gears of War: E-Day seems like a good candidate.

For those out of the loop, Star Wars Zero Company comes courtesy of Respawn Entertainment (Apex Legends, Jedi Fallen Order) and Bit Reactor, a studio made up of some veteran developers who worked on XCOM and Civilization, and follows a ragtag group of mercenaries during the tail end of The Clone Wars.

Can't wait? In the meantime, check out the best Star Wars games to play right now.

Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick says the company's 2025 missteps with Borderlands 4 and Civilization 7 aren't a big problem in the grand scheme, and that publisher 2K is still "crushing it."

While Take-Two is in for a good year in 2026 – mainly because GTA 6 is going to make billions even if it's somehow bad – it's easy to overlook that 2025 wasn't exactly the best year in its history. Borderlands 4 released to somewhat lukewarm reception (despite solid reviews) but the game's PC port was the star of the show when it comes to that game's issues, with it only being rivalled by Monster Hunter Wilds as 2025's biggest PC debacle. And on top of that, Sid Meier's Civilization 7 reworked the series formula massively, so much so that the devs have released an update to rework it after fan feedback.

While Zelnick has previously taken "responsibility" for Civilization 7's failings, in an interview with the Game Business, Zelnick says, "I definitely can acknowledge missteps with both releases, but at the same time, these are great franchises, these are great iterations, and we couldn't be more thrilled of how the business is going broadly.

"I think 2K is crushing it across the board," he continues, adding: "If the worst you can say in a year when you've had this kind of [financial] performance is that a couple of titles did slightly less well than you would have hoped, and you're addressing whatever challenges you face and you're still generating profits with both titles… that's a high-class problem. I'll take those problems any day of the week."

He notes that "Borderlands 4 was highly successful. It will be a very profitable lifetime title. [Civilization] 7 was very successful and it will be a very profitable lifetime title," and adds that their respective challenges "are being addressed." Of course, it feels like with every single Civilization game, the new one is disliked until expansions and updates fill it out to become a favorite – at least, that's what happened with Civilization 5 and 6 – so hopefully Civ 7 will become a great game in the future.

GTA 6 finally releasing won't lead to a Rockstar staff exodus, Take-Two boss expects: "We have a lot of work to do after the launch."

Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era has hit one million sales since its launch into early access late last month, and it just got an official roadmap outlining what's to come this year and seemingly beyond.

In a post on Twitter, developer Unfrozen says the past few weeks have been a "lovely start" to early access, and it's been "extremely happy" to work on fans' feedback. "As always, we continue to monitor your feedback and weave it into the upcoming updates and changes," it adds.

Going forward, it says, "our main priority remains to ensure a smooth experience in Olden Era and to address any urgent issues that may arise – which will lead to many regular patches throughout Early Access," but it's still able to share some bigger content plans.

Kicking things off in Q3 2026, we can expect a rebalance to Hero skills, as well as an emote wheel update, advanced features for the Random Map Generator, and teamplay mode.

Moving into Q4 of the year, the devs are planning reworks for matchmaking and the Elite class, and a rebalance to Alternate Upgrades. Observer Mode and replays will also be added.

As for the rest of early access, Unfrozen is planning a number of things including underground terrain, new PvP win conditions, an Ironman mode for the campaign, and map editor improvements. Even bigger changes, like second and third acts for the campaign, a PvE roguelike mode, and map sharing support are planned for its full release, whenever that might be.

As outlined in a press release (which also confirms the game's one million sales milestone), it's stated that "the contents of this roadmap are subject to revisions as the game evolves, and additional updates to the development plan will be communicated as development progresses." So, there's no guarantee that everything on there will be followed to the letter, but it still seems like a pretty good indication of what's to come.

Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era "broke even on development costs in just one day" as it launches to 90% positive Steam reviews and 250,000 sales.

Ahead of a chat with Civilization 7 creative director Ed Beach, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the veteran designer played a hand in making one of my all-time favorite strategy games. That would be The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth 2 – specifically its Rise of the Witch King expansion – for which Beach was executive producer.

With dual campaigns that let you save Middle-earth or sack it, along with some devilishly replayable skirmish maps, the 2006 real-time strategy title can be credited with introducing a bunch of console-heads to the traditionally PC-centric world of RTS games. Two decades later, I still have a soft spot for Battle for Middle-earth 2 – as does Beach.

"I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan. As a matter of fact, I can reach across the table and show you the Lord of the Rings game I'm currently obsessed with," Beach says, raising board game The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship to the camera. "So that was one of my most favorite projects I've ever worked on in my career."

"I specifically worked on the strategy game layer on the regional map of Middle-earth, and so it was plussing up the original version of that game that shipped with the base game," adds Beach. "We made a whole bunch of enhancements to it for the expansion, so that was the specific piece I worked on there, but I absolutely love that game."

The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth 2 remains a cult classic in the strategy space, and although its official servers were closed in 2010, a dedicated multiplayer community keep the game playable today. "That game has had a way longer life than I ever realized," says Beach. "I only learned about that a year and a half ago – that this game I worked on 20 years ago was still going strong, and had this huge community!"

Meanwhile, Beach continues to work on Civilization 7, with the game's massive Test of Time overhaul now live. Speaking to GamesRadar+, Beach took us through the update's biggest changes and detailed how it was created with fans.

"We got it wrong" with Civilization 7, Take-Two boss admits, and he takes "responsibility" for the strategy game's failures: "What we tried to do was a bridge too far"

As we wait for Total War: Warhammer 3's gigantic Lords of the End Times DLC, Creative Assembly has surprised us with the game's first character pack, fleshing out the jungles of Cathay with Tiger Warrior mercenary Bhashiva. Bhashiva's addition marks the first character pack for Total War: Warhammer 3, which are intended to offer smaller bites of DLC with a lower price reflective of its smaller scale.

Still, I've been pleasantly surprised by how much is on offer: Bhashiva offers a brilliantly thematic playthrough in which you're encouraged to support Cathayan ruler Zhao Ming whilst recovering ancient relics and escorting trade caravans. It's a promising start for Total War: Warhammer 3's character packs, so to learn more about the approach, I caught up with senior game director Richard Aldridge and designer Josh King.

Demons & tigers & bears

If you're a fan of Total War: Warhammer 3's more thematic campaigns – think Grom the Paunch's goblin tides or Markus Wulfhart's limited Empire roster – Bhashiva should be an immediate go-to. You're incentivized to build armies around Bhashiva's tier-two Tiger Warrior infantry partly because existing Cathayan units are in short supply, but largely because the campaign funnels so many buffs into the Tiger Warriors that you won't want to use anything else.

While Tiger Warriors are fast and aggressive, they aren't necessarily a flat upgrade to Cathay's sturdy Celestial Dragon Guard. It's indicative of the broader character pack, which complements the Cathayan roster with a more aggressive playstyle without making the faction out-and-out stronger.

"I really like how they [Bhashiva's faction] found their place within the wider game world," says King. "Their addition doesn't invalidate or replace anything on the Grand Cathay side, it complements it. So with Claw Speakers for example, their embedded action on the campaign side allows you to replenish your units, which Cathay desperately needed. They've also got the lore of Beasts, Shadows, and Life available to them, something that Grand Cathay never had access to."

"We've always enjoyed having a really clear focus, and she definitely gives us that vibe," Aldridge agrees. "And it's just fun [to make], right? Like, how are these tiger warriors going to behave? How are they going to move? What can they sound like? We love doing that kind of stuff. It's a great way to get something different into the game and really showcase what Grand Cathay is."

The result is a refreshingly focused campaign, and I've enjoyed playing a much smaller piece on Immortal Empires' chessboard. With this being the series' first character pack, though, I'm keen to learn how it's representative of future DLC – will the new DLC format let Creative Assembly work more niche characters or units into the game?

Bhashiva was an opportunity to "experiment a little bit more" with the trilogy's DLC output, says Aldridge. "She's obviously got a great supporting cast of characters and really plays into that tiger power fantasy, but they are limited in number – we don't have 20 or so things to go and make. So it felt appropriate."

"We know there are loads of fan-favorite characters out there," he continues. "There might not be the necessary volume of units to support it, but why wouldn't you want to get those into the game? We absolutely do. With Bhashiva, players hopefully resonate with it. That [would] give us the opportunity to go forward and try it again, but maybe in slightly different guises. Maybe there's a character that's got a bunch of really cool legendary heroes associated with them. Maybe there's some that would make sense with a wealth of Regiments of Renown, and maybe a lord or a hero [...] We want to get all these characters and creatures in!"

Bhashiva will be joined by necromancer Nagash and the Empire's Boris Todbringer, along with two more currently-unnamed lords, as part of Lords of the End Times later this year. That still leaves plenty of fan-favorites on the table ("I dare say there's some monkeys in the south," offers Aldridge, teasing Cathay's Monkey King), but after dicing up Chaos as Bhashiva, I'm convinced that character packs have the potential to keep me coming back to Immortal Empires long after Total War: Warhammer 40,000 arrives.

Total War: Warhammer 40,000 wants to be "the seminal Warhammer 40K game," says its devs, who sell me in just 8 words: "You can customize the fingers on Space Marines!"

Sid Meier's Civilization 7 is turning a page. Last year, the strategy game launched with a bold vision – tackling foundational challenges within its genre – but the result proved divisive, creating clearer throughlines for campaigns at the cost of player agency and the sandbox-style freedom that defines the series. The game's latest update, Test of Time, sees developer Firaxis working with its community to answer an important question: what makes a Civilization game?

The list of changes are sweeping. First and foremost: you can now play through campaigns as a single Civilization, rather than the evolving system that Civilization 7 launched with. But equally important is the overhaul to Civilization 7's campaign progression, with the game's initial legacy paths replaced with triumphs – rewards for completing tasks associated with certain victory conditions – and less impactful resets between ages.

Now, Civilization 7 is stickier than ever. I've been playing Test of Time for over a week, finding a fluidity that was missing in the base game's staccato structure. Many of Civilization 7's other changes – like town management and overseas expansion – shine even brighter because of the improved flow, while choosing whether to continue with your Civilization or select another mid-campaign adds a delicious layer of strategy to each age.

Catching up with Ed Beach (creative director) and Matt Schembari (head of product, Civilization) to discuss the update, the pair have learned a great deal about their community since launch.

Next turn?

As touched on in my Civilization 7 review, the game's initial emphasis on win conditions within each age felt like being railroaded towards victory; rather than playing reactively in each campaign. These legacy paths have been scrapped, and in their place are triumphs – optional objectives, tucked away in a menu, which reward your chosen playstyle rather than forcing you to choose one plan and stick with it.

"A lot of people who either played the game over and over again, or players who were used to a more open-ended Civ experience, felt constrained by those legacy paths," explains Beach. In my first campaign as Alexander, losing the prescriptivism of legacy paths is a huge win, leaving me free to let my campaign play out reactively, rather than chase the same prescriptive win conditions from turn one.

Similarly, not having to change your civilization between ages means you can stick with the same traits and identity throughout a campaign. Whether you do so is up to you: changing to another civilization may allow your faction to specialize into a certain era, but choosing to carry on as the same civilization unlocks syncretism – the ability to adopt another faction's unique ability or units for an age or double down on your own strengths. I was originally cautious of syncretism, worried it would dilute each civilization's identity or offer too much power, but the nondisruptive system gives the sense that your civilization is adapting to the world around it rather than being gamed like a roguelike build.

"It's integrated so well that you can start a campaign and fully intend to be playing as Rome throughout all three ages, and you get halfway through and you're like, 'oh, I actually want to make a big pivot here, and it's really cool with all the mountains in my empire. If I could switch to Inca right now, I'm going to actually change my plans,'" says Beach. "Those are two different styles of playing the game. You don't have to lock those in the beginning. Those are things that the players can opt into in the middle of the campaign. I feel like that's just the right level of flexibility and open-endedness that we really want to provide the players."

Syncretism was "not unanimously adopted by the design team right out of the gate," says Beach, and Schembari admits to "pushing back" against the proposed feature initially. Debates like this aren't uncommon at Firaxis, and Beach has "lived through a lot" of them over the years.

"Civilization 7 is built by a design team two or three times larger than we've had for earlier Civ titles I worked on," he explains. "On those titles it was more like a single person could try to set the vision and get everyone to come along, but with the larger team, if we're not going to try to establish consensus I just don't think [we could achieve] the unified push we need to be able to make big swings and big updates like this. So we do try to build consensus as much as possible, but there are times where we have to tell the team 'we're just going to try this in the game and see how it feels, and you may be right that this is a really poor idea [...] We always let play testing be the final litmus test to see whether certain ideas are good or certain ideas need to be rethought."

"It's a very Sid Meier-esque philosophy where it doesn't matter if things sound like a good idea, or a bad idea," adds Schembari. "What matters is 'how does it play?', so we try to do that as quickly as possible."

Ultimately, Test of Time is a more hands-off Civilization experience than Firaxis initially set out to offer. The shift poses an interesting question: as designers, when do you have to relinquish control and let players go in their own direction?

"What we've found is we have a lot of different sorts of players. There are players that loved the new Civ 7 ideas right out of the gate, and there are people who couldn't believe what we had done to the Civ experience, and how we had uprooted things," answers Beach, who believes letting fans "lock into what they want" is an integral part of Test of Time. For Schembari, the development process behind Test of Time – communicating and iterating with players significantly more – is a blueprint for Firaxis' future.

"Every time we put a change out there, if the community understands the context behind it better, they can provide even better feedback [and] we can get to an even better place by the end," says Schembari. "The more we openly and authentically talk with the community in both directions, the better off the game will be."

Here are the best strategy games you can play today

Something bloody, damp, and decidedly retro has been darkening the doorsteps of card game sickos for a few weeks now. Forbidden Solitaire, a "card-slashing horror game" anchored to "the contents of a cryptic 1995 CD-ROM" launched on Steam (and GOG and Itch) on April 30, and has had such a profound effect on humanity's collective consciousness that it's already crossed 1,100 overwhelmingly positive Steam reviews, much to the surprise of Jake Birkett, owner of co-developer Grey Alien Games.

Forbidden Solitaire is currently sitting at 1,104 Steam user reviews averaging 96% positive, putting it in the upper echelons of the entire year according to Steam250. It first crossed the overwhelmingly positive milestone just three days after launch.

"It took TEN YEARS for us to get this for Regency Solitaire!" Birkett says on Bluesky, referring to Grey Alien Games' original card game twist, released in 2015 and likewise sitting pretty at 96% positive.

On May 2, Forbidden Solitaire crossed 10,000 copies sold. SteamDB ownership estimates put it north of double that nowadays.

"What is even happening right now?" Birkett adds in a separate post. "1000+ reviews, overwhelmingly positive. Thanks everyone!"

The easiest way to describe this game is this: if you liked Inscryption, you will like Forbidden Solitaire. It plays a fair bit differently thanks to its solitaire influence, but it hits the same portion of the human brain, which is reserved exclusively for gritty, madcap card games. Next to it, as any student of medicine will tell you, is the strategy RPG lobe, which has recently been observed firing during Pokemon Nuzlocke runs.

Failing that, if you've ever played solitaire but thought to yourself, "This would be so much better if I could purchase magic gems and embed them in my flesh to cheat at cards between FMV segments," you've found the right game. We were pretty smitten with it all the way back in Steam Next Fest.

Since launch, the devs have kept updates coming, most recently adding a New Game+ system in response to rampant demand. "You can now replay any level, and adjust various parameters to create your own challenges," the devs explain.

Solo dev stunned as his "first ever video game" sells 100,000 copies in 5 days on Steam while 97% "overwhelmingly positive" reviews pour in.

I'm lucky enough to spend a lot of my time testing, writing about, and reviewing Warhammer, but it isn't often that I fall completely head over heels for a product. Yet that's exactly what happened with City of Ash, a beginner box set for the fantasy-based Age of Sigmar wargame. The trouble was, everyone else seemed to appreciate how great it was too; it sold out almost instantly, and hasn't been available since. Well, until now...

This isn't a drill; City of Ash is back in stock for $180 at Amazon, down from the full price of $220. Seeing as it's almost impossible to find the Warhammer box set outside of browsing eBay for overpriced listings, that's a huge deal (both literally and metaphorically). As a result, I'd recommend leaping on the offer as soon as possible if you were tempted. Who knows how long it'll last?

As noted in our City of Ash review, this is by far the easiest route into the shorter, more streamlined Spearhead game type - and from there, Age of Sigmar itself. It literally provides everything you need to play other than dice; there are two full armies (Cities of Sigmar and assassin-like Skaven), terrain, a board, seasonal cards to provide twists in each battle, and the full Spearhead rules. I think that's a big part of the reason why it's proven so popular. It's a complete introduction to the game in one place, and those armies can easily form the backbone of a larger AoS force.

We can't overlook the fact that the models themselves are sick as hell, either. The Cities of Sigmar half is evocative of the wonderfully bizarre old Empire faction from Warhammer Fantasy Battles. The Skaven, on the other hand, revitalize a beloved Skaven faction of assassins called Clan Eshin - and they do a bloody great job of it. These guys drip menace. And poison, of course.

They both really stand out in combat, too. The Cities of Sigmar half of the box are an intimidating wall of guns and armor that will make mincemeat of anything foolish enough to break cover. The Skaven, on the other hand, are astonishingly fast. Supernaturally so, in some cases; a few, like their Deathmaster leader, can warp out of trouble and into combat elsewhere where the deck isn't so stacked against them. This is a phenomenally fun ability that I used to my advantage during test matches, where I lured my foe into combat (he was stood all on his lonesome with what may as well have been an "attack me" sign above his head) before immediately teleporting elsewhere. In so doing I tied up some of my opponent's most powerful troops while tipping the odds in my favor on the other end of the board. It was wonderfully devious.

With that kind of fiendish gameplay to grapple with, I wanted to rerack and start again as soon as the battle was over - not something that happens often for me. As such, I'd highly recommend diving in now that the box set is back in stock. Sure, it's not necessarily the best fit for total beginners because the Skaven in particular are hard to construct. But I'd say that fiddliness is worth enduring even so, because the end result is so satisfying.

Again, just move quickly; I doubt stock will hang around for long.

• See all Age of Sigmar deals at Amazon

For something else you can play between battles, why not try the best board games or the best card games?

Is it just me, or is Warhammer 40K 11th Edition missing something?

Don't get me wrong, I really liked the Armageddon box set reveal. That Ork horde steals the show (sorry, Space Marines), and it seems to be the most comprehensive way of getting into this version of Warhammer 40K. Other than terrain, it has everything you need – full core rules, mission packs, and the goodies necessary to kick off a campaign. However, the system still seems to be sleeping on its smaller, faster Combat Patrol match type.

Let's address the squig in the room before we go any further. Yes, I appreciate that a new book dedicated to Combat Patrol (a much quicker version of Warhammer with preset armies that don't require any points wrangling) is on the way. But judging by the Warhammer Community announcement, this feels more like an introduction to Warhammer 40K at large than anything else… which is kinda how Combat Patrol has been treated since its introduction a few years ago. Rather than helping the streamlined version of Warhammer grow into the competitive, self-contained game it could be, it appears to emphasize lore and "guidance for playing your first games of Combat Patrol." First being the operative word here. In addition, it introduces "key concepts useful for new players – which can be used in concert with an upgraded Warhammer 40,000 app to play games of Combat Patrol." In other words, the actual 'Combat Patrol' of it all feels a bit secondary. This is sounding more like a beginner's guide to 40K instead.

For me, that's a crying shame. I love 40K, but have less free time than ever so can't dedicate as much of it to full-blown matches as I'd like. This is why I'm so keen on the idea of Combat Patrol and the Age of Sigmar equivalent, Spearhead; they last a fraction of the time while condensing what makes each game so appealing. Yet Warhammer 40,000 has never fully committed to the idea, not like AoS has. As demonstrated by City of Ash, Spearhead may as well be a self-contained game in its own right.

Sure, the mechanics are near-identical to AoS, barring some trimmed fat. But it has 'seasons' which introduce distinct terrain sets, and boards every year, along with unique cards that provide fresh challenges based on the environment each round. By contrast, Combat Patrol has always felt a bit… tacked-on, or buried under the weight of full 40K. It's always been treated as an on-ramp to Warhammer 40,000 rather than an end-point in its own right. That's why I'd hoped Armageddon would function like Skaventide did, with dedicated Combat Patrol rules and a similar 'seasonal' model. Perhaps using scenery like the Warhammer 40K pre-painted terrain that was just announced...

I'm certainly not alone in this. A revamped Combat Patrol in the vein of Spearhead was one of the most common requests I saw on reddit forums when researching what the community wanted for 11th Edition. But alas, it seems as though that'll stay on the wishlist for the time being.

Is this a reason to be grumpy about what we are getting? Of course not. I'll bet you anything that the core rulebook in Armageddon will have a dedicated section for Combat Patrol matches too, just like before. Yet it feels like a missed opportunity. I hope Warhammer realizes it before long, and gives Combat Patrol the love it deserves.

• See all Warhammer 40K Combat Patrol deals at Amazon

For something new to play, why not check out the best board games or the best card games? The best tabletop RPGs are worth a look too.

Warhammer just revealed a pre-painted range of terrain for Warhammer 40K, which means you'll soon be able to create a battlefield right out of the box.

Shown off in response to a leak that began making the rounds earlier this week (the squig was let out of the bag after someone posted sprues on reddit), this Warhammer pre-painted terrain is designed to be playable from the get-go. From what we've seen so far, it features Warhammer 40K buildings, scatter terrain like fences or cabling, and objectives such as computer terminals. In other words, it's perfect for use with Warhammer 40K 11th Edition.

Indeed, that's exactly what the teaser video – which you can see below – does. And would you look at that, but I do believe we've got some new Ork models being shown off alongside the terrain itself. More specifically, a trio of new Ork bikers can be seen navigating the pre-painted ruins. We can presumably expect these to arrive shortly after the Armageddon launch box.

As many fans pointed out on the original reddit leak, these seem to have been painted via UV printing: that's why it's so detailed, but a little 'gritty' in appearance. Personally, I think it looks great. Although I adore painting terrain, it's a real time-sink and can be quite intimidating when you're faced with an entire table's worth of the stuff. As such, a ready-made solution can get players (or newcomers, as I suspect may be a significant part of the intended audience) into the action so much faster. There are some cool, tricky effects like object source lighting (e.g. the glowy lights) included for good measure too.

When will this all arrive? No idea. This just serves as an early-doors tease. But thanks to the inclusion of the Armageddon box set Ork army alongside what I strongly suspect to be part of the first wave of Ork reinforcements, it can't be far off. If I was a betting man, I'd say summer or early fall.

• See all Warhammer 40K deals at Amazon

For more recommendations of what you can play next, why not check out the best board games, the best card games, or the best tabletop RPGs?

The only letdown about Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era's hotseat multiplayer mode is the fact that we can't team up. My brother looks at me plaintively as he clicks about the lobby screen, trying in vain to change his hero's little color marker to the same rich shade of purple as mine. I remind him that this is just the beginning for Unfrozen's gorgeous new strategy-RPG; it's in Early Access right now, with the passionate developer using player feedback to chart its course, so hotseat team-up is probably coming later. He huffs at me, unconvinced, and starts the game. Yet, as soon as he hears those melodious violins ushering in a new day in Jadame, he's absolutely locked in.

My big brother has always been something of a purist. Our days playing Heroes 3 in the early '00s together were a formative part of our close bond as siblings. Those memories are as clear in his mind as they are in mine, and the main reason he got excited to play Olden Era with me was because I mentioned how the developer draws most of its inspiration from our favorite entry in the series. This might not be the same game we played together as kids, but one look at his awestruck expression confirms what I've been saying about Olden Era for months now: it's doing everything we remember Heroes 3 doing, only somehow… better?

Quest for the best

The fact that Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era manages to strike such a nostalgic tone with us both is proof that it's doing something incredibly right. This is a series built not only on the foundations of an iconically moreish turn-based strategy system, but from memory itself.

From the music to the point-and-click routine of upgrading bases, recruiting adventurers, and purchasing creature stacks, there's a comfortable familiarity about Olden Era. That's not surprising for me (I've been playing the demo since it launched in mid-2025) but this is my brother's very first time sitting down to play.

Unsurprisingly, he's a natural. He doesn't have questions for me as much as he does comments and praise; he adores Hive's aesthetic, he tells me, and asks me to show him the creepy crawly I'd mentioned earlier that gobbles up fallen creatures to give itself powerful stat boosts mid-combat. He takes to Jadame like he's been exploring the demo for months, and it almost makes me emotional.

But for all its identifiable context clues and muscle memory-related nostalgia points, Olden Era does sport some newness. I realize this when I start to explain Law Points to my brother, as well as the new Astrology system for upgrading and purchasing new spells. There's also the Focus meter in battle, which is something I am still getting to grips with myself. "But that's part of the fun of it," I tell him. "Sometimes I can't remember which bits are new to the game and which are returning."

My favorite novelty by far is the refined leveling system. My brother is equally intrigued when, upon gaining enough XP to level up, he has a set of new traits or attributes to choose from. I explain that some of them with special icons beside their names in the list have synergy with certain others, a sneaky build-creating hint that helps plan ahead for more unique character attributes. I enthusiastically encourage him to choose the Hive-specific hero buff that lets you drop eggs on the battlefield that hatch into allied creature stacks later on, and he's more than happy to oblige.

Creature comforts

Analyzing creatures has always been our favorite part of playing a Heroes game. My brother patted my back sympathetically when I passed on the sad news that, sadly, my beloved Behemoths of the Stronghold faction are not present in Olden Era.

But, excitingly, Dungeon and Necropolis are included in the present build, and are two of the best Olden Era factions. Personally, I've gone for my old faithful combo: Dungeon faction with as many troglodytes, medusae, and hydras as I can fit into my lineup. We spend the next 25 minutes not playing the game as much as poring over it, examining every pixel of the creature art. Despite my brother sharing some community opinions regarding the almost cartoonish look of Olden Era's smoother, less gritty textures, that flicker of excitement in his eye tells me he's not complaining but rather comparing. Happily, he doesn't look disappointed.

Lounging together on the floor, laptop and mouse in front of us ready to hand over at the end of our turn, we are suddenly seven and nine years-old again. It's a Saturday morning in 2003. Homework doesn't exist, everyone else in the house is asleep, and we are playing Heroes 3 on the clunky desktop computer in the dimly-lit living room. Or maybe we are playing one of the best revivals of a classic strategy-RPG that's ever existed some 23 years later, our partners rolling their eyes at us fondly from the sofa just behind. Either way, this is the most fun I've had in a hotseat multiplayer game since before I got my pen license at school, and I can't wait to see how Unfrozen enhances that experience in Early Access. Hint: Behemoths, please.

Our list of the best turn-based RPGs includes a smattering of strategic options, if you're looking for your latest fix...

The original Brass was named after northern British slang for money, which was not only a fitting title for a board game that simulated the booming economy of the industrial revolution but, as it turned out, a prophetic one. Brass (later renamed Brass: Lancashire) was popular, but a second iteration on the design that smoothed out its harder edges, named Brass: Birmingham, proved one of the most popular hobby board games of all time – if not one of the best board games overall. Not content with resting on their laurels, publisher Roxley is now working on a third version set in the gilded age of the United States called Brass: Pittsburgh.

You might suspect this is mere cash-in on a popular title, but it’s something fans have been thirsting for since the previous version came out in 2018. "People have been asking for another sequel for years," explains Gavan Brown, who designed Brass: Birmingham based on Martin Wallace’s original. "I have always believed the Brass system has a vast unexplored design space."

A greater challenge

For those familiar with the series, the new board and cards will be instantly recognizable. There’s still a network of cities, with spaces for different types of industry tiles, and players still have a tree of industries they can pay cards, cash and resources to place onto the board. Many of these create resources that other players can utilize, using networks created by their opponents. Spending up all the resources on an industry flips it, creating profit for its owner. It’s this clever circularity, where players are partially dependent on each other, that's made the game so popular: a rare mix of demanding strategy with enough theme and social interaction to keep it varied, engaging and believable.

Once you dive into the details, the new aspects of Brass: Pittsburgh become apparent. Brown cites three key changes identified by playtesters as standing out. "First, we have decentralized markets: you now sell resource cubes to different connected cities instead of to a centralized market," he explains. "Second, one of the new resources, coke, takes time and clever tactics to set up, but rewards the player with 4VP for every cube sold. Third, the oil resource has special pipelines, which allow players to 'prospect' an oil field. Oil travels first by pipeline, which awards the pipeline's owner with various possible rewards."

The result is a game that boasts a much greater strategic challenge, with many more factors and resources to juggle, while still retaining the social interdependencies that characterize the original. Brown has deliberately rejigged aspects of the game to ensure players have to react to the dynamism on the board rather than relying on tried and tested strategies.

"There is no rail on the board that will guarantee you a ton of points," he says. "When you place a rail, you need to forecast what your opponents will want to build in the locations adjacent to it, or have a plan yourself of how to make those rails worth something. There are also no tiles on your player board that are 'auto develop.' Every tile has a use in the game, and you need to figure out a plan for how to maximize their value."

[Rail]roads paved with gold

In both the existing games, there’s a mid-point switch between the canal networks players begin with to transport their goods and resources, and the more efficient railways that come later. This is a thematic abstraction of how the industrial revolution unfolded; the canals are literally removed from the board and players start re-building their networks. In Pittsburgh, players start with railways initially but there’s still a similar mid-point switch with existing networks disappearing and needing to be re-built, unless they strategize around investing in another new option, more expensive 'heavy' trains which stay on the board.

This can feel jarring, but Brown is broadly aiming to make the game feel more thematic, not less. "Historical accuracy is of paramount importance to me, so the research performed during the design of Pittsburgh represented an immense amount of work," he explains. “An example of this is making all resources travel by rail, versus having iron 'teleport.' Also the decentralized market system better represents that different regions of the map may need to pay more for commodities than other areas." He also suggests that the gilded age is a better fit for the game’s social dynamics than the industrial revolution, noting that "the interdependence of the main industries of the time was a perfect fit."

Interestingly, much of the playtesting for this game has taken place on the digital board gaming site BoardGameArena. This is a novel approach that allows the team to get faster and wider feedback from testers, supported by measurable metrics. It means that Brass: Pittsburgh will have a ready-made module for the site when it hits retail, a useful selling point. It’s also created a baseline from which additional creative possibilities can be explored, and Brown reveals they’re in the pipe. "For Pittsburgh I had to come up with the most innovative mechanisms and dynamics I could think of, which led to many more ideas that we will explore in future Brass titles," he says.

It sounds like there could be a lot more brass to come, in every sense, for players and the publisher alike.

For more tabletop recommendations, don't miss the best card games or the best tabletop RPGs.

Over a year after it was finally revealed, the upcoming strategy game Star Wars Zero Company has been rated in Korea, suggesting an imminent release date announcement.

Despite only being officially unveiled around a week before Star Wars Celebration just over a year ago, Star Wars Zero Company has been a long time coming. Reports of Bit Reactor – a new studio at the time, formed by former Firaxis devs – working on a Star Wars game emerged in 2022, with more details coming out a few years later that shed light on what type of strategy game it would be. Safe to say, people have been waiting a while for it, and thankfully, it seems like that wait won't be too much longer.

As spotted by a user on ResetEra, Korea's Game Rating and Administration Committee (GRAC) published its age rating for Star Wars Zero Company. The rating given to the game says it's appropriate for ages 15 and up, citing realistic depictions of violence and vulgar language being used within gameplay. Interestingly, the GRAC rating also cites the game's ESRB rating as T, suggesting the ESRB has rated it despite the rating not being publicly available yet.

As someone who saw Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and thought it was so obnoxiously terrible that it single-handedly put me off of caring about anything Star Wars since (I know Andor seems fantastic, maybe one day), I'm counting on Zero Company to be the thing that gets me back into the franchise, cause Star Wars XCOM seems like an easy slam dunk – especially one set in the Clone Wars era. I just hope it doesn't suffer the fate of Marvel's Midnight Suns, where everyone loves it, but "everyone" is the 10 people who actually bought it.

Star Wars Zero Company will kill story characters, Fire Emblem-style: Narrative lead says "I lost an argument about permadeath, and it was good that I did."

Things went wrong for me in Kill Team: Terror on Devlan as soon as boots hit the dirt. Our crack Kill Team of Spectre Squad operatives fanned out across the Imperial ruins, ready to seal tunnels that xenos scum kept scuttling out of. Yes, the fabled 'Red Terror' – a monster famed for eviscerating platoons with ease – was still out there. But we had time before it arrived. The key was speed and focus. Right? Wrong. This wasn't our ambush; it was theirs.

Lesser Tyranid bioforms darted in and out of cover to pin us down, firing from all sides. Others hurtled forward in a swarm, ripping into my sniper as if he were a sack of jello. Flanking maneuvers made us pay for every inch gained, and while we killed plenty of them in return, they kept coming. Then the Red Terror (the undisputed star of Kill Team: Terror on Devlan) showed up. And yep, shit really hit the fan.

All this is to say that Kill Team: Terror on Devlan is hard. Bloody hard, in every sense of the word. As the first box set to focus exclusively on co-op and single-player gameplay, it's also an anomaly. Whether that's a good or bad thing will depend on what you want from Kill Team, but I came away impressed.

Kill Team: Terror on Devlan features & design

• Features solo/co-op missions
• Astra Militarum commandos vs. Tyranids
• The iconic Red Terror returns with an all-new model

Unlike most large box sets for Kill Team (Warhammer 40K's smaller, faster sibling), Terror on Devlan doesn't kick off a new competitive season with fresh terrain. It doesn't pit two new squads against each other like usual, either. Rather, it's all about you (and maybe a friend) taking down alien hordes. These can be controlled by another person, but they don't have to be; deigned 'non-player operatives,' their behaviours are dictated by a clever mix of if/when scenarios.

No matter who does what, it's all based on an old piece of 40K lore from previous editions: the loss of the planet Devlan to a hideous Tyranid offshoot, nicknamed 'the Red Terror.' However, this set expands and enriches that idea with horrifying context. Half the rulebook is dedicated to backstory, and it's a chilling read. The mounting tension is palpable as reports trickle in of unexplained murders and missing bodies, making Tyranids feel like inscrutable monsters that can't be defeated – only outrun.

Then you get to take it on yourself in a series of missions that can be run as one-offs or as part of a larger campaign. If you string everything together, your wins or losses dictate which scenario gets played next.

Of course, you'll have to build everything first… and despite the impressive Red Terror scything through scenery in a gravity-defying pose, it's a pleasantly straightforward process. I didn't struggle with the Red Terror, its push-fit Tyranid underlings (making a reappearance from the Warhammer 40K starter sets) or the Astra Militarum Spectre Squad. The only thing I'd say to do is paint your Red Terror before attaching it to the base. It'll be so much easier.

Speaking of easier, one quick thing to note: Terror on Devlan is designed to work with the Volkus Kill Zone terrain pack, sold separately. You can adjust things to make other scenery work, of course, but scenery is needed even so. You don't get any in the box, so bear that in mind before charging in.

Here's what comes in the pack:

• Dossier: This is the box set's rulebook, combining lore and backstory with mechanics and missions for all the models contained within.
• Data, ploy, and equipment cards: You'll need these to run both Spectre Squad and the Tyranids.
• Tokens: You get tokens for Spectre Squad and the Tyranid Red Terror, allowing you to keep track of their special abilities in play.

Gameplay

• Missions are a real challenge
• Spectre Squad are finicky, but hugely effective
• Will likely be too tricky and complex for beginners

Terror on Devlan has a very different feel compared to previous Kill Team sets; while the likes of Kill Team: Tomb World were tense, tactical head-to-heads, this has more in common with the best board games. Even if you're going into battle with a friend at your side, your goal is to overcome an automated foe powered by cards and an easy-to-follow set of behaviours.

Don't think it'll be straightforward if no-one's on the other side of the table, though. It's an exercise of cat and mouse, but I'm not sure we're the cat. Enemy behaviours are meticulously detailed, and there's an emphasis on them doing whatever will make your life harder each turn. No, really, that's what it says in the rulebook – it urges you to take whatever action will benefit the Tyranids and jeopardize your mission most. In addition, they… well, they just keep coming. Trying to wipe them all out is an exercise in futility as a result. More can, and probably will, emerge in their next activation. As such, getting around them to your real objective is challenging enough… and that's before the Red Terror gets involved.

The trick is working out how to use those set (and therefore predictable) behaviours against the foe, luring them into traps or distracting them so you can sweep in and complete your mission. This is immensely satisfying when done right, and a worthy challenge for those already familiar with Kill Team.

It's even more gratifying if you can avoid being mauled by the Red Terror in the process. This monster lives up to its name – if you aren't afraid, you should be. The first time I faced it, it eviscerated one of my strongest fighters in a single attack. It then re-emerged a short while later and swallowed my heavy gunner whole, at which point it vanished back underground in the biggest "up yours" I could imagine. Just like that, my meticulously-laid plan was in tatters. When combined with the smaller Tyranids that are still likely to be sprinting around the battlefield, you'll really feel up against it. Difficult decisions will need to be made.

That's what Spectre Squads excel at, though. This Astra Militarum Kill Team thrives on finesse, clever planning, and a willingness to pivot. While few of the individual troops will stand out much, the group's special abilities help it punch far harder than you might expect. Its Elite Fieldcraft power lets you act before a foe uses an action, for instance, potentially giving you a (devastating) bonus shot or allowing you to regroup to a more advantageous position. It takes some getting used to, and there's a fair amount to juggle where ploys are concerned, but the team will sing in the right hands.

With that in mind though, the one thing I'll say is that this won't suit beginners – or at the very least, it'll be one hell of a trial by fire. For one thing, Spectre Squad is tricky to get the most out of. Secondly, the missions are difficult as is. Indeed, they'll strain even the most experienced commanders.

Should you buy Kill Team: Terror on Devlan?

Whether you buy Terror on Devlan depends on a couple of things. If you're an experienced player, you'll find so much to dig your teeth into. If you want a way to play Warhammer solo, it's also ideal. Oh, and if you already have Kill Zone: Volkus, were gonna buy that terrain, or are happy to DIY a solution using scenery you already have? Great.

If you're new to all this, though, I'd steer clear. There are better entry-points to the hobby, even playing solo (I'd recommend Hivestorm), and it's punishingly hard. You need an established setup with terrain as well, none of which is included in the box. Beginner can obviously have a blast here, but it's an uphill battle.

Hoping to test your mettle as a seasoned veteran, on the other hand? I'd definitely recommend trying this set. I've had a lot of fun so far, and am desperate to even the score with the Red Terror. I doubt it'll go well.

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested Kill Team: Terror on Devlan

This product sample was provided by Games Workshop.

After familiarizing myself with the rules, I went about assembling every model in the box and painting whatever I could over the course of a few weeks (that included multiple members of Spectre Squad, the Red Terror, and some lesser Tyranids). I then dove into test matches direct from the pack to see how they handled in practice.

For more on our process, see how we test board games or the GamesRadar+ reviews policy.

Looking for something else to play? Be sure not to miss the best tabletop RPGs or the best card games.

Obbe Vermeij is best known as a Rockstar veteran who served as a technical director on the classic PS2 Grand Theft Auto trilogy and GTA 4. But his days at Rockstar are long past, and he's spent the past few years working on something completely different: a sandbox game that, despite the implications younger gamers seem to be taking from its low-fi, blocky visuals, is nothing like Minecraft.

"After 3 years of work, it’s finally here," Vermeij said on Twitter alongside the game's May 5 launch. "My new game Plentiful launched in Early Access today. It’s a sandbox where every change has consequences – too many trees drain the water, one spark can burn everything. It’s a bit different – we’ll see what people make of it."

This is an old-school god game sandbox, where you reshape the land as you create a world that can support whatever flora and fauna – including human tribes – you want. Here, everything's built out of hexagons representing bits of the landscape, and tending the digital garden seems like a delightfully chill time. There's even a demo you can try if you want to check it out for yourself.

The inspirations from games like Populous are clear – Vermeij says the similarities are "not a coincidence" because "Populous is my favourite game of all time." But we live in a world where a cadre of presumably young gamers see a landscape made out of geometric shapes and can only think of Minecraft.

Multiple people in the replies to Vermeij's announcement have described the game as simply Minecraft with hexagons, which he's gently responded to with variations on the same joke: "Hexagons yes. Minecraft no. The game's completely different. For starters, no Steve."

Plentiful's lack of Steve is genuinely a pretty key distinction, since you don't have an in-game avatar at all, and instead impose your will on the world through the simple power of a mouse cursor. I'd like to think that kind of distinction would be obvious, but I guess Minecraft is just the Boss Baby of the video game world these days. And here I thought it was Dark Souls.

If you're looking for some actual games like Minecraft, you know where to click.

Right now, Civ 6 and Civ 5 each have more players in-game on Steam than Civilization 7 – and it's not particularly close. The latest entry in the venerable 4X strategy series has failed to connect with fans the same way as its predecessors, and Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says you can blame him for the game's failures.

"Every time there's a new Civ," Zelnick says in an interview for the latest Game File newsletter, "the team at Firaxis thinks about: 'How do we push the envelope far enough that it makes sense to buy this new game? And how do we preserve what people love enough so that they’re not disaffected?' And we got it wrong with Civ VII, but it wasn’t for want of trying. And again, I take responsibility for it."

One of the biggest controversies around Civ 7 was the fact that, in contrast to previous games, it forced you to swap between civilizations with every age transition. Zelnick's comments come just as the devs are detailing a major update that brings back the old ways, and addresses some of the other biggest points of player feedback.

"We've made a bunch of fixes," Zelnick continues. "We'll continue to make fixes. The game is a really good game. And it's certainly a profitable enterprise for us. But this is one where I think what we tried to do was a bridge too far, from the consumer's perspective."

Not everybody hated the game, of course. In our own Civilization 7 review, Andy found it a strong evolution of the series – though not a perfect one – in his four-star review. The game has clearly fared worse among everyday players, given the 47% positive Steam user reviews. The devs at Firaxis are promising an "expansion-level" improvement for that impending update, so here's hoping they can deliver on that grandiose ambition.

Here are the best strategy games you can play today.

You'll want to redeem the latest Tacticus codes if you've run out of Energy, as many of these will refill your bar and get you back into battle. That's not all, though, as you'll also get Blackstone, Salvage, and even Shards to unlock and ascend new characters.

Warhammer 40K Tacticus codes come around really regularly, but they also expire quickly, so you might be tired of trawling through long lists of expired codes. Lucky for you, I've tried every single code on this list to make sure it's active, so your time can be spent taking down Chaos armies, Orks, and other deadly enemies.

All 40K Tacticus codes

• DEADMYTHONEKAY - 10x Typhus Shards, 1,000x Coins new!
• BEGHATICUS - 10x Aleph-Null Shards, 30x Blackstone, 2,000 Coins new!
• FRIGGINFROGS - 10x Tson'ji Shards, 5x Sophisticated Material new!
• ANALYTICS8K - 15x Ammuk Shards, 8,000x Coins
• FLOPPATCHRD - 10x Ammuk Shards, 10x Ammunitions
• ARMAGENEL - 10x Celestine Shards, 25x Energy
• ARMAGEDDONOUTTAHERE - 10x Marshal Dreir Shards
• TTTGEDDON - 10x Lucien Shards, 50x Blackstone, 2,000x Coins
• PAINHAWK5K - 10x Atlacoya Shards, 5,000x Coins
• MORQUIET - 10x Atlacoya Shards, 25x Energy
• ALPHACTICUS - 10x Marshal Dreir Shards, 50x Blackstone, 2,000x Coins
• GLITZDAKKTICUS - 10x Gulgortz Shards, 50x Blackstone, 2,000 Coins
• PROUDOFYOU - Requisition Order, Rose of Msrtyrs, Tough Skin Mutation
• PANCREACYRUS - 10x Calgar Sharrds, 2,000 Coins, 50x Blackstone

As you can see from the lists above and below, there are plenty of new codes all the time, each awarding you for playing with a variety of useful rewards. Don't worry about redeeming Energy codes if your bar is already full as they will put you over the maximum amount. The only downside to this is you won't auto-generate Energy until you fall below the max amount once more, so it's worth keeping that in mind.

How to redeem Tacticus codes

To redeem Warhammer 40K Tacticus codes, you must complete the first 15 battle stages. Then, from the Home screen, click on the Settings cog in the top right-hand corner. From here, enter your code into the box and hit Redeem. You'll then be able to claim any rewards from your mailbox, which can also be found on the Home screen.

Expired Tacticus codes

• BOSSKHARNGORTZ - 10x Gulgortz Shards, 10x Ammunition
• HSSSHSSSHSSS - 10x Neurothrope Shards, 25x Energy
• BIGSHOP - 10x Atlacoya Shards, 5x Other Worldly Energy
• SHOPWITHFOX - 10x Baldr Shards, 25x Energy
• HOMINA6K - 10x Kariyan Shards, 10x Munitions
• ALPHAXTACTICUS - 10x Aethena Shards, 50x Energy, 2,000 Coins
• TTTXCYRUS - 10x Celestine Shards, 2,000 Coins, 50x Blackstone
• BRUSHANGELS - 10x Thutmose Shards, 2,000 Coins, 50x Blackstone
• CYRUSNATION - 10x Asmodai Shards, 2,000 Coins, 50x Energy
• AVOXINTHELASTSTAND - 10x Imospekh Shards, 2,000 Coins, 50x Blackstone
• LUETINXSKULLS - 10x Thutmose Shards, 3,000x Shards, 20x Blackstone, 50x Energy
• PLAYONTACTICUS - 10x Aleph-Null Shards, 2,000 Coins, 50x Energy
• GAME4TACTICUS - 10x Calgar Shards, 3,000 Coins
• GREATBOOKOFCYRUS - 10x Anuphet Shards, 50x Blackstone, 2,000 Coins
• THEHOBBYANGEL - 10x Forcas Shards, 2,000x Coins, 50x Energy
• MACHINEOFRAVEN - 10x Aesoth Shards, 25x Energy
• TERMINUSCOM - Requisition Order
• JOHNBLANCHE - 10x Jaeger Shards, 3,000 Coins, Requisition Order
• TERMINUS103 - 10x Storm Speeder Shards, 25x Energy
• JUNEBOMBS - 10x Atlacoya Shards, 10x Munitions
• ISLANDAR1K - 10x Tanksmasha Shards, 1,000 Coins
• HOMINA5K - 10x Kariyan Shards, 5,000 Coins
• COLLECTTHEMALL - 10x Baldr Shards, 25x Energy
• ACTNOW - 1x Certus Shard
• DIRTYDOZEN26 - 10x Laviscus Shards, 25x Energy
• PLANNERRAIDS - 10x Atlacoya Shards, 10x Munitions
• RATSCREAMS - 1x Yarrick Shard, 1x Kharn Shard
• AHRIMAN4K - 10x Ammuk Shards, 4,000 Coins
• STACKSON - 10x Aesoth Shards, 10x Munitions
• AHRIMANALERTS - 10x Ahriman Shards, 10x Munitions
• JUNEANALYTICS - 10x Storm Speeder Shards, 10x Munitions
• RATSCREAMS - 1x Yarrick Shard, 1x Kharn Shard
• NEWFOXFORMAT - 10x Nauseous Rotbone Shards, 50x Energy
• GDTHANKS2026 - 10x Dante Shards, 20x Blackstone
• PLANNER40K - 20x Aesoth Shards, 10x Atlacoya Shards, 20,000 Coins, Requisition Order
• HOMINAMAY - 10x Kariyan Shards, 10x Ammunitions
• PAINTRAJANN1 - 10x Atlacoya Shards, 50x Energy
• TERMINUS101 - 10x Storm Speeder Shards, 50x Energy
• FREEDP4LRE - 10x Z'Kar Shards, 10x Munitions
• ROTTIELRE - 10x Nauseous Rotbone Shards, 2,000 Coins, 50x Blackstone
• AHRIRELICWHEN - 10x Ahriman Shards, 50x Energy
• ATINCAN1K - 10x Z'Kar Shards, 50x Energy
• TAMAYUPDATE - 10x Z'Kar Shards, 50x Energy
• TC10K - 10x Plagueburst Crawler Shards, 10,000 Coins
• HOBBYHOTEL10 - 50x Energy, 20x Blackstone, 10x Isabella Shards
• MOOPOWER - 1x Plagueburst Crawler Shards, 10x Munitions
• RAVEN2K - 2,000 Coins, 10x Forcas Shards
• SKILLORDER - 10x Aesoth Shards, 50x Energy
• AHRIMANISLIVE - 10x Ahriman Shards, 10x Munitions
• MORDARKANGEL - 10x Baraqiel Shards, 50x Energy
• GOSTYREPORT - 1x Blackstone
• S100HOMINA - 10x Laviscus Shards, 10x Munitions
• EXPLAINER50 - 5,000 Coins, 50x Blackstone
• MAYTHE4TH2026 - 10x Munitions, 50x Salvage
• BETTERREVAS - 10x Anuphet Shards, 50x Energy

Tacticus codes come in thick and fast, but they go out just as quickly. You can see above just a few of the most recent expired codes, so be sure to check back often and redeem live codes when you see them to avoid missing out.

If you're a 40K fan, you might also be looking forward to the upcoming DoW game, so take a look at everything we know about Dawn of War 4 so far. Meanwhile, if you'd rather some time away from the screen, here's the latest on 40K 11th edition, including rules, models, and more.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Heroes of Might and Magic's revival has been a long time coming, and it seems the wait has paid off for fans and developers alike. Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era launched into Steam early access yesterday to very positive user reviews and immediate sales success – so much success, in fact, that the game made its development budget back within its first 24 hours.

"24 hours have passed since we’d first opened the doors and portals to the world of HoMM: Olden Era," the devs at Unfrozen exclaim in their Steam announcement. "Just to say this launch has been a success would be an understatement: In that short time you’ve posted over 3000 reviews and over 90% of you are happy about the game. At this minute there is over 50,000 of you playing Olden Era. Thanks to your amazing support!"

They add, "That means we broke even on development costs in just one day!"

Unfrozen was founded back in 2016 and launched its debut project, Iratus: Lord of the Dead in 2020. That game was another turn-based strategy title, but one that took heavy inspiration from the indie hit Darkest Dungeon. Irdatus was, by all accounts, pretty good, garnering over 8,000 Steam reviews with 85% positive feedback in the six years since launch.

Going from that kind of slow-burn success to releasing a new game in a beloved series to such immediate acclaim must be quite a leap for a small studio, but it seems everybody's happy with how Olden Era has turned out. Our own Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era early access review calls it "a triumphant return for the legendary strategy RPG series," and while there are certainly elements to polish up before the final release, this looks to be a fine foundation for something special.

These are the best tactical RPGs you can play in 2026.

Designer Darenn Keller was thrilled to land a position at Ubisoft and work on multiple entries in the Assassin's Creed series as well as Ghost Recon. But around the time COVID hit and his work became more isolated, new creative endeavors began to creep into his mind.

Ready for more creative control, he ended up leaving the studio and gave solo development a try, learning new skills and wearing every hat himself. After a lot of prototyping, he landed on the idea for Dawnfolk, a hard-to-describe mix of survival, puzzle, and city-builder elements that's earned 94% positive user reviews on Steam (and is also on Nintendo Switch). It was no Balatro-sized hit, but Keller tells me Dawnfolk has done well enough to make his indie career livable, which is the dream for most devs, and more than enough for him.

Dawnfolk is a grid-based city-builder about gathering resources and using them to "protect your people from oppressive shadows," as its Steam description puts it. It's a choice-driven microcosm of grand strategy rendered in adorable pixel art backed by relaxing music, and it's one of the most approachable city-builders in years. But if you are looking for more depth, you'll find it in challenges so devious that, Keller tells me, barely 2% of players have finished them, despite the considerable development time that went into making them.

Life as a solo developer is still overwhelming at times, especially in the "business side of things," but Keller says he's learned a lot about how to create on his own versus as part of a humongous AAA team.

"I make all the decisions," he says, which is good and bad. He can iterate or pivot quickly without clearing checks and balances, but he has to do it in a vacuum. "I do believe humans are made to work with other humans, and that's why we love working even in small teams," he continues. "It's very cool to have a few people and share this thing with someone. When you're alone like this, it does feel very lonely. It's difficult to keep the motivation. It's difficult, when you wake up in the morning, to force yourself to work on the game. Nobody is going to tell you to do it because nobody cares."

Landing a publisher helped Keller stay motivated as work on Dawnfolk began to wind down – and also gave him some runway to be more particular with the launch – and he's stayed motivated enough after launch to get another game, currently called B-Type: Space Builder (a name likely to change), listed on Steam. Keller says Dawnfolk had "sold 26,000 copies and still pays my rent" as of two months ago, letting him focus more on his next project.

If he could do it all again, Keller wonders if he'd opt for self-publishing. "At the time, it was really all about the money, to be honest," he says. "I was just running out of money, and having a publisher gave me enough money to finish the game and have something in reserve in case of a huge failure. Here, I'm not in this situation anymore, at least for now. In four years, if I don't release a game, I'm gonna need to release something or sign a publisher."

This tees up something I hear from a lot of solo and small developers: make the next game smaller and faster. "I would love the next game to be like one year, one year and a half," Keller says. Dawnfolk took between two and three years depending on how you size up the Switch port work, so Keller says "half the time would be great" for his next game.

Working solo has also let Keller dial into his own creative goals. He's a strategy diehard and keeps coming back to the genre in some form. "I think all of my games will always have this little bit of strategy mixed with something that has nothing to do with strategy," he says. Type-B: Space Builder involves planetary facilities and resource collection, for instance.

Despite a focus on Steam – handily the biggest store in PC gaming and the best store for indie games – he also makes games with a controller, not a mouse and keyboard, in mind. "For my next game, I really want more of a fun toy that can be hard to master, but is very easy to use," he says. "It's very easy to play with that toy. And the strategy around it is also simple. Not aiming to do Civilization, Endless Legend type of complexity. I'm really aiming to do simple games with a bit of strategy."

Keller says he began posting about his journey with Dawnfolk online in part because, "I believe we show too much of the big successes and not enough of the small successes." Workaday games and quiet hits are a huge chunk of the industry, but "most people" won't hear about them. "But still, it's the game that allowed me to start my career and to actually continue it," he says of his own small success.

Meet the dev who quit Rockstar Games during GTA 6 fever to make his own game, a single-player MMO-like where you tank for NPCs.

Redeeming the latest Re Rangers X codes gets you a bunch of cool and useful resources in this tower defense game, including trait rerolls, Gems, and even new units. Whether you want to try and get a better team or improve your current one, you don't want to miss out on these free rewards.

To roll for new Units in the Summon section of this anime-inspired Roblox experience, which used to be known as Anime Rangers, you're going to needs lots of Gems, and thankfully there are plenty to be had with these Re Rangers X codes. Elsewhere, you'll need keys to reroll your stats, and you can get them right here, too.

Since you love Roblox, don't forget about the latest Roblox promo codes that grant rewards to your Roblox account for use across multiple experiences.

All Re Rangers X codes

These are the Re Rangers X codes that you can redeem in-game right now:

• SHADOWAA – 500x Trait Rerolls, 2,500,000x Shadow Orbs, 3,500,000x Gold, 25x Stat Boosters, 250x Soul Fragments, 50x Dr. Megga Punk, 500x Stats Key, 350x Perfect Stats Key, 350x Cursed Fingers (requires level 25) new!
• MOTIVATION – 100x Trait Rerolls, 500,000x Shadow Orbs, 10x Stat Boosters, 25x Soul Fragments, 25x Dr. Megga Punk (requires level 20)
• JACKPOT – 50x Trait Rerolls, 500,000x Shadow Orbs, 10x Stat Boosters, 20x Soul Fragments, 15x Dr. Megga Punk (requires level 15)
• ALPHA – 30x Trait Rerolls, 10x Soul Fragments, 10,000x Gems, 5x Stat Boosters, 5x Dr. Megga Punk (requires level 5)
• OMEGA – 20x Trait Rerolls, 100,000x Gold, 15x Soul Fragments, 5x Dr. Megga Punk, 15x All Universes (requires level 5)
• ShadowPatched – 500x Trait Rerolls, 1x Soul of The Universe, 3,000,000x Gold, 2,500,000x Shadow Orbs, 15x Stat Boosters, 350x Cursed Fingers, 25x Soul Fragments, 25x Dr. Megga Punk (requires level 25)
• SHADOWBORNE – 100x Trait Rerolls, 750,000x Shadow Orbs, 10x Stat Boosters, 25x Soul Fragments, 25x Dr. Megga Punk (requires level 20)
• THEPLAYER – 50x Trait Rerolls, 5x Blue Essence Crystals, 5x Pink Essence Crystals, 50x Essence Crystals, 10x Stat Boosters, 20x Soul Fragments, 15x Dr. Megga Punk (requires level 15)
• ATOMIC – 30x Trait Rerolls, 250,000x Shadow Orbs, 10x Soul Fragments, 10,000x Gems, 5x Stat Boosters, 5x Dr. Megga Punk (requires level 5)
• LEVELING – 20x Trait Rerolls, 25x Essence Crystals, 100,000x Gold, 15x Soul Fragments, 5x Dr. Megga Punk, 15x All Universes (requires level 5)
• ABYSSALDELAY – 250x Trait Rerolls, 1x Teleportation Stone (requires level 25)
• CATCHINGUP - 1x Asto (Half) Unit, 150x Trait Rerolls, 20,000x Gems, 100,000x Gold (requires level 5)
• ECLIPSESORRYFORDELAYS - 200x Trait Rerolls (requires level 25)
• ECLIPSE - 100x Trait Rerolls, 75x Eggs of Sacrifice, 10x Stat Boosters, 25x Soul Fragments, 25x Dr. Megga Punk (requires level 20)
• BUILTINMACRO - 50x Trait Rerolls, 2x Sapphire Gear Fragments, 5x Emerald Gear Fragments, 10x Gold Gear Fragments, 15x Silver Gear Fragments, 20x Bronze Gear Fragments, 10x Stat Boosters, 20x Soul Fragments, 15x Dr. Megga Punk, 15x All Universes (requires level 15)
• NEWLOBBY - 30x Trait Rerolls, 10x Soul Fragments, 10,000x Gems, 5x Stat Boosters, 5x Dr. Megga Punk (requires level 5)
• SACRIFICE - 20x Trait Rerolls, 50x Marks of Sacrifice, 100,000x Gold, 15x Soul Fragments, 5x Dr. Megga Punk (requires level 5)
• THESAGEKING - 100x Trait Rerolls, 15x Grail Cups, 10x Stat Boosters, 25x Soul Fragments, 25x Dr. Megga Punk (requires level 20)
• SINGULARITY - 50x Trait Rerolls, 50x Grail Crowns, 10x Stat Boosters, 20x Soul Fragments, 15x Dr. Megga Punk, 15x All Universes (requires level 15)
• HOLYGRAIL - 30x Trait Rerolls, 25x Grail Crowns, 10,000x Gems, 5x Stat Boosters, 5x Dr. Megga Punk (requires level 5)
• BOSSEVENT - 20x Trait Rerolls, 25x Grail Crowns, 100,000x Gold, 15x Soul Fragments, 5x Dr. Megga Punk (requires level 5)

The list above shows just how many great rewards you can get by redeeming these Re Rangers X codes before they expire, so be sure to level up and redeem them all before they do.

How to redeem Re Rangers X codes

To redeem Re Rangers X codes, you must first join the ARX Team community on Roblox. Then, for most codes, you must also reach a certain level by earning XP through playing. Once you've leveled up enough, click on the Codes button on the left-hand side, enter your code, and hit Redeem.

Expired Re Rangers X codes

• FOURLEAFCLOVER - 100x Trait Rerolls, 35x Lucky Clovers, 10x Stat Boosters, 25x Soul Fragments, 25x Dr. Megga Punk
• DEVILSWILL - 70x Trait Rerolls, 35x Void Orbs, 10x Stat Boosters, 20x Soul Fragments, 15x Dr. Megga Punk, 15x All Universes
• ANGELSWILL - 30x Trait Rerolls, 35x Water Spheres, 10,000x Gems, 5x Stat Boosters, 5x Dr. Megga Punk
• NEWPORTALS! - 20x Trait Rerolls, 50x Magic Books, 100,000x Gold, 15x Soul Fragments, 5x Dr. Megga Punk
• SorryForAnniversary - 9,000x Anniversary Coins, 750,000x Gold, 80x Soul Fragments, 100x Sun Universes, 100x Moon Universes, 100x Dark Universes, 100x Fire Universes, 100x Aqua Universes, 100x Leaves Universes, 100x Ice Universes, 100x Lightning Universes
• AnimeMaintX - 130x Trait Rerolls, 6,000x Anniversary Coins, 50x All Universes
• 1STANNIVERSARY! - 55x Trait Rerolls, 1,500x Anniversary Coins, 5x Soul Fragments, 5x Dr. Megga Punk
• 2ndRanger! - 25x Trait Rerolls, 900x Anniversary Coins, 10x Stat Boosters, 20x Soul Fragments, 10x Dr. Megga Punk, 15x All Universes
• ElementUniverses - 5x Dr. Megga Punk, 10,000x Gems, 300x Anniversary Coins, 2x Stat Boosters, 20x Trait Rerolls
• SpiralInvasion - 10x Dr. Megga Punk, 300x Anniversary Coins, 15x Soul Fragments, 3x Stat Boosters, 20x Trait Rerolls
• SorryForSendai2 - 50x Judges Envelope, 50x Sacrificial Soul, 50x Adaptation Wheel
• TRASHGROUND - 2x Dr. Megga Punk, 5x Soul Fragments, 5x Watchman Logo, 10x Trait Rerolls
• GACHIAKUTA - 3x Dr. Megga Punk, 10,000x Gems, 10x Trait Rerolls, 2x Stat Boosters, 5x Watchman Logo
• SorryForSendai - 50x Dessert, 50x Sorceress Earrings, 50x Cursed Blade, 25x Cursed Hammer, 25x Twin Weapons, 25x Sorcerer Glasses, 25x Bird Feathers, 25x Elephant Tusks
• COLONYRUSH - 50x Adaptation Wheel, 5x Dr. Megga Punk, 20x Trait Rerolls, 5x Soul Fragments
• JJKUPD2! - 5x Dr. Megga Punk, 10,000x Gems, 50x Sacrificial Soul, 2x Stat Boosters, 20x Trait Rerolls
• RULEMAKER - 30x Trait Rerolls, 50x Judge’s Envelope, 3x Stat Boosters, 15x Soul Fragments, 10x Dr. Megga Punk
• BLAMEGIRA - 40x Trait Rerolls, 10x Stat Boosters, 20x Soul Fragments, 10x Dr. Megga Punk
• SorryFromDuckDev - 35x Trait Rerolls, 10,000x Gems, 5x Stat Boosters
• HAPPYEASTER - 35x Trait Rerolls, 1x Easter Basket, 5x Soul Fragments

As you can see, Re Rangers X codes expire, and there are plenty that have already been invalidated. To make sure you don't miss out in the future, be sure to check back here often and redeem codes as soon as you see them. To prevent you trying to redeem any codes that don't work, we'll move codes down here once they expire.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

During the Saving the Knight campaign quest, there are a few occasions when your Hero has the option to touch a Mearea Shrine in Heroes Olden Era. On your first interaction, Gunnar warns Lafiur that the shrine can be unpredictable, but that it can reward visitors handsomely. So, should you touch it or walk away?

Should you touch the Mearea Shrine in Heroes Olden Era?

The effects of touching the Mearea Shrine are somewhat random, based on your Luck stat, so whether you should touch it or not comes down to whether you're feeling lucky.

While Mearea Shrines appear during matches, they don't work in quite the same way, and it's the three that are dotted around the map during the Saving the Knight mission that I'm referring to here. You'll find two of them while playing as Lafiur, and another one as Gunnar. Going the long way round to interact with them as the other Hero doesn't change anything, so don't bother.

I've tested out the Mearea Shrines a few times, and can confirm that the effect changes at random for the second two, though the first always seems to grant 10,000 Gold, perhaps to give you false confidence. However, the other two, one marked by a horseshoe and one by the sun, give one of two random results.

The horseshoe shrine, representing Luck, can either boost or reduce both your Heroes' Luck stats for the rest of the mission. The shrine represented by the sun can blind you, reducing your sight radius, or bless you with an increased sight radius instead. It seems as though your chances of receiving the shrine's favor depend on your Luck stat - the higher your Hero's luck, the more chance of getting the beneficial effect.

Saying that, Lafiur's Luck stat may be zero when you reach the horseshoe shrine, meaning it could go either way. Of course if you get lucky, Gunnar will then have a greater chance of getting the best result from the third shrine. Have your luck reduced, and you'll probably be blinded by the sun.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era feels like playing in a strategy sandbox filled with sparkling treasures you can't help but turn over in your hands, with marvelous dollhouse towns packed with epic fantasy action figures to play with. Then, a huge black dragon grabs that sandbox and flips it over. Get with the program and learn that not all that glitters is gold, or get turned to ash. This is the legendary strategy back in top form – Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is developer Unfrozen's revival of the classic series, and its best since 1999's seminal Heroes of Might and Magic 3.

That particular entry is a fan favorite for good reason, and Olden Era uses it as a mechanical base for its prequel, really understanding why the turn-based, tactical, top-down gameplay worked in the first place, but also knowing where the formula would benefit from a slick, modernized revamp. Unfrozen even retains some of the best ideas from later in the series, retrofitting them into this classic-styled approach, and introducing more than a few of its own. For the first time in the series, going back to Heroes of Might and Magic 3 makes me yearn for the new features. Currently in Early Access, Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is already packed with an essentially endless amount of content, from randomized scenarios, to a map-builder beta, multiplayer, and a meaty first act of a campaign.

The old ways

Merging RPG mechanics with real-time strategy pillars, the fundamentals of Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era will be familiar to anyone who has poured blush-inducing hours into the likes of Warcraft or Command & Conquer. Each match is essentially a war of attrition, where resource-generating structures must be captured to feed back into building army units, and, yes, missing the first week's worth of crystal mining or constructing your faction's mightiest unit generator may cost you the entire game several hours later if you're not careful. Also, it's a turn-based RPG.

Yes, layered on top of RTS-inspired loop is the fact that every match also feels like its own open-world RPG, complete with party member heroes, color-coded special gear to find and equip, spells to hone, and stats to train. Not being real-time isn't a gimmick, but something that Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era wrings a lot of juice out of, whether that's an intense multiplayer hotseat game feeling like a chess match of player decisions, or special single-player scenario challenges that dare you to master maps filled with possibilities under tense turn-limit pressure.

Each match plays out on the overworld map from a top-down perspective. Though – either in battle or on the map – Olden Era allows you to zoom in really far to bask in how beautiful the vibrant fantasy world of Jadame really is. Each map is absolutely littered with things to grab your attention. Resources from piles of gold to heaped ore lie around. Outposts that generate resources when captured. Static groups of monsters wait for a scrap, blocking vital routes, pick-ups, and artifacts.

Hovering over anything instantly tells you what it does (and, for limited interactions, handily marks if you've visited it already), but it can't help you with analysis paralysis. With heroes only able to horse ride so far each day, decisions must be made, and getting distracted by shiny objects you don't actually need will only let opponents – computer or human controlled – get the upper hand.

Different factions have different resource requirements to recruit its town's biggest beasties or build its best structures, so while it's tempting to hoover up everything you see, is it really worth throwing away a turn of movement zig-zagging a small zone, or are you better off pushing outward to get the drop on potentially equally hypnotized enemies?

Hunkering down can be tempting, staying protected and hoarding resources to fully build up your towns and generate as many army units as possible. But, like in all the best strategy games, even fantastical conflict is all about momentum. Nab additional towns earlier than your enemies, and you can get ahead on generating more money, law, or even spell points than an opponent to give you an edge. Dash behind enemy lines, and you may even catch an over-eager, over-stretched opponent off-guard and you may even be able to saunter into their own, poorly defended bases to turn them to your own ends, cutting off enemy heroes.

The sheer sense of possibility is what makes jumping into a fresh match of Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era always compelling, whether that's trying to tackle a particularly tough and challenging scenario map, or generating a fresh, random map based on Unfrozen's already huge library of templates – which can define everything from rough lane shapes, to how many resources players might come across, and are wonderfully well-explained and presented in the match set-up menu.

It's learning how to juggle those possibilities that makes getting better at Heroes rewarding. When do you play it safe to mitigate risk? How do you burn every resource available to surge forward with a fresh army and deliver it to a gap in an opponent's strategy at just the right time? Or, indeed, building the instinct that'll tell you when to rush back to your own castle in time to defend a good, old-fashioned siege (forest bless the Grove's unique mushroom teleporter structure for that one).

Campaign trip

So far, Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era also features act one of an RPG campaign that takes you through some well-crafted match scenarios, itself serving as a sort of extended tutorial for regular play, but offering challenge in its own right. Starting off with a lenient, Single Hero play structure, you eventually recruit new allies as you try to unravel a conspiracy that's blighting the continent of Jadame with magical fires and odd insect creatures. At points, who you ally with is up to you, shifting things like your starting location for certain missions. At times, the campaign's rule limitations, such as what structures can be built when, can be a bit annoying – but it works well enough, even if it risks encouraging me to play with bad habits I wouldn't want to take across into Classic play.

Yes, surprising nobody, so far I like my Classic-style, multi-hero scenarios the best – and Heroes of Might and Magic caters well to this traditional mode of play. This allows you to, for instance, have chains of heroes presiding over different regions of a map, able to pass forward artifacts and units to quickly deliver big monsters into your strongest character's pockets, or to act as speedy, disposable scouts into enemy territory.

More movement options can often be worth the cost of hiring an extra couple of heroes, especially to help defend your network of towns that generate even more units and resources. But, more heroes also means more temptation. You know that your beefiest hero might be better off battling and avoiding breadcrumbs of shiny crystals, or that your second-tier heroes might not really need all those experience points – but can you really resist the alluring, victorious sound design in order to stay on task?

Gallop into tough enough foes (weaker groups will run away, leaving you the choice to mow them down or leave them), and battle will commence. Olden Era's skirmishes take place on hex-grids, just like the classic Heroes titles. Combat is simple on the surface, but meaty and appropriately tactical. Units take it in turns to move and attack, while your hero commander can chip in whenever you have control to cast spells from buffs, debuffs, or flinging a handy fireball. Heroic attacks can also supplement your army's damage as focus builds up over the fight that you can spend. While all units have basic attacks, they can also deploy spell-like specials of their own that can turn the tide of battle in the right situation.

Your army themselves are abstracted 'stacks'. Your 20 minotaur lords are one character on-screen you command, but it's also up to you how you assemble your units across your hero's seven unit slots. Just because each faction has seven tiers of units doesn't mean you need to fill them up a slot at a time. 200 faun archers, for instance, might be better off split into two lots of 100 to double their turns and split themselves as an enemy target, at the cost of lower cumulative stats.

Likewise, control different faction towns or unit outposts, and there's nothing stopping you from fronting a diverse army at the cost of lower morale – angels fighting alongside vampires, mixing black dragons with a legion of insects, or going all-in on ranged attackers from across the region.

Each unit can also be upgraded between two different paths with differing skills and stats, meaning that even within a single faction there are strategic choices to be made with how you customize your army. That can be as simple as deciding whether to evolve your skeletons into melee-centric skeleton warriors, or the ranged skeleton archers, to deciding whether herbomancers should become the bee-summoning sporemancers, or mana-boosting murmurmancers.

How much you want to worry about that depth is up to you. The richness of classic play is simplified across Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era's other modes, but in ways that allow for a shift in focus that can feel just as rewarding to explore rather than detracting from the experience. Single Hero play, for example, isn't just a campaign consideration, but a full play mode in its own right. The core rules are essentially the same as Classic, but only allows players one hero each to do everything, less character management making for streamlined play.

This is the mode I chafe against the most, because I've become used to having all my minions – but it's still a great way to play as I appreciate the snappier pace, and I'd definitely encourage those overwhelmed at the prospect of multiple heroes to check it out. The more time I spend with it, the more I appreciate its own nuances compared to Classic. I also appreciate that Unfrozen has provided even Single Hero mode with its own large amount of random-generation map templates specifically geared around getting the most out of Single Hero – 19 here compared to 35 in Classic is still hefty.

Even in early access, there is already so much to do in Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era. While the map builder is still clearly in beta, I'm sure players will quickly start adding to the great maps and map templates already included in this launch. Whether single-player or multiplayer, there's always so much more Olden Era to play. With turn-based strategy RPG mechanics this tight, that respectfully build on the classic that came before while simultaneously feeling fresh and modern in how Unfrozen have evolved them, simply playing more Heroes is always a delight. Now, time to watch that hour count rise.

Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is being reviewed on PC, with a code provided by the publisher.

Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is leveraging player feedback to deliver the strategy RPG I've longed for since 2005

With the Heroes Olden Era tips I've detailed below, gathered by multiple members of GR+ staff playing the strategy game, you won't wind up in some of the sticky situations we did. Heroes of Might and Magic Olden Era is no walk in the park, even on the easiest difficulty, so be sure to thoroughly inspect this list.

Some of the Olden Era tips below are applicable across the campaign, quick matches, and online games, but many are specific to either the campaign or matches. I've specified how each is applicable, but you'll want to know them all if you're planning on playing Heroes Olden Era to the fullest.

1. Matches: Focus on just one main Hero

While there is a Single-Hero mode and you have no choice over your Heroes during the campaign, standard quick matches and online matches give you the ability to hire additional Heroes from your cities. While this can be tempting, and prevents you losing if your main Hero's army is taken out, we think you should focus on one main hero for battles, and only use any spares for scouting and picking up ground loot.

This way, you can remove the fog of war a little easier, since you can have Heroes in different areas, but let them be easy victims to enemy armies. Any fog of war they remove stays gone, and any items they collect (like crystals, gold, and mercury) go into a shared pot. Building multiple armies, though, is very expensive and time-consuming, and XP isn't shared between Heroes, so you really want to focus adding units to and levelling up your main Hero only.

2. Matches: Use multiple Heroes wisely

When you do have more than one Hero, for example during some of the campaign missions, make sure you use them wisely. Like I've mentioned above, try and spread them around the map a bit to cover more ground.

You should also consider which faction their armies will be from. Any army that is made up of units from multiple factions loses Morale, an important stat, so you might want to give, for example, all Dungeon units to one Hero and then all Grove units to another, rather than mixing them up. This also applies to movement, as factions have their own unique terrain that they move faster on. Keep each Hero to their own terrain when applicable to make the most of your movement points.

Finally, don't forget about Olden Era artefacts. If you have your Heroes meet up on the map (or, in some cases, use Remote Footholds), you can exchange units and items. If you've sent a Hero out to explore and they've picked up a bunch of artefacts they don't need, be sure to give them to another Hero to save them going to waste.

3. All modes: Consider city buildings carefully

Be conscious of what you build in the opening weeks. Generally speaking, build base unit structures first so you start generating them early. Once you have a unit building, that unit will start generating in that city on a weekly basis, ready for you to hire them the next time you return. The earlier you get them built, then, preferably all in week one if possible, the more you'll be able to recruit. It doesn't even matter if you're not returning to the city right away - they'll be waiting for you when you do.

With that in mind, don't worry about unit upgrade buildings until you've got a good few units stacking up, as they don't generate additional units. Once you've got units stacking up, then move onto unit upgrade buildings before building banks and depots for town resource generation. The exception to this rule is if you're short on rarer resources for unit buildings, then build other structures. Leave city fortifications until the very end as they have the smallest impact on your survival.

Another point to keep in mind when it comes to city-building is to remember to build every day. You can build in every controlled city once per day as long as you have the resources, no matter where you are on the map, but since you're restricted to one building a day, forgetting can set you back.

4. All modes: Prioritize Gold over Exp

Buying those stacked up units from cities costs Gold, but so does erecting all those buildings. Buying units around the map will also set your bank balance back, so you're going to need as much as you can get. Finding chests around the map, though, gives you the choice between Gold and Exp, and, certainly in the earlier game, you should always be picking Gold.

While levelling up gives you access to the best skills and elite level buffs, you will earn Exp from winning battles. The only way you'll win said battles, though, is with a strong army, and there's nothing worse than trying to recruit stacks and realizing you can't afford them.

5. All modes: Don't get blinkered by shiny objects

This one doesn't massively apply to the campaign, but in normal matches, don't always go out of your way to pick everything up. Be conscious of resources you need versus other pretty things. Some Olden Era factions favor certain resources for building, for example, so if you're playing Dungeon you'll want to prioritize Crystals, whereas you'll need more Mercury as a Schism Hero. If you go for everything, you'll quickly waste movement points and time, while your enemy could be building up a stronger army.

6. All modes: Build and utilize the Marketplace

Once you've built your base unit recruitment buildings, you can start thinking about some of the other city buildings on offer, starting with the Marketplace. Here, you can trade resources - for example, you can buy Crystals using Ore. You won't want to use this too much as the prices are incredibly steep, but it's a great way to trade resources if you're short on something specific.

You'll likely build the Marketplace before some of the more higher-tier unit buildings due to their specific resource requirements. That's when you'll need to swap, say, wood for mercury. The same goes for the higher-tier units you'll be able to hire around the map, as well, as some must be purchased with a combination of gold and rare resources like Gems.

7. All modes: Take out enemies as soon as possible

Naturally, as you're starting to get a bigger army and put your city together, so is your enemy. This applies to all modes, even the campaign. If you take too long exploring and gathering resources, you might find the enemy becomes impossible to defeat. This goes back to the earlier point about not picking everything up and considering movement speed and time. Actually, especially in the campaign, you might find it easier to go after them as soon as possible.

Get a strong enough army together, go after your enemy, and take them down while their stacks are still small. Since you also need to capture all cities first as well, this makes the most sense as you'll be on the right side of the map to do so and take on the enemy, rather than giving them enough time to come for you.

8. Matches: Keep an eye on enemy Heroes

Similarly, you want to keep your eyes peeled for enemies on the mini-map, particularly during matches. You can't avoid a battle if an enemy hunts you down, and fleeing automatically causes the loss of your army anyway, so you'll need to keep them at bay if you're not ready for a fight.

If it takes a while to load a new day and the light dims, this in an indicator that an enemy is on the map, and you'll be able to track their movement all the while they're not covered by the fog of war. Use this both to get an idea of how far they've progressed and to avoid or approach them, triggering a battle on your own terms.

9. All modes: Pay attention to unit stats

Once you upgrade your units, you'll have to choose between two different variants. You could split your army into multiple stacks and try both, of course, but you'll soon run out of slots. The best method as you unlock more base units is to have each type in one increasingly large stack, and choose the best upgrade, so checking unit stats is crucial.

You shouldn't just focus on the basics like HP and damage, don't forget to keep an eye on their abilities and attack types, as you might find a unit you thought was a ranged attacker suddenly becomes a melee fighter in one form, so consider your options carefully.

What's even better is that, once you decide which your preferred unit upgrade is, you can set your cities' weekly recruitment to automatically hire the upgraded version, skipping the upgrade step, and saving you time each time you return to your cities to buy new units.

10. All modes: Consider skills when levelling up your Hero

While each individual unit's stats are important, your Hero's stats are also reflected in your army, so it's essential that you pay attention to and level up your Hero as much as possible. Certain structures around the map grant buffs to your Hero's attributes, including Attack, Damage, and Knowledge, and the more these go up, the better your army becomes, and the better your Hero's abilities become, too.

However, this isn't the only way your Hero can improve. Every time you level up, you'll also be able to pick from three skills, in time filling out eight skill slots. Each skill can also be leveled up, and each time a skill goes up a tier, you'll get to choose a subskill, while the basic skill itself also gets better.

Individually, consider each of the three skill choices very carefully, and choose which best suits your Hero and your playstyle, for example whether you use Magic or Might heroes or if you prefer ranged attack or melee combat. However, you should also consider your Hero's two elite tier options, and the skills required to reach it. I've got more on that on my guide to the best Olden Era skills.

11. All modes: Equip the best artefacts

As you explore and battle, you'll find and be rewarded with various valuable artefacts. The first artefact your find for each slot (chest, main-hand, head, etc) will be automatically equipped to that slot, but anything else will go straight into your inventory, so be sure to regularly check your bag and swap held items out for the best ones you've got.

Since you might not get the best artefacts right away, you should always take a close look at each one's effect, as well as the effects of any sets you might have. Don't get swayed by rarity, either: some lower-rarity items might be better for you and your army than those that look, on first glance, like they're among the best.

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During the campaign, you'll come across the Heroes of Might and Magic Stargazer NPC, who has a tough, four-stage riddle for you to solve. Get it wrong and he'll disappear forever, taking your rewards with him. Well, you can always go back to a previous autosave.

However, if you'd rather just get it right first time and move on with your adventure, I've done the hard work for you and figured out the answers to each of the Olden Era Stargazer's four questions. So, here they are.

All Olden Era Stargazer riddle solutions

The Stargazer will ask for the constellations relating to four spells. The answer for most of them lies in the icon for said spell in your spell book, but once you engage in conversation with the wacky physicist you can't back out to check. Others are quite obvious but, unless you get all four right, you won't get your reward. To ensure you do, enter these four answers to the Olden Era Stargazer riddle:

1. Haste = Dove
2. Taunt = Knight
3. Impending Fate = Dragon
4. Hksmilla = Hksmilla

By entering the above answers to the Stargazer's questions, you'll be given the Summon Starchild spell for Lafiur, which summons a stack of Starchildren units at an adjacent hex to another stack at a quantity of 1 + (1 x hero's Spellpower). For example, if Lafiur's spellpower is 2, you'll get a stack of three Starchildren. Be careful using them, though, as these powerful creatures deal damage to nearby hexes and creatures, even turning on your own army if they get too close.

Before getting back to Jadame, take a look at the 11 Olden Era tips I wish someone had told me before I started.

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Heroes of Might and Magic is due for a comeback with the upcoming release of Olden Era, and there's clearly an eager audience ready for the return of the legendary turn-based strategy series. Publisher Hooded Horse has revealed that the game has hit a stunning 1.5 million wishlists on Steam, and is sharing stories of how the original games impacted the people now responsible for the follow-up's release.

"Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era has passed 1.5 MILLION wishlists on Steam," the publisher says in a post on Bluesky, adding that developer Unfrozen " has put so much love and dedication into this project. We are humbled and honored to help bring you their take on the Heroes of Might and Magic series." It's currently the ninth-most wishlisted game on Steam, ahead of the likes of Witchbrook and Total War: Warhammer 40,000.

Hooded Horse has quickly made a name for itself as one of the premiere labels for independent strategy games on Steam, having helped incredible games like Against the Storm and Manor Lords find their audience. Clearly, the publisher has an eye for picking winners, and the early response to Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era suggests that another hit is on the way.

And the publisher clearly has the bona fides to help shepherd a HoMM revival into the world. "Heroes of Might and Magic III was one of the first games I played as a child (and was actually able to understand, as I lived in rural Poland and did not speak English)" a release manager identified as Aneta Z. says in a message also shared to Bluesky. "The precious CD appeared in our home and was really cherished for years. I played with my siblings and sometimes cousins on the family computer, which was set up in the corner of the kitchen."

Aneta continues, "We had a strict limit of 30 minutes of computer time per day, so the campaigns were taking a loooong time… We would still talk about the game while playing outside, and reenact the battles or the scouting in our backyard. It's been a comfort game for me for years afterwards."

As Hooded Horse itself puts it, "When we say the Heroes of Might and Magic series defined our childhoods, this is what we mean."

Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era has already partially proven itself thanks to an excellent, expansive demo that inspired one of our own HoMM-heads to pour hours in. In a press release, the publisher adds that the demo "saw 24,000 concurrent players, making it the 16th most-played Steam demo of all time." Near as I can tell from looking at the SteamDB records, it's actually the 18th most-played Steam demo by concurrent player peak, but it's close enough that I'll let Hooded Horse have this one.

These are the best Heroes Olden Era artefacts to look out for.

You'll always need to locate the Scout in Heroes of Might and Magic Olden era, no matter which campaign path you choose. The is the main quest during the second part of the campaign, regardless of whether you choose the For the Chalice or Duck Treaty option, so, of course, you want to know where she is.

Unfortunately, it's not all that obvious - mostly because you're not actually looking for her, but rather a Gravedigger watching over her. He's not being kind though, of course he wants something in return for her, so here's everything you need to know about locating the Scout in Heroes of Might and Magic Olden Era.

Where is the Scout in Heroes Olden Era?

The Heroes Olden Era Scout is located in the northwest quarter of the map. The best way to get here is to work clockwise around the map, following the path, then go south when you're above it. The good news is, once the fog of war is cleared from this area, you'll see an exclamation mark on both the mini-map and on the actual game screen, clearly marking the location of the NPC.

Rather than meeting the Scout, you'll learn that she is dead, and her body is being guarded by a Gravedigger. He'll ask you to do him a favor in return for reviving her spirit. This favor is getting hold of the Olden Era Shard of Serenity artefact.

Once you've completed that task, for which I have a written a separate guide, you can return to the site and speak to the Scout's spirit, furthering the main campaign storyline.

Before you head back to Jadame, why not take a look at the ultimate Olden Era tips I've come up with from my time with the game so far.

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The Heroes Olden Era Shard of Serenity is a slippery little artefact. Once you've finally reached the area in which it can be found, which in itself is a challenge, it then decides it doesn't want you to pick it up after all. So, what do you do?

As part of the second campaign mission in Heroes of Might and Magic Olden Era, you'll come across an interesting fellow called Klastor, and he stands between you and completing your main task. To get rid, you'll need to locate the Shard of Serenity, and if you're struggling, I'm here to help.

Where is the Shard of Serenity in Olden Era?

The Heroes Olden Era Shard of Serenity is located to the south of the map, in the center, and is marked by an exclamation mark once the fog of war around it has been cleared.

Reaching it is harder than it looks, though, and you'll need a decent army behind you to get there. In the image above, the location of a large purple portal has been marked in the middle-north of the map. This is just north of the patch of land where you'll find the Olden Era Fine Wand, too. You must go to this portal, defeat a difficult Primal Remnant army to access it, then head through to reach the area in which the Shard of Serenity lies.

How to get the Olden Era Shard of Serenity

When you reach the Shard of Serenity, it seems someone is playing dirty tricks on you, as you cannot interact with it. Instead, Gunnar will say 'Hmm... I cannot approach it', and you'll be advised that a presence prevents you from picking up the item. This presence gets stronger the closer you are to the ring, and weaker when you walk away.

The good news is, once you've interacted with the ring once, you can return to the Klastor, the Gravedigger holding the Heroes Olden Era Scout hostage, and follow the dialogue option to avoid the ring altogether. Klastor will resurrect the scout, and you can finish your mission and be on your way.

Alternatively, there is a way to pick up the Shard of Serenity. Taking a cue from the fact that moving towards the artefact triggers the strange power and that it asks for peace and stillness, simply stay put and end the current day. The next morning, before moving anywhere, you'll be able to interact with the Shard.

Unfortunately, when returning to Klastor with the ring in your inventory, you'll only be given the option to turn it over to him. You'll engage in the same dialogue as if you'd never brought the ring back and the current mission will end, meaning there is no way to actually obtain the ring and keep it for yourself. I've not yet seen if there is any consequence to handing the ring over or not, I'd love to be able to get it from Klastor later, but I'll update this guide as and when I find out.

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Equipping the best Heroes Olden Era artefacts could make all the difference to your Hero's chance at success. With some granting very basic buffs like additional fog of war removal or even subtle debuffs to your enemy, and others considerably improving your most important stats, choosing the right ones is crucial. But, with 14 slots to fill and sets to consider, there's a lot to think about.

To start with, of course, you'll just be equipping any artefacts you're lucky enough to find. However, the further you progress through your map, and in your campaign, the more your inventory will fill up with these valuable artefacts. You can also buy them from the artefact merchant once you've built one in your city. So, either way, here's my pick of the very best to look out for. When you do pick them up, just don't forget to equip them.

Best Olden Era artefact sets

For the sake of being exhaustive, I want to include the best Olden Era artefact sets. However, these may contradict with the other lists as I've based individual items on their standalone use. Due to the random nature of obtaining artefacts, getting a full set of the best can take a significant amount of time, so much of this list is for later-game use, while the individual lists below are for equipping earlier on. I'll point out any exceptions. With that in mind, then, the best Olden Era artefact sets are:

• Ukhtabar Signet (2-piece set) - +100% XP gain.
  • Tabar Signet-Ring
  • Ukh Signet
• Anaesthesia (2-piece set) - Friendly creatures heal 5% of their starting HP at the start of each round. Revives fallen units. Any two of the below:
  • Flask of Oblivion
  • Ring of Life
  • Lifeblood Fairy
• Duelist’s Pride (3-piece set) - +3 Attack and Defence, all friendly creatures have unlimited counterattacks.
  • Rapier
  • Buckler
  • Brass Knuckles
• Power of the Dragon Father (8-piece set) - +2 to all attributes, allied creatures are immune to negative effects and Magic Damage.
  • Red Dragon Flame Tongue
  • Dragon Scale Shield
  • Crown of Dragontooth
  • Dragon Scale Armour
  • Slithering Sash
  • Dragonbone Greaves
  • Quiet Eye of a Dragon
  • Dragon Wing Tabard

The Ukhtabar Signet set is a great choice if you get both pieces fairly early, but won't be much use later on, when you can think about replacing it with the others here.

While there is a three-piece Anaesthesia set offering +25% maximum HP to all friendly creatures, it's the two-piece set we're interested in here, meaning you can mix and match. That said, if you have the luxury of being able to choose, I recommend using the Flask and Lifeblood Fairy combo, meaning you're free to equip the Brass Knuckles for Duelist's Pride.

For the complete Dragon Father set, though, you'll have to sacrifice any other sets as it's a full eight-piece collection. There are effects for three and five-piece sets while you're collecting, but they're not worth sacrificing the others on this list, as the neutralization of Magic Damage is the effect you really want here.

Best Olden Era main-hand artefacts

The best main-hand artefact, based on my recommendation for the best Olden Era Faction, is the Shroomwood Bow, which removes the ranged penalty from all friendly units, and grants an additional 10% ranged damage when upgraded. If your army isn't ranged focussed, here are some alternatives:

• Shaman Staff: +6 Spellpower, +9 when upgraded
• Ogre’s Club of Havoc: +8 Attack, additional +2 for every upgrade
• Sword of Judgement: +2 to all Attributes, +3 when upgraded

Best Olden Era off-hand artefacts

For off-hand artefacts, there are two that really stand out: Caduceus and the Fine Wand. Both are magic-based artefacts, with Caduceus restoring 4 mana every time Heroic Strike is used, which can be every few rounds, significantly increasing the number of spells you can use. Meanwhile, the Fine Wand increases all Spells by one level. While I can't guarantee you'll get your hands on either in a quick match, you can get the Olden Era Fine Wand in one of the campaign missions.

Best Olden Era head artefacts

The head is where you'll find some of the best artefacts, so be sure to regularly check your inventory for some of these:

• Fancy Mask: Generates +2 Focus Points at the start of each battle, +3 when upgraded
• Two-faced Mask: Once per round, if you kill an enemy with Heroic Strike, you can use it again
• Spellbinder’s Hat: Adds all Tier-5 spells to hero's spell book
• Amelchia’s Law: –1 Initiative to enemy units

Best Olden Era chest artefacts

In terms of rarity and effect, the Vortex Robe is the best Olden Era chest artefact by far, restoring 50% of the mana used for each spell cast. However, there are some great Legendary alternatives - if you're lucky enough to find them. Eagle Armor is my personal favorite, granting +5 Morale and +5 Luck. Alternatively, the Robe of Enlightment adds all tier-3 spells to the hero's spellbook.

Best Olden Era waist artefacts

The Skull of Milos is the best Olden Era waist artefact in an otherwise fairly light category, granting an extra 1,000 Gold every day, but it is Legendary rarity and its effect is more beneficial the earlier you get it. Alternatively, Spells in Bottles adds all tier-4 spells to the wearer's spell book.

Best Olden Era feet artefacts

The best Olden Era feet artefacts are either the Warlord Boots or Legion’s Leg. Warlord Boots grant +2 Initiative to friendly units, which could make a huge impact in battle. Meanwhile, Legion's Leg increases unit growth in all cities by 50%.

Best Olden Era rings

The best Olden Era ring artefact is the Tabar Signet-Ring, which also happens to pair with one of the best items to make one of the best sets. How about that? It's one of the only best artefacts that can make that claim. It does only grant +1 Luck, which might not seem like much in comparison to other artefacts on this list, but the ring category in general is a slightly lower impact one. Plus, once paired with the Ukh Signet, which grants +1 Morale, the set increases XP gain by 100%, allowing you to equip the best Olden Era skills faster.

Best Olden Era back artefacts

Again with an onus on ranged attackers, the best Olden Era back artefact is the Light-and-Shade Cloak, giving ranged units the ability to use their ranged attack when next to an enemy unit, which is otherwise not possible. Providing you don't have the Shadowflight spell, the Fallen Angel Wings are another great choice, granting you the ability to fly over blockades on the global map, reducing the time and effort it takes to reach certain areas.

Best Olden Era items

There are a lot more items than there are other artefacts, due to the fact that you can equip four at a time. With this in mind, obviously equip any you have, but when your slots are filled, here are some of the best to look out for:

• Boreoloth’s Head: +1 Knowledge
• Scholar’s Amulet: +2 Knowledge
• Ukh Signet: +1 Morale
• Golden Pig: +500 Gold per day
• Golden Moth: +500 Gold per day
• Runestone Shards: Adds all Tier-2 spells to the hero's spellbook
• Quivering Quiver: +20% Ranged damage
• Ancient Idol: Heroic Strike deals +40 damage
• Demonic Heart: Replaces all possible spells in the hero's spellbook with their masterful versions

To increase your mana in Olden Era, those first two items here are great picks. With both equipped, the Hero using them has 30 additional mana. Meanwhile, Morale is a great stat to increase due to the chance of carrying out a second attack per turn, making the Ukh Signet another great choice. I also love the Quivering Quiver when once again considering the use of ranged attackers.

Best Olden Era relics

Finally, Relics. These are the rarest artefacts and have the most powerful effects, granting all unlearned subskills for certain skills. Given their rarity, you might not actually find any for some time. There is no best Relic per se, as the best for your Hero depends on the skills they're using and the elite class you're working towards, but this is every Relic and the related skills for which they teach all unlearned subskills:

• Holy Sigil of Roph - While worn, grants all unlearned subskills of the following skills: Ascension, Necromancy, Murmuring, Triumvirate's Strength, Abyssal Communion, Summon Swarm.
• Holy Sigil of Mearea - Luck, Economy, Daylight Magic.
• Holy Sigil of Insara - Leadership, Insight, Diplomacy, Tactics.
• Holy Sigil of The Second Man - Offence, Summon Avatar, Siegecraft.
• Holy Sigil of The Seven Magi - Sorcery, Nightshade Magic, Resistance.
• Holy Sigil of Quix - Arcane Magic, Scouting, Battlecraft, Thaumaturgy.
• Holy Sigil of Uurdt - Defence, Primal Magic, Recruitment.
• Holy Sigil of Eridore - Logistics, Battle Magic, Intelligence.

The main thing to keep in mind when using artefacts is that the buffs they grant only last as long as you have the artefact equipped, so keep that in mind when swapping artefacts if you've got used to a certain effect.

Finally, if you're using multiple heroes, don't forget to pass any unused or unwanted artefacts to your other characters.

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There are a ton of great artefats in the strategy game, but the Heroes of Might and Magic Fine Wand is among the best. This Epic off-hand artefact increases the level of all of your spells by one while held, giving every single known spell increased effect.

The artefact is located in the middle of the map during the second campaign mission - either Dusk Treaty or For the Chalice!, depending on which path choose. However, a couple of cute pixies will have their fun with you once you find it, so I've detailed whether it's worth playing their games - and how many spells you'll have to test out - to obtain the Heroes of Might and Magic Olden Era Fine Wand.

How do you get the Heroes Olden Era Fine Wand?

To get the Fine Wand in Heroes Olden Era, you'll have to use spells given to you by the pixies. This means you need to leave the area, find a battle, and use the spell before returning to the pixies' patch of land. However, on returning each time, they seem to have a new spell for you to test out, so how many spells do you need to use, and is it worth it?

There are actually only four spells that you need to use in battle before returning to finally get the Fine Wand from the pixies. The difficulty with this is that you could run into the enemy at any time, or they may be claiming your cities while you're playing around with pixies and magic.

Since Gunnar keeps his artefact between campaign missions, the best thing to do here is actually to return to get the Fine Wand after you've defeated the enemy and you have free reign of the map. But, yes, at this point the Fine Wand is definitely worth obtaining for use in the rest of the campaign.

Before you leave, why not check out my list of the top Olden Era tips I wish I'd known sooner.

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Choosing the best Heroes Olden Era skills for your Hero might seem tricky at first, but once you know how game changing it is to reach elite class and how to get there, picking a skillset suddenly seems like a breeze.

Here, I'll talk you through what Olden Era elite class is and how to figure out the best skills to pick to unlock it, no matter which Faction or Hero you choose. While the game doesn't explain it all too well, it's actually incredibly easy once you know.

Best Heroes Olden Era skills

There are a few standout Heroes Olden Era skills that stand out above the rest, but the best skills you can choose for your Hero are those which lead to one of their elite classes. However, reaching an elite class only requires five skills, and I'll get onto what they are shortly. Since you have eight Skill slots, though, here are some of the best considerations for those final three spots:

• Morale
• Luck
• Attack
• Defense

It might seem a little basic, but the above Skills are among the most valuable given their application in battle. Of them, I'd always prioritize Morale, as a greater Morale offers a greater chance to attack twice, which can be incredibly valuable when you've got large stacks of units. What's more, when you start applying the skills for your elite class, you'll find that those generally are the more complex skills, so a couple of these more basic ones are always great to have in the remaining skills slots.

How to reach Heroes Olden Era elite class

Each hero has two elite class paths to choose from, and these can be seen by double-clicking on your hero's icon, then hovering over their class icon, indicated in the image above.

To achieve either of these classes, you must learn and max out each of the five required skills associated with that class. There is no way to tell from this window which skills they are, but there is another way to know which skills you should choose.

Once you've decided on which elite class path you want to follow, you should then look out for that class's icon whenever choosing skills. I've highlighted this in the image above. Here, you can see Motley's two elite class choices are Amelchia's Heir and Great Merchant. The icon for the former can be seen against the Basic Summon Avatar skill in the list below, while the icon for the latter is shown against the Basic Arcane Magic Skill.

This means that Summon Avatar is one of the required skills for the Amelchia's Heir elite class path, and so, if that was the path I wanted to follow, I should choose the Basic Summon Avatar skill.

No matter what Hero or which of the Olden Era Factions you choose, this is a fool proof way of selecting the best skills every time. As I mentioned earlier on, there are still three skill slots left over, and while your hero may have one or two as standard, you still have some room to play with.

Meanwhile, some of these skills require magic, so you'll want to find out how to increase you max Heroes Olden Era mana, and how to restore it, and you'll also pick up some of the best Olden Era Artefacts as you progress, so check out which you should use.

Finally, you might want to check out my Heroes Olden Era tips that I wish I'd known earlier.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era's Early Access launch is imminent, and developer Unfrozen kept some wise words in mind when rebalancing the smash hit Steam Next Fest demo's difficulty.

Community manager Bart Podress-Leszek tells GamesRadar+ of the changes players can expect in the Early Access build, including some guided by the advice given from original Heroes of Might and Magic creator, Jon Van Caneghem. "When he was working on the Heroes games, and when they were designing the [PvE] AI as a team, they used this term called Fun AI, where the AI is meant to be smart, but not too smart."

Podress-Leszek describes "Fun AI" as the "reckless" moves an AI enemy might make in a PvE scenario, intended to keep players guessing. The bot "knows it will not win. It will be defeated. It still does it, just to keep you on your toes, and knowing that attrition is the core of the game. So if you want to make progress, you need to start losing things."

This "pattern" he describes is the core competitive hook of all Heroes games, not just Olden Era. "Those two things, those lessons, were basically thought [up] by Mr. Caneghem, and were pretty important."

Speaking to Unfrozen's partnership with the strategy game creator, Podress-Lezsek calls it "nothing but fruitful," and his excitement as both a fan and community manager is evident. "Having this sort of deep insight from the man himself, it's kind of crazy. I grew up with those games. So it's kind of like meeting your celebrity [hero], and getting to work with them and everything [...] it's amazing."

When it comes to how Caneghem's tips might be brought into the Early Access version of Olden Era, Podress-Leszek says demo fans will certainly feel the changes when it comes to difficulty. "The adjusted easy AI will be a little bit easier now than it is in the demo, and difficult AI will be a little bit harder," he confirms. "But, yeah, it's a constant iteration, because it's not something that can be just set in stone. You have to keep working with that data."

Reworked AI difficulty isn't all Unfrozen has been tinkering with in the months since it patched the demo. I noticed that the Sylvan faction has been renamed to Grove when I sat down to play the incoming new build, a change implemented in response to player feedback. Similarly, the main user interface has been reworked to better emulate the look and feel of classic Heroes games – "something a little bit more reminiscent of what we are going back to," Podress-Leszek explains, with a game name like Olden Era.

The game is set to launch into Early Access on April 30, and with the expertise of Caneghem and Unfrozen's own expert strategists on team, it's already one of my most-wanted new games of 2026.

Check out our Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era Big Preview hub for more hands-on takes and interviews with the devs

The six Heroes of Might and Magic Olden Era Factions each have their own heroes and units to choose from, and whichever standard game mode you go for, picking the right Faction is an important choice. Each Faction has seven creature types to deploy and 18 heroes to choose from, though, so knowing which Faction to go for can be a little overwhelming.

I've been playing HoMM Olden Era, and have had a go at each of the six factions to find out which is best, and not only can I tell you which Faction I recommend below, but also which Hero to choose as well. You shouldn't always follow the herd though, and it's worth given them each a try yourself, so I've also detailed the other five Heroes Olden Era factions, too.

Best HoMM Olden Era Faction

The best Heroes Olden Era Faction is Dungeon. Since they thrive in versatility, every one of the Dungeon's units has two types of attack. However, the reason Dungeon are such a great faction mainly comes down to one single unit: The Onyx Dancers. These ranged attackers are seriously good starter units, and their only downside is low Initiative. However, put most of your Gold into recruiting Dancers, and then train them into Aureate Dancers once you've built the Amphitheatre II, their Initiative drastically increases, and you'll have an army with incredibly efficient damage capabilities.

Once you get going a bit further and build out your city, you'll also be able to recruit Black and Ashen Dragons. Pair stacks of Dragons with the ranged abilities of the Dancers (and maybe a few Medusae for good measure), and you'll be near unstoppable.

Best HoMM Olden Era Heroes

The best HoMM Olden Era Hero is Dungeon's Motley, since her starting army is entirely made up of Onyx Dancers. Do beware that Motley starts with an Attack stat of 0, though, so you should try and boost this at a Pauper Knight Order building as soon as possible. That's really easy to do though, so it shouldn't be an issue.

Since ranged attackers are incredibly valuable given their ability to attack straight away, Motley has another benefit - her Twilight spell. Twilight targets one enemy and prevents them from using ranged attacks for one round, which can handily delay an enemy army while you and your Dancers get the first hits in. Of course, make sure the enemy is a ranged attacker before using it. Whenever using spells, though, be sure to make sure you've got plenty of Heroes Olden Era mana, and level up your ranged attackers with some of the best Olden Era artefacts.

In a Classic Game, you'll be able to recruit additional heroes from the city center, but your picks are still based on luck when drawing just two Heroes to choose from. That's why it's still important to make sure your starting Hero is a good pick. From there, here are some other worthy Heroes to look out for:

• Typhona - Dungeon
• Faleor - Grove
• Zoran - Hive
• Onkos - Necropolis
• Mag - Necropolis
• The Eye Collective - Schism
• Zenith - Temple

All Heroes Olden Era Factions, ranked

There are six Factions in Heroes of Might and Magic Olden Era. They are:

Dungeon

I've already gone into a bit of detail with the Dungeon faction so far, but it's also worth mentioning that Infiltrators and Troglodytes are very squishy units, so shouldn't ever be prioritized over Dancers. However, they are cheaper, so it's good to get a sizeable stack or two of each when you can afford it. I'd recommend Toxic Troglodytes, which lack decent defense, but you can use their long-range attack to prevent enemies hitting back.

Temple

There are a lot of ranged attackers in the Temple's army, immediately making them on of the best Olden Era Factions. As I've discussed when talking about Dungeon, having ranged abilities makes a serious difference at the start of battles, so Temple is a decent pick. That said, their ranged attackers still aren't as good as those Aureate Dancers, even when upgraded.

Zenith is a decent Hero pick for Temple, since she brings Lightweavers into battle with her from day one. While you won't be able to upgrade Lightweavers for a while (or recruit more), again making them subpar to Dancers, they are significantly better than Crossbowmen, Temple's basic ranged unit. Since you can't recruit Lightweavers for a while, be sure to support them with Guards Captains, Marksmen, and Guardian Griffins for a solid early-game army.

Hive

This certainly isn't a top pick for anyone with a fear of bugs, but if you're free of Entomophobia, the Hive is a decent pick among the best Olden Era factions, especially with Zoran, The Self-Founded as your Hero.

Zoran doesn't start with any base units, and instead only begins the game with two Waurms. However, if you go straight to the city and recruit some Parasite and Locust stacks to back them up, these Waurms are incredibly valuable members of the team, despite the fact that you won't be able to upgrade them for a while. The reason is their Corpse Eater ability, which allows them to devour any corpse by moving to the same hex as a fallen friend or foe, in turn increasing their HP. This, combined with the Waurms decent HP, especially against minor enemies, makes them near impossible to defeat.

Schism

Battles with and against the Schism Faction can be quite exhausting, since a lot of their unique power comes from the ability to resurrect stacks in place of their dead, so battles can go on a little longer than usual. While basic Ra'Shoth units have this ability, so do Grand Shoths (and even the Envoys, but you won't get those until much later on). It can also only be used once per battle, so using it on Grand Shoths instead of Ra'Shoths is much more worthwhile. That leads me to my Schism Hero pick, The Eye Collective, which starts you off with a stack of Ra'Shoth and two Stacks of up to three Grand Shoths. They go down easier than, say, The Hive's Waurms, but the ability to add a new stack to each battle is a good one.

Grove

While I don't rate the Grove Faction as highly as I do Dungeon, it's not a terrible choice. Your starting units aren't particularly powerful, but they are fairly hardy, so you can do quite well if you've got enough of them to weather the storm of enemy attacks. Iriyads aren't really worth the money, so focus on multiple stacks of Fauns (both types, since Warriors are stronger and Archers have ranged attacks) and Dawn Hoplets, until you can recruit some Brumal Naiads, which, for their cost, are also better value than Herbomancers.

As for your choice of Hero, I'd strongly recommend Faleor thanks to his Masterful Fireball starting spell.

Necropolis

The Necropolis Faction is incredibly cool aesthetically speaking, but it doesn't hold up as well as some others on the battlefield. None of their main starting units have ranged attacks, which makes things incredibly slow - and dangerous when up against ranged enemies. If you do want to give them a go, my Hero recommendation would be Onkos or Mag.

While Skeletons are pretty weak, their starting stacks are fairly big, and sometimes quantity can keep your army from defeat. Onkos starts with only skeletons, and his abilities make them stronger. As long as you upgrade them to Skeleton Warriors as soon as possible, you could stand a decent chance with Onkos.

Onkos' flaw is that he has no starting magic, which is where Mag comes in as a great alternative. His incredible starting spell, Impending Fate, deals damage to all enemy creatures, but he also starts with a stack of Wights, who are incredibly weak.

All of these Factions also come with their own unique HoMM Olden Era skills, some of which are required if you want your heroes to reach elite tier, so check out my separate guide on that while you're at it.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Increasing your max Heroes Olden Era mana is an important step to making your chosen Hero as powerful as possible. After all, it may look like they stand on the sidelines, but any extra attacks you can get out of your Hero will significantly bolster your army - and could be the difference between a win and a devastating loss.

Of course, the more mana you have in the strategy game, the more spells you can use, but you'll also need to make sure you mana is full before entering battle, so here's everything you need to know about Heroes Olden Era mana.

How to increase max mana in Olden Era

Whether you want a fighter or a sorcerer, every hero can and should utilize magic in some way, no matter which of the Heroes Olden Era Factions they come from. While increasing the size and might of your army is crucial to success in Heroes Olden Era, using spells can really set you apart from the enemy. In fact, I've been dominated countless times by foes with more mana than me, which begs the question: how do you get more?

Well, knowledge equals mana in Heroes Olden Era, with each point of knowledge adding 10 to your max mana. Increase your knowledge, increase your max mana.

You can increase your knowledge and mana in a few ways in Heroes of Might and Magic Olden Era, with almost all being dotted around the map. While you can also increase your mana or restore your mana daily using Olden Era artefacts, these locations are the best ways to boost it significantly. Remember, Olden Era maps are procedurally generated, so I can't guarantee where and when you'll find them, but here's what you're looking for:

• Whispering Stones - +50% maximum mana.
• Knowledge Garden - Permanently increases each visiting Hero's Knowledge by 1.
• Living Maze - Permanently increases each visiting Hero's chosen attribute by 2.
• Four Scholar's Observatory - Permanently increases each visiting Hero's Spell Power or Knowledge by 2 for 1,000 Gold.
• Mountain Monastery - Permanently increases each visiting Hero's Attack, Defence, Spell Power, and Knowledge by 1 for 5,000 Gold.

If possible, visit Knowledge Gardens and Living Mazes before Whispering Stones, as this will increase the benefit you get from the Stones. That said, don't forget you have limited movement each day, so unless you can see one of the other structures nearby, using Whispering Stones when you see them is still better than not using them at all.

How to refill Olden Era mana

Mana isn't automatically regenerated each battle, and it only partially restores each day, so you'll need to keep this in mind as you fight and as you travel. Be careful not to use mana when it's not needed, and when you do need to replenish your mana, you need to visit Wells, which fully restore each visiting Hero's mana. Again, to get the most out of wells, be careful to only use them you really need to.

Mana is also required to use some of the best Heroes Olden Era skills, including those you need to reach elite class, so check out my guide to all of that, as well as my top Olden Era tips that I wish I'd known when I started.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

After passionate fans called out one of Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era's factions, developer Unfrozen has renamed it ahead of the Early Access launch.

"The name Sylvan is very heavily associated with the world of Ashan and with this imagery of like Wood Elves and Treants, and our faction wasn't exactly meeting those expectations for people," Unfrozen's community manager Bart Podress-Lezsek told GamesRadar+ in an interview.

"So we took a lot of feedback stating that they would like to see either a more woodland-themed focus in the faction, or maybe some other change. So we looked into that, we checked what we could do, and we just decided on a name change."

The team of strategy experts landed on the name Grove instead, which better represents "what the faction is meant to be – a wild forest of various fae creatures and elemental beings."

The change also sets Grove apart from Heroes 5's own Sylvan faction, where pixies, wood elves, and unicorns can be found. "In Might and Magic 8 [the area is] called simply Murmurwoods, and it is actually a bunch of [groves] with like druidic circles and so on. So the name just fit, and it matches the expectations better, too," Podress-Leszek adds to reinforce the team's decision.

Unfrozen has been vocal about its championing of player voice and how integral it has been throughout its development journey so far, having patched the hugely successful Steam Next Fest demo off the back of player feedback at the end of 2025. The team itself consists of die-hard Heroes fans who are every bit as passionate as those who'll be sitting down to play Olden Era's Early Access launch in just a few short weeks, and I'll be proud to count myself among them come April 30.

Check out our Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era Big Preview hub for more hands-on takes and interviews with the devs

With a great IP comes great responsibility, and such is the case for Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era developer Unfrozen. Being chosen by co-publisher Ubisoft to inherit the iconic strategy franchise is no small thing. It's the first new Heroes instalment in over a decade, and following a hugely successful Steam Next Fest demo, Olden Era's Early Access release is now confirmed for April 30, 2026.

Impressed as most fans were, the passionate playerbase still had some thoughts to share with Unfrozen. Community developer Bart Podress-Leszek's job is to feed that information back to the dev team, he tells me, and one of the most noticeable changes I see when sitting down to play the latest version is the result of this process.

Grove armada

I frown immediately when I see an unfamiliar name listed among other factions in our pre-hands-on briefing. I've racked up almost 100 hours in the demo since my first big breakthrough, and it turns out that the woodland and fae-themed contingent once known as Sylvan has been renamed Grove. But why?

"We had a lot of feedback from the community when we first revealed the Grove faction," explains Podress-Leszek. Fans weren't happy with how dissimilar Olden Era's "wild forest of various fae creatures and elemental beings" felt to the Sylvan faction of Heroes 5, where wood elves, pixies, and unicorns are staple fantasy units. So, Unfrozen changed the name to Grove to better "match expectations."

That's my most burning question cleared up, straight off the bat. But later, as I click around my chosen map to start my turn in PvE mode, my eyes lock onto the curious empty space on the left-hand side of the screen. The toolbar, where I'd usually find my active heroes in the demo version, has been relocated to the right-hand edge of the screen and has a brand new look entirely.

"One of the earliest [pieces of] feedback that the team received was about the user interface," he says. Players shared how they found it "a little bit too clean, a little bit too modern," and "would like to see something a little bit more reminiscent of what we are going back to – because the game is called Olden Era." Unfrozen wasn't put off by even the harshest criticisms. Instead, it got to work on meaningful changes for its Early Access launch.

"We went back to the drawing board. We started ideas. We started looking at the previous interfaces, checking what would work," says Podress-Leszek. There were multiple considerations to take on board – "we have much bigger screens these days, for example," meaning Unfrozen had to think outside the box while working to a harsh deadline.

"We previewed it to the community, and we communicated clearly that this is the initial stage, that there will be more changes in Early Access. And this is, essentially, the result of that feedback that we got over those years, from [the Twitch announcement in] 2024 to [the demo launch in] August, up 'til now."

Tempering player feedback with the developer's own vision is a tricky thing. As a huge Heroes fan himself, Podress-Leszek has learned how to cut through the noise and distil useful feedback into manageable, actionable parts. "A lot of that boils down to me and the other community managers just being on the hunt for information," he says. "There are certain places where we say, 'we understand you guys, but we cannot do everything exactly as you ask us,' and we communicate that in a manner that is decisive but not insulting."

Unfair's fair

Another change I bear in mind while playing the latest Olden Era build is the difficulty level. I find myself progressing quite rapidly through this PvE session, finding far more "normal" or "easy" fights dotted across the map than I recall in the demo, even after its November update. A free demo getting patched is a rarity in itself, but rarer still is the depth to which Unfrozen goes to ensure that, as CEO Denis Fedorov told me in an interview, "Heroes is for everyone."

Despite the difficulty balance being tweaked in the demo, the jury's still out on whether Unfrozen has it quite right just yet. "Interestingly enough, we still get various responses all the way from 'this is too difficult' to 'this is so easy', so certain adjustments were still made compared to the demo." For this, Unfrozen leaned on some valuable expertise: its working relationship with original Heroes of Might and Magic creator, Jon Van Caneghem, who had some advice.

"Back when he was working on the Heroes games, and when they were designing the AI as a team, they used this term called Fun AI, where the AI is meant to be smart, but not too smart," says Podress-Leszek of Caneghem's teachings. "Sometimes [the AI] will do something reckless just to keep you engaged, even though it knows it will not win. It will be defeated, but it still does it, just to keep you on your toes." This all boils down to how "attrition is the core of the game," he continues. "If you want to keep progressing, you need to start to be able to lose things, just so that there's this sort of pattern that you have to keep doing."

Outside of quickplay Arena mode or the competitive PvE strategy modes, Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era builds that core cycle of attrition in its main campaign, too. Here, I find myself playing through a narrativized series of task-based missions, taking me through the basics of the game right and enriching the decades of lore underpinning Olden Era as the franchise's first prequel.

Since the demo is PvE only at the moment, the campaign is a fresh experience for me. I'm surprised by how tutorialized it feels at first, taking me through the gameplay basics slowly, inquisitively, as I enjoy some fully-voiced dialogue and moments of choice. It seems like a great way to ease a new player into the Heroes experience, and I suggest that maybe it's intended as the first stop for brand new players.

"The initial mission or two, they are meant to be sort of easier on the mind," says Podress-Leszek of the difficulty balancing system in campaign mode versus PvE. "They have this clean structure with those neatly hidden secrets that you have to find. But as you go through a campaign, it gets more and more challenging. Not to the level of 'I cannot progress past this', but just enough to keep you thinking."

Podress-Leszek notes that, in his interactions with fans in the Olden Era discord, there's a variety of directions new players take in their first approach to the game. "People that are new to the series, that have not touched it before, tend to flock to the simple Hero mode because they only have one hero to think of," he says of the more simple maps offered in OIden Era's classic PvE mode. "For those that want to try the game out, I saw a lot of people like playing Arena, so they can have some sort of semblance of what the game is."

As for which factions Podress-Leszek recommends to newbies who are coming to Olden Era as would-be Heroes fans, he keeps it simple. "I would recommend Temple or Dungeon. They're kind of made with accessibility in mind. They are not too complex, fun, strong factions," he explains.You also get dragon units in Dungeon, I can't help but point out, because every time I don't choose Dungeon and come up against the majestic beasts in combat, I immediately regret it.

But again, this is just my personal experience. "The way Heroes games work is that they pull you in by this desire to explore them, so you need to be inquisitive. You need to be curious when playing them. So that's my go-to tip," says Podress-Leszek. "Be curious, explore, and allow yourself to be immersed in it."

Heroes is one of the best strategy game series in turn-based history, and there are plenty more besides...

Disney has suddenly delisted over a dozen older games on Steam. Most of them are licensed movie and TV tie-ins to properties that have not exactly stood the test of time, though one title in particular stands out. Star Wars: Rebellion is a 4X real-time strategy game the scale of which has rarely been seen in video games set in the galaxy far, far away. Sadly, there's now no official way to play it.

These delistings all happened without warning, as they suddenly showed up as "retired" on SteamDB earlier today. (Thanks, Wario64.) The Steam store pages for the games are still live, but the purchase buttons are gone, replaced by a message warning that the relevant title is "is no longer available on the Steam store."

Here's the full list of affected games:

• Bolt
• Chicken Little
• Disney G-Force
• Disney-Pixar Brave: The Video Game
• Disney Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End
• Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure
• Disney's Treasure Planet: Battle of Procyon
• Disney Tangled
• Disney Universe
• High School Musical 3
• Outlaws + A Handful of Missions (Classic, 1997)
• Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier
• Star Wars Rebellion
• Star Wars Dark Forces (Classic, 1995)

In terms of games you might actually want to play today, Star Wars: Dark Forces and Outlaws – a pair of '90s LucasArts FPS titles – are probably the most notable names, though those delistings are a bit less egregious. Nightdive Studios has released excellent remasters of both titles in recent years, which are probably the ideal ways to play them, but I'd certainly prefer to have the original versions available, too.

You'll also see a load of people in the responses to the news lamenting the loss of G-Force and Chicken Little, which… Well, I can't quite tell if these have become meme games in social media circles I'm not a part of, or if there's genuine nostalgia for these things. I was a little too old for that era of Disney tie-in games, but I've got fond(ish) memories of deeply mediocre Jurassic Park and Tom and Jerry games for SNES. I get it.

For me, the game I'm saddest to see disappear is Star Wars: Rebellion. It reviewed pretty poorly in its day, but the pitch was endlessly compelling: you take control of either the Empire or Rebellion and wage war across the entire galactic map, in the style of a 4X game like Civilization. Characters from the movies and the expanded universe even show up as special units, offering a strategic sandbox where you can rewrite the events of the original trilogy.

Rebellion was held back in its day largely by its clunky interface, and that's the kind of issue that only becomes more debilitating with age. But regardless of its quality – or the quality of any of the games that have just been delisted – it's still a bummer to see it disappear from digital stores.

I've gotta ask why. Was there some licensing issue that required these games to be pulled down? Is there some tech support cost to keeping them up online? Was someone at Disney just annoyed by the prospect of accounting for a few dollars here and there on the balance sheet from the sale of High School Musical 3 games? You can, at least, get physical copies of most of these games dirt cheap on the secondhand market, but if you want to play them on a modern PC, your official option just disappeared.

Better get the best Star Wars games before they're gone.

Surprise, Warhammer Classics has revived well over 20 games spanning three decades in a massive new Steam collection, with many of them hitting the platform for the first time. And the best part is that they're out now.

Games Workshop has partnered with publisher SNEG to stretch back into the 1990s and restore a bunch of games in the grimdark series, from 1995 RTS Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat onward.

The publisher describes the initiative as a "new label in classic video game preservation," and to that end Warhammer Classics includes 27 total games, with seven coming to Steam for the very first time and 12 simply returning to the store. All 27 games are discounted and available in different bundles to celebrate their launch week, too.

"Each debut and returning title has been updated for compatibility with modern systems, ensuring smooth performance on today’s hardware while maintaining the original gameplay experience that made them beloved by fans," a press release explains

Here's everything included in Warhammer Classics:

• Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat
• Final Liberation: Warhammer Epic 40,000
• Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate
• Warhammer 40,000: Rites of War
• Warhammer: Dark Omen
• Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior
• Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Gold Edition
• Space Hulk
• Space Hulk: Ascension
• Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon
• Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach
• Talisman: Horus Heresy
• Talisman: Digital Classic Edition
• Talisman: Origins
• Man O' War: Corsair - Warhammer Naval Battles
• Warhammer Quest 2: The End Times
• Legacy of Dorn: Herald of Oblivion
• Warhammer Underworlds - Shadespire Edition
• Dawn of War - Anniversary Edition
• Dawn of War 2 - Anniversary Edition
• Chainsaw Warrior
• Chainsaw Warrior: Lords of Night
• Dark Future: Blood Red States
• Space Hulk : Tactics
• Battlefleet Gothic: Armada
• Blood Bowl: Chaos Edition
• Blood Bowl 2: Legendary Edition

"Warhammer Classics is more than a collection of re-releases," SNEG director Oleg Klapovskiy says in the press release. "It's a clear statement of intent: that Warhammer's foundational games matter, and that they are worth preserving, celebrated, and reintroduced to a global PC audience. With so many titles lost to time and outdated hardware, Warhammer Classics was created to safeguard this legacy for future generations. Warhammer has a long history on PC, and we're committed to ensuring the platform remains central to its long-term stewardship, giving these games renewed life for years to come."

Some of the older classics in the collection - looking at you, Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate and Rites of War - had actually been given a second life years ago thanks to GOG, but having them open to a bigger audience can only be a good thing.

All returning games have also apparently been restored in their original state. Interestingly, the Games Workshop warns that "because of their classic nature, some of the content may not accurately reflect current depictions, lore, or presentation within the current Warhammer universes and settings."

Take a walk down memory lane with the best Warhammer games of all time, ranked.

It's almost time – after over 10 years, exciting new strategy gem Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is finally set to release into early access later this month.

Publisher Hooded Horse has just unveiled the Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era release date for PC, and it's right around the corner: April 30. Not only will it launch at the tail end of this month, but it'll be available to play via Game Pass day one, too – and no, none of this is an April Fool's joke. With 40 years under its belt in total, and 30 years of legendary strategy games, the Might and Magic franchise truly is finally getting its new prequel.

Nearly 11 years have passed since the last Heroes entry dropped – Might & Magic Heroes 7 – in 2015, so this is kind of a big deal. Its hotly anticipated arrival won't leave fans wanting, either, with hand-crafted and procedurally generated maps, impressive cities to raise, and massive armies of mythical beasts to use to conquer formidable foes.

Folks can also look forward to an action-packed Arena, narrative campaign, skirmish modes, and premade scenarios.

Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era also boasts multiplayer, making it the perfect strategy game to hop in with friends or solo.

Hooded Horse presents it as a title that's "made for series veterans and newcomers alike" as well, so there's nothing stopping interested players who might be worried about having missed the, you know, literal decades upon decades of other Might and Magic greats. It's a win-win for all, if you ask me.

It appears the new game has already accrued a plethora of interested fans, anyway, with Hooded Horse having celebrated over one million wishlists on Steam after a killer demo in October of 2025 – and something tells me that now, months later, it's sure to have even more excited players backing it.

Thankfully, with the Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era early access release mere weeks away, the ever-growing community doesn't have long to wait.

RPG legend returns to the franchise he co-created 40 years ago as Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era's advisor, "adding to the guidance the team already receives from Ubisoft"

By redeeming these Anime Overload codes, you'll be able to summon tens, if not hundreds, of new heroes, giving you the best chance at landing those Mythics. By using Crystals and banner-specific summoning items, you can draw for countless units, including Sunji, Goju, and the excellently named Bald Hero.

What's more, you can also gain items like Tokens, which you can use at the Speed Shop, and Trait Reroll Tokens. So, for all of that and more, here are all the Anime Overload codes you can redeem in the tower defence Roblox game right now.

For some more general rewards for your account and avatar, then check out the latest Roblox promo codes that can be used across many Roblox experiences.

All Anime Overload codes

These are the latest Anime Overload codes that you can redeem in-game right now:

• EnjoyDaUpdate! - 80x Trait Reroll Tickets, 4,000x Crystal Shards, 8x Arcane Charms
• Phoenix - 15x Trait Reroll Tickets, 500x Crystals, 150x Tokens
• Pirates! - 25x Trait Reroll Tickets, 1,500x Crystals, 400x Tokens
• PreUpdate - 25x Trait Reroll Tickets, 2,500x Crystals, 15x Basic Stat Cubes
• 5MILVISITS - 40x Trait Reroll Tickets, 5,000x Crystals, 25x Basic Stat Cubes, 10x Advanced Stat Cubes
• THANKSFOR25K - 20x Trait Reroll Tickets, 1,000x Tokens, 1,000x Crystals, and 5,000x Bloodied Chains
• THANKSFOR20K - 40x Trait Reroll Tickets, 3,500x Crystals, 1,000x Tokens, 25x Basic Stat Cubes, 15x Advanced Stat Cubes and 20,000x Bloodied Chains
• THANKS4FEEDBACK - 50x Trait Reroll Tickets, 2,500x Crystals, 20x basic Stat Cubes, 7,500x Bloodied chains

As you can see from the codes above, you can get tons of varied rewards. The most valuable, though, are Crystals and event-exclusive Summon currencies, allowing you to roll for new heroes, but there's still value in Reroll Tickets and Stat Cubes, as well.

To make things easier, it's worth noting that Anime Overload codes aren't case-sensitive, but that shouldn't matter if you just copy and paste them from above anyway.

How to redeem Anime Overload codes

To redeem Anime Overload codes, click on the News button on the left-hand side of the screen from anywhere in the main lobby area – it's the one that looks like an envelope. From here, click the Codes button in the bottom right-hand corner, enter your code into the box, and hit Redeem.

Expired Anime Overload codes

• FULLRELEASE - 55x Trait Reroll Tickets, 5,000x Crystals, 1,000x Tokens, and 25x Basic Stat Cubes
• OurBadWeWillDoOurBest - 100x Trait Reroll Tickets
• Enjoy Release! - 25x Trait Reroll Tickets
• HappyEarlyAccess - 25x Trait Reroll Tickets
• Sorry4Delay - 100x Trait Reroll Tickets and 5,000 Crystals

As you can see from these expired codes, there are plenty of rewards to be had, but they don't last forever, so be sure to redeem the latest Anime Overload codes as soon as you see them. Be sure to bookmark this page too, and return often to ensure you're always up to date.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Clash Royale codes will let you add some personal touches to this long-running real-time strategy game, while you're defending your towers, collecting cards, and battling with other players online. These fall into two categories – promo codes that you enter via the online Store, and QR codes you scan on your phone for instant rewards. These mainly unlock customization items, though you can also get Magic Lucky chests and Gold to add to your account. To find out more, here are all of the promo and QR codes for Clash Royale and how to redeem them for rewards.

Clash Royale Store codes

The following Clash Royale Store codes can be redeemed for freebies:

• PRINCESSEVO! – Frozen & Fearless banner decoration and Freeze! banner frame latest!
• MINIONHORDE! – Minion Horde emote
• ROYALEAFFAIR – Royale Affair Goblin emote
• FIREANDICE!! – Ember Escape banner decoration and Firestorm banner frame
• TRUSTYTURRET – Hero Musketeer emote
• WHENHOGSFLY! – Flying Royal Hogs emote
• REINABARRIGA – Snoring Dragon banner decoration and Jungle Floor banner frame

There are a handful of Clash Royale codes available, which will unlock various customization items for your account including emotes, banner decorations, and banner frames. Make sure you also visit the in-game store regularly, as you'll find a free reward to claim every day under the Market's Daily Deal section.

Clash Royale QR codes

These Clash Royale QR codes can be redeemed by scanning them with your phone camera, or if you're viewing this guide on your phone you can tap the QR code to open the redemption link:

Scan/tap the QR code above for the Deadly Dribble Banner Decoration and Sports Ball Stadium Banner Frame new!

Scan/tap the QR code above for the Princess emote

Scan/tap the QR code above for a Magic Lucky Chest

Scan/tap the QR code above for the Birdie Buddies Banner Decoration and Greg-arious Gang Banner Frame

Scan/tap the QR code above for 50,000 Gold, 200 Common Wild Cards, and a Magic Lucky Chest

Scan/tap the QR code above for the 10th Anniversary emote

Scan/tap the QR code above for the 10th Anniversary banner frame and The Big 10 banner decoration

Scan/tap the QR code above for a Magic Lucky chest

Scan/tap the QR code above for the RAAAAH Skeleton emote

Scan/tap the QR code above for the Jojo Musketeer banner set – Talk to the Hand banner decoration and Bullseye banner frame

Scan/tap the QR code above for 1,000 Gold

Scan/tap the QR code above for the Hot Hog Balloon banner frame

Scan/tap the QR code above for the Hamelia Hoghart banner decoration

Scan/tap the QR code above for the Royal Ghost Boo emote

How to redeem Clash Royale codes

We've already confirmed how to redeem Clash Royale QR codes, by scanning with your phone camera or tapping the code if you're viewing this guide on mobile, but the other Clash Royale codes need to be claimed through the Clash Royale Store website. To do this you'll need to set up a Supercell ID if you don't have one already, by tapping the three line menu in the top right corner of the main game menu and then hitting the Supercell ID button at the bottom to go through the registration process.

Once you have your personal Supercell ID, visit the Store website linked above and then scroll down to the bottom of the page where you'll find the Redeem a Store Code section. Use the Enter a code text box to type or copy/paste a promo, before hitting the Submit button to redeem it. If the code is valid, a screen will pop up confirming the reward available, then use the Claim gift button to add it to your account – it will be automatically delivered to you next time you open the game.

Expired Clash Royale codes

• BLOWTHEMAWAY
• ANGRYFURNACE
• FIREFIREFIRE
• ONEMAGICGIFT
• SHARETHEGOLD

There are some expired Clash Royale codes that were available previously, but have now passed their end date and are no longer valid. While these promos generally stick around for a while, they don't last forever – so make sure you're claiming all of the active codes we've listed earlier as soon as possible to avoid missing out on any rewards.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Vince Zampella, the longtime game developer best known for co-creating Call of Duty, died as a result of a car crash in 2025. His legacy in the industry is long, and his influence includes the upcoming Star Wars Zero Company. As it turns out, the project got underway when Zampella cold-called a veteran XCOM dev to find out about his dream game.

"I'd left Firaxis after about 22 years of working there and making strategy games my whole career," as Gregory Foertsch, who served as art director on the modern XCOM games, tells PC Gamer. "I knew I wanted to stay in the strategy, the tactics space⁠," but it seems he hadn't figured out the particulars of his next move – until a late night in his home office.

"I'm sitting in my office with the lights out and my computer on, my wife's asleep, my kids are asleep, and the phone rings," Foertsch says. "It's this number that I don't recognize. For some reason I answered it, and the voice on the other end said, 'Hey, Greg, this is Vince Zampella. I heard you have a game you want to make. Can you tell me about it?'"

The game Foertsch described to Zampella that night eventually served as the basis for Zero Company. "He eventually said, 'Do you think you can make a Star Wars game with this?'" Foertsch explains. "And I said, 'Sure, different game, but yeah, absolutely.' Meanwhile, I'm thinking, 'This is insane, right? Like, this is crazy. It's Star Wars.' And so I said, 'Yeah, I can do that.' And Vince was just like, 'Pitch me.'"

This phone call would've happened quite some time ago, as Respawn announced its collaboration with Foertsch's new studio Bit Reactor on a Star Wars strategy game way back in 2022. That project was only unveiled as Star Wars Zero Company in 2025, so it's clearly been a long time coming, but PC Gamer's recent preview coverage has made it seem very much worth the wait.

Zampella worked on the acclaimed Medal of Honor: Allied Assault for EA, before he co-founded Infinity Ward and served as producer on Call of Duty, the military shooter series that would quickly supplant Medal of Honor as the market leader. Zampella would have an acrimonious split from parent company Activision and eventually founded Respawn with EA in 2010, releasing the beloved Titanfall games and eventually going on to lead the Battlefield franchise.

Foertsch describes Zampella as a "titan of the industry."

"Devastating": Industry leaders including EA, Respawn, and Infinity Ward pay tribute to Battlefield lead Vince Zampella.

Redeeming the latest Anime Ascendants codes is the best way to get Gems for summoning units. After all, you're going to need the best units if you're going to survive wave after wave of enemies.

To make those units even better in this tower defence Roblox experience, you're also going to need to equip them with powerful traits, for which you need Magic Tokens. Luckily, Gem and Magic Tokens are among the many rewards you can claim with these Anime Ascendants codes.

If you're searching for more generic rewards that apply across all experiences, then we can tell you what Roblox promo codes can be added to your account.

All Anime Ascendants codes

These Anime Ascendants codes can be redeemed in-game right now:

• BLEACHCOMINGTOYOUSOON! - 40x Magic Tokens, 5,000x Gems, 5x Stat Cubes, 5x Perfect Stat Cubes
• #BLAMEHORIZONAOE - 35x Magic Tokens, 5,000x Gems, 2,500x Coins, 5x Stat Cubes, 5x Perfect Stat Cubes (level three required)
• BuggyTheClown - 15,000x April Fools Coins, 25x Magic Tokens (level three required)
• AprilFools - 15,000x April Fools Coins, 25x Magic Tokens (level 3 required)
• TYFOR2KCCU! - 50 Magic Tokens, 5,000 Gems (level 3 required)
• WINTERLEAVING - 25,000x Butterflies (level 3 required)
• JJKCOMINGSOON! - 2,500x Gems, 10,000x Butterflies, 25x Magic Tokens (level 5 required)
• 50KLIKES - 5,000x Gems, 50x Magic Tokens
• 30KFAVS - 3,000x Gems, 30x Magic Tokens

How to redeem Anime Ascendants codes

To redeem Anime Ascendants codes, you must be in the main lobby area. From here, simply click on the Codes button on the right-hand side of the screen, enter the code, and click Redeem.

Expired Anime Ascendants codes

• YAYEASTER2026 - 25x Magic Tokens, 2,500x Gems
• SORRY4PORTALBUG - 50x Magic Tokens and 20,000X Grief Seeds
• DELAY! - 100x Rerolls, 15x Perfect Stat Cubes, 5k Grief Seeds
• 30KINTERESTED! - 10,000 Gems, 50x Rerolls
• HOMURUUPDATE! - 50x Rerolls, 10,000 Grief Seeds
• SORRYFORWAIT! - 50x Magic Tokens, 10,000 Grief Seeds
• EvniiIsTuff - 1,000 Gems and 10 Rerolls
• GUNSANDMAGICCOMINGSOON - 5,000 Gems and 40 Rerolls
• WeAreSorry - 5,000 Gems, 45 Magic Tokens, and 25,000 Stat Cubes
• BIGTHINGSCOMING - 5,000 Gems, 45 Magic Tokens
• 3KCCU! - 100 Magic Tokens, 15,000 Gems, 15,000 Stat Cubes, 15,000 Perfect Stat Cubes
• BIGSORRY! - 5,000 Gems, 100 Magic Tokens
• March18th! - John Doe Skin, 2.5k Gems, 50 RR
• 20KINTERESTED! - 75 Magic Tokens, 5,000 Gems, 10 Perfect Stat Cubes, 5 Normal Stat Cubes
• 80KMEMBERS! - 50 Magic Tokens
• INFINITYTOWER! - 50 Magic Tokens, 2,000 Gems, 10 Perfect Stat Cubes, 5 Normal Stat Cubes
• JJKPART2! - 50 Magic Tokens, and 2,000 Gems
• TYFORSUPPORT! - 25 Magic Tokens
• ASC! - 25 Magic Tokens, 3,500 Gems, and 10 Perfect Stat Cubes
• 10KInterested! - 50 Magic Tokens, 2,500 Gems, and 10 Perfect Stat Cubes

The above Anime Ascendants codes have expired, but go to show the range of rewards you can expect from these codes. They also serve as a warning to redeem these promos as soon as you can, so you don't risk missing out.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Manor Lords publisher Hooded Horse has announced Vaunted, the debut title from Lost Lake Games founded by former StarCraft and Guild Wars devs.

During today's Xbox Partner Preview, we got new looks at the likes of Sega's Stranger Than Heaven, a big Stalker 2 update, and some more of Mass Effect-inspired The Expanse: Osiris Reborn – but we already knew about those. One of the surprise highlights from the showcase was the announcement of Hooded Horse's Vaunted, which evokes Sega's missing in action strategy series Valkyria Chronicles, taking it from the battlefields of fictional European countries and instead going the space western route. And, it's the debut game from Lost Lake Games – founded by ex-StarCraft and Guild Wars developers.

In a press release sent to GamesRadar+, the setting is described as "a galaxy where mercenaries and treasure hunters scrap over priceless imperial relics buried in far-flung ruins," where you'll take control of a trio of "dysfunctional frenemies" and build a squad of "dubious" companions. Notably, despite being focused on three heroes on the same mission, each one of the "unreliable storytellers" has their own version of events meaning you'll be able to replay chapters from a different perspective.

For those who haven't partaken in Sega's underrated strategy classics, the game works like a regular turn-based tactical RPG, except you'll be pretty much in full control of your characters during turns. Unlike the likes of XCOM and Fire Emblem, turns play out like a third-person shooter, albeit with the strategy and planning of a tactics game. That being said, it takes a unique version of the turn system too, as players get to control which character takes their turn when (although you will have to alternate with enemies).

So far, the game is only announced for PC, with a release on Steam, the Epic Games Store, and the Microsoft store coming in 2026. Plus, the game is set to arrive on PC Game Pass on day one.

Star Wars Zero Company will kill story characters, Fire Emblem-style.

Even with the great Disney timeline purge of 2014, there's a lot of Star Wars lore to keep track of. If you're working on side quests for a game like Star Wars Zero Company, how do you get it all straight? The same way us casual fans do, apparently: spending a whole lot of time on Wookieepedia.

Zero Company features an array of side missions called operations, as detailed in the latest issue of PC Gamer, where you engage in non-combat objectives with an array of potential outcomes. One such side mission has you aiding the Beast Hunters of Onderon, a location introduced in the classic Tales of the Jedi comics and returned to modern canon thanks to the Clone Wars animated series.

Grayson Scantlebury, who serves as lead designer for operations, takes those callbacks seriously. "I've spent a lot of time poring through books or going on Wookieepedia and going, 'OK, I have a story I want to tell," Scantlebury tells PC Gamer. "What's a planet that makes sense during the Clone Wars era that I could tell that story?' Or vice versa: I'm just browsing through and going, 'Well, what happened on Bespin at this time, or Lothal at this time?'"

Some of the more intriguing lore bits tie back into the main cast, as well. One of the best parts of the Clone Wars series is the Umbara arc, where the clones are absolutely brutalized by local forces supported by the Separatists. Your main party includes both a clone trooper named Trick and the Umbaran sniper Luco Bronc, and there will be plenty of friction between the two unless you can build up their bonds in-game.

The character I'm most intrigued by is Runa Blask, who PC Gamer describes as "a dyed-in-the-wool Separatist partisan, forced out by internal politicking." She'll offer all kinds of criticisms of the Republic's imperialist ways, offering a perspective we don't often see in major Star Wars stories, where we're firmly placed on the Republic side to see the Separatists as mustache-twirling villains.

This all indicates a level of care for and curiosity about the Star Wars mythos that has me more intrigued than ever to see what Zero Company has in store.

Here are all the upcoming Star Wars games on the horizon.

The XCOM reboot helped move isometric tactics games into the mainstream, and it seems Star Wars Zero Company aims to take it even further. It aims to be a strategy title with all kinds of depth, yes, but the devs are hoping to make it more palatable by doing things like letting you explore the world in third-person in between the turn-based battles. It's reminding me of Baldur's Gate 3's big emphasis on AAA production values – which was certainly a major factor in helping that game break out beyond the hardcore RPG fans.

Details about that third-person exploration come courtesy of a new preview in PC Gamer magazine. Essentially, when you're outside of battle, you'll have full control of your customizable protagonist Hawks. Combining these two elements was apparently a major priority for the studio, but balancing them was a challenge.

"We pick our battles," animation lead Hector Antunez tells PC Gamer. "The heart of the game is in the tactical combat. But we really wanted to add an element that allows players to spend even more time in the Star Wars environments and not have those spaces be limited by what would make for fun combat."

The devs themselves reckon that some of the fiddly genres that were once the exclusive domain of PC gamers have been making comebacks in large part because they've been able to present themselves in a more attractive light. Certainly, even Larian has been keen to emphasize just how much of a factor Baldur's Gate 3's production values were in the game's success, which broke out well beyond the typical audience for old-school CRPGs.

But Baldur's Gate 3 gave us AAA production values without sacrificing any gameplay depth, and the Zero Company devs are hoping to do the same. "The gameplay is what it is about," according to Greg Foertsch, founder of developer Bit Reactor. "But depth doesn’t cost you elegance. You can absolutely have [graphics and storytelling], and not to mention, this genre in particular, you should have those things."

Here are all the upcoming Star Wars games you need to know about.

XCOM in a galaxy far, far away is a compelling pitch, and one that's had Star Wars Zero Company at the top of my wishlist since before it even had an official name. But while there are plenty of parallels with the beloved alien tactics games, Zero Company also has plenty in common with an equally legendary line of fantasy-themed strategy RPGs: Fire Emblem.

Zero Company features both randomized soldiers in the vein of XCOM, and authored squadmates with particular stories and abilities, as explained through a preview feature in the latest issue of PC Gamer. Characters can form bonds with each other as they jointly complete missions, which is a feature we often see in Fire Emblem games. But there's an even more pertinent Fire Emblem comparison: even story characters can die permanently.

"It was a challenge that we embraced midway through production," narrative lead Aaron Contreras, who also headed the story for Jedi – Fallen Order and Survivor at Respawn, tells PC Gamer. "About 13 months ago I lost an argument about permadeath, and it was good that I did, it was the right decision for the game."

You can see why a narrative lead might want to push back against permadeath for story characters, since, if a given character is dead, future plot beats will have to account for it. "It just became a matter of rolling up our sleeves and getting to it," Contreras pragmatically says of implementing narrative permadeath.

Zero Company does give you a lifeline here, since characters don't die the instant their health bars are emptied. Instead, they accumulate injuries like baseball strikes: three injuries and you're out.

"Star Wars is about loss," Contreras says. "I mean, four years old, watching Obi Wan Kenobi die, right? It’s about loss, and then also, as a developer, wanting people to not save scum, but to push through the loss, to what’s on the other side of the experience, to feel it."

Another Fire Emblem parallel? Your main character, Hawks, who serves a sort of player insert role, commanding the battles while also fighting on the ground. Similar characters have appeared throughout the Fire Emblem series, and here Hawks is the one exception to the permadeath rule. If they die, it's game over. Honestly, restarting a mission has always been a less cruel fate than saying goodbye to a beloved squadmate, but you'd better believe I'm the kind of sicko who'll force myself not to savescum when a comrade inevitably goes down.

For all the upcoming Star Wars games you need to know about, you know where to click.