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Game
Game2006
Heroes of Annihilated Empires
Developer GSC Game World
Heroes of Annihilated Empires (Ukrainian: Герої знищених імперій) is a real-time strategy role-playing video game developed by GSC Game World and released in October 2006. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
187 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy) · newest Sep 26, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
78
LovedLoved
143 positive · 41 negative
95% range 71–83%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 143 | 41 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
3 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
684 of 801 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
60 of 187 · most liked firstWell I was suckered in by nostalgic reviews. What you expect is an RPG vs RTS system, or an RTS with hero units! What you get is that RTS players after 30 minutes get to play both, you have to sacrifice your hero to play the RTS mode for 30 minutes, after which your hero returns... at the level you started RTS mode. Factions are EXTREMELY unbalanced, game crashes often, only warriors and SOME mages are worth a damn, the pathfinding is terrible (And your heavy armored spear and shield line…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →PROS: (Scroll down In-Game Scenario) - Multiplayer Works, but you might need a steam friend to join you. - Nostalgic gameplay - Plays like the original - Cheats work for it (even in the campaign) [CHEATS INCLUDE: More money, more XP, see whole map, more recources, InstaUpgrades&Faster, and spawn units, buildings, items, spells, chests, and MUCH MUCH more.] - Skirmishing is amazing. You are given the choice to use RTS + Hero or just play as a Hero, and defend you AI Team(s) - You can have up to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An oddly addictive game. I had this on original disc way back when, and downloaded from steam after trouble with that disc, so my hours of play are way higher than whats stated here. But the game: Its hard to pin down. Its pretty clear this is an unfinished project, the starting screens kinda indicate that there are at least 2 more campaigns after the elves, yet are never implemented. The multiplayer maps also support this with each different faction that you play as having some unique…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do not buy this game if you own a modern monitor. The resolution/refresh rates are wrong, and it will either not open, or open with "out of range," which may force you to force-reboot. I went looking for guides on how to fix this, and there is no modern answer. You either own a dinosaur crt tube monitor, or don't play it. Pros: Haven't played it. Cons: Doesn't work on modern systems.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This version doesn't have cinematics enabled in playthrough, and there is a sound glitch that made a loop of what seems like every sound, in any game mode. Despite verifying files and replacing what was corrupt or missing, the sound continues no matter what. Game is fun but not if I can't enjoy it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An awesome old game. Very nice graphics for the time, still ok today. I saw people saying lots of crashes...I've played the first 5 campaign scenarios and 4 hours without a single crash. I have a low end machine too ... a ryzen 4800h with an rtx 3050 and I'm on windows 11. Very worth buying still. The only real con for me is that I cannot remap the arrow keys to wasd. Minor nitpick. Edit: It's 2 weeks later. Still not a single crash. Whatever problems people were having seems to be gone.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is a forgotten gem. A great blend of RTS and RPG with some pretty good balance, one very respectable campaign with 16 missions (around 20+ hours of gameplay), four races and a Skirmish mode. It goes for a very cheap price and is a lot like the first Spellforce game, albeit with a better story, good voice-acting and on a signficantly larger scale. It genuinely feels like armies fighting each other. Before anything, it's worth mentioning this game has multiple issues you need to fix in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hey guys, it's Joker here.. This is my quick tip/review hoping it would be useful to any of you.. To keep it short: I've played this game on Windows XP since the very beginning (2006-) for a couple of years. It's still pretty to look at even after so many years. Sadly, it came at a cost.. There were lots of bugs involved, and some were even crippling the game and patches were made in order to get past the launcher (early DRM) bug. The game was pretty demanding back in the day as well, even for…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Heroes of Annihilated Empires. This game is good in my eyes thanks to playing it when I was younger and having slogged through the campaign. In reality, not as good. The gameplay of HoAE is very reminiscent of the cossacks 1 games and even the same engine. The major exceptions to this is that there are four factions instead of dozens, The game is fantasy based instead of european, and the developers didn't have a clue what made a good campaign or difficulty scale if it bit their arse. I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's okay, nice looking, very confusing. If you are not interested in reading the manual, probably not the game for you, it doesn't offer much in the way of in game guidance or tutorials. Took me three tried to finally beat the opening scenario, not too bad. A tepid one thumb up, but I've only played a little of it. ADDENDUM: I have three hours under my belt now and I am quite enjoying it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a pretty sweet RTS/RPG hybrid with dated but nice visuals. Campaign mode was kinda weak but the skirmish mode is a lot more fun!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the best RTS (with some rpg elements) in the history. 1) It was So much potential and deep story 2) so beautiful and tasty looks, graphics 3) very smooth and flawless mechanics, physics It was really nice playing this game and it felt so unique! Back then it was very high quality... just with very bad planned ad campaign with commercial failure as a result. Forever in our hearts! 10/10. Wish they make a sequel.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it's heroes of annihilated empires, epic RPG+RTS what else can you ask for? Well, i could ask for more maps, updates fixing stuff, but GSC is the worst at doing that, so i won't ask much
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →bro the best game ever the gem of the games
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Heroes of Annihilated Empires, developed and published by GSC Game World, is an ambitious attempt to merge two traditionally distinct genres—real-time strategy and action role-playing—into a single cohesive fantasy experience. Released during a period when hybrid genre experimentation was gaining traction, the game sets out to offer players the freedom to command vast armies while simultaneously nurturing and directly controlling a powerful hero character. Rather than forcing a strict division…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ahead of its time, absolutely Gorgeous gameplay!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nice game from the past and a fresh RTS experience. Sadly, steam version is very buggy and tend to crash corrupting the save. CD version didn't have that much bugs as this one...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you liked Age of empires this game is for you. One of the best rts, give it a try, you won't regret it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the most hidden-est gems I've ever come across. It was included in a pack of 10 free games for like $2, I did not expect anything half as good as this. It's Warcraft 3 meets Battle For Middle Earth meets Total War. Controllable heroes, epic fantasy armies, but slightly limited by technology to be majorly epic...but you still get the feel of controlling a massive army. I HIGHLY recommend this game. It's not very long, but it is a ton of fun. $15 might be a lot so it depends how you look…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Excellent RPG/RTS hybrid. Graphics still hold after almost 20 years. Has some minor but annoying bugs.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played the CD version a few times back in the day. Bought to replay once again, out of pure nostalgia. Still feels great. Nice campaign, though not long. Took me 20h to complete on the hardest difficulty while clearing every single corner of each map. Given the price I guess worth trying, or wait for a discount if you're not sure, they do -75% every month or two.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I can't remember the first time I played this game but it was likely about the time it was released. Never once, has it let me down. I'm still hoping the creators revisit this game and revitalize it. I recommend it but it's not for everyone. There are issues with the game, since it is rather old, considering the tech we have now. However, there are also many guides online because people still enjoy it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →How to level a weak nobody to SAURON himself and nuke every other race into oblivion - the game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have to change my rating to a absolutely recommend. If youre going to play this game. go to options, graphics, and turn shadows low, color to 16 bit down from 24 bit and turn water reflections off. Was able to finish two skirmishes with no memory stack error or random crash. Besides all that.... If youve been searching for the high fantasy age of empires game. THIS IS IT. This is easily comparable to an RTS age of wonders. Its pretty awesome.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Simply put one of the best RTS games ever
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What can I say about this title? I enjoyed it. I know some reviewers have mixed feelings about this title, but I think its main focus point was to be multiplayer –especially around the time of RTS’ being more or less still relevant at the time – Yes, rts still exists, but other genres were being created and some of them from RTS games themselves (Warcraft 3: DoTA (Genre: MOBA)). Is it perfect? No, but it does have its own shine to it, but I think a lot of people don’t see it unless you played…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Horrible balancing where your units are swamped by huge enemy mobs which are endless as they are not playing by the same rules as the player since they don't use the same unit building rules being blessed with endless spawns. Building up ones forces is slow and tedious making it impossible to keep up with the endless hordes attacking the players forces. Logic goes out the window from the very first impossibly hard campaign mission where you are supposed to protect civilians as they retreat…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very nice RTS-RPG. Good graphic. Nice music. Lot of missions.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its a frustrating and underwhelming warcraft 3 wannabe. Your hero is the only thing that does damage so your army is worthless unless you have a horde of them. The enemies are swarming and they nonstop attack you in every mission where there is basebuilding. Since your hero is the only thing that does damage, building tower defences is utter useless because they do 1 in damage so whats the point? The game is at some times frustratingly hard because of how useless everything is. The enemy AI is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game was a masterpiece in its time , and it holds up today in many aspects , the graphics arent bad , the fighting is cool , generaly speaking the game is good. But that being said i have to warn everybody that plans on bying it , there is a bug where it wont play cutscenes and there is no fix for it , and there probably never will be meaning you miss out on the story and end up being confused.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Complete cheap ass rip off of warcraft 3 literally ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ duplicate of all mechanisms that I like it. I like it. Because it is modestly done. I like the fact that even with all similarity to warcraft and other more famous RTS games, this game is somehow unique. It has heros, units with heavy/light position but gameplay is completely different to previous RTS games. I wonder that why there is no sequel of this game, perhaps because it is such a minor title I suppose? And game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have first played this game when it came out in 2006. Today I felt nostalgic, searched the shop and found it. What I can tell you is that from more than a hundred RTS games I've played, this one is in my top 10. I've finished the campaign over and over again and also there's a mod that adds another civilization plus a bonus campaign, all being fan-made. It is sad to think that a jewel like this barely has any fans, because it's honestly one of a kind. The concept is not original, the gameplay…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →its an oldie but a goodie - though the unnofficial patch is recommended
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Heroes is actually a pretty solid real time strategy game that combines character building and gear hunting. It is unique in that it allows you to command large armies of units, and fight large armies of enemies. The units you build are helpful but it really is your hero that does the heavy lifting. Custom maps are about as good as the real game and for the price its good to simply hop in if you want your rts fix done with.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game SLAPS. I miss GOOD large scale RTS
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Killer game. 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the best RTS ever made. Although my best rts till now in SC - Forged Alliance, this rts game, is also a unique masterpiece. If you think that this game has near 20 years when it released, and still its graphics are so great. The gameplay is also so unique. You could even have thousands of units. It has both very week and very power units. Every faction plays difference. The feeling playing each faction is different. If you are a rts fun, this is a must to have play this game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This games is a classic RTS + RPG fusion. I will keep my review short with just pros and cons. Pros -Smooth going plot -It will give you enough time to play -Many missions -Nice music -Just 1 bug found so far in 2 playruns Cons -Only 1 playable faction in campain -Most of the times AI is overwelming unit spammer and hard to overcome. -Repatativity of killing thousands of enemies in every mission with just your hero. -Most missions are RPG and not RTS. -Few units to create, small tech tree -In…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →great game deep hardcore strategy game i have i8 machine wins 10works great after 40 hrs i have to say this is one of the best games i have ever played im so addicted i have still not finshed it yet Great RTS/RPG games like lord of the rings world great story so far wish there was Add ons for this game love it!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Excellent RTS game. I'm not one for old-timey graphics but... this game is good. It actually has unit physics as well!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Best strategy rpg rts game I played in a long time it's so great right next to warrior king battles I really enjoy it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So I have logged over 40 hours on this game since i bought it a couple weeks ago. Needless to say i thoroughly enjoy this game. I found it while looking for a game similar to Warlords Battlecry 3 and it most certainly delivered and then some. As with any game ive played, i find things i like and things i dont. Some Pros: -4 very unique playable races -Massive army cap unlike any game ive ever played -Easy to control -Straightforward gameplay -Clever AI Some Cons: -Very few skirmish maps…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is one of my favorite strategy games from my childhood, and truth be told, I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did when I came back to it. It's a unique-ish game that I could really recommend to anyone who likes RTS games. It's a special kind of a gem, maybe even something I could consider a masterpiece. The best way I can describe it is calling it a mix between Warcraft 3 and Total War, and maybe even a little Diablo 2 in there with the way you play with your hero. It does…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is one of the most underrated games/forgotten. It's a masterpiece that not enough people have heard of. A great blend of RTS and RPG with some pretty good balance. From another reviewer (KG) Before anything, it's worth mentioning this game has multiple issues you need to fix in order to run it. Firstly, make sure the game is set in compatibility mode for Windows XP Service Pack 3. Then you need to make sure the game runs using only one CPU core, otherwise it WILL crash OFTEN. I'll link…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Goated Fantasy RTS
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Awesome game! Classic rts
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Medieval fantasy Cossacks, whats not to love!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"Heroes of Annihilated Empires" is an ancient game from 2006. It's a whopping 18 years old at the time of this review. It has a CD-Key!!!! While the game has limited support for modern gaming display resolutions, it hasn't been modernised or updated to run smoothly on modern gaming PCs. Despite this lack of modernisation, it carries a pretty high price tag for such an ancient game. This seems to have been put on Steam as a nostalgia gouge, or just a cash grab to try profit from…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazing game, still in 2022, 9/10! It plays like the original Spellforce game... you control a hero, and some units... there is a RTS component in a few missions, but its mostly your hero, who gets really powerful and who can single handedly destroy all enemies on the map... he gets stronger, finds items and powerful spells... it is simply amazing how you can first freeze/slow an upcoming army, then fire a meteor or other spell in there why firing like Legolas with your Bow and decimating one…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ hidden gem. Really hard, really fun and don't install the Unofficial Patch cause it has more bugs than the original game. UPDATE: I've just lost all my progress :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Disclaimer: If you play rts games for the singleplayer/campaign, please ignore my review. Probably one of the best rts multiplayer games envisioned, and in that elusive fantasy genre too. In PvP matches the heroes are that extra something that adds diversity to gameplay and breaks the generic rts spam formula that inevitably kills the fun of all pvp rts games. In order to be successful you have to plan ahead and make choices. And to be clear, this is not the first nor will it be the last…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great Classic Game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it's a pretty great game with extreme diversity between factions. I'm sad the campaign ends without anything else coming after it like it does it is such a cliffhanger. I wish someday this would get remastered with more campaigns to go through or even a second game that functions just like this one but better! It's an oldie but goody.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The best RTS game i've ever played in my life. It's also my childhood game. 11/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →game was good till it stopped to work. Uninstalled/reinstalled - checked file. Nothing done it. Game doesn't want to start ever again. Before that, I quite enjoyed it. Eventhough i was only 4 missions in. You have a char that you give char point and gain skill the more you advance. You manage also ressources and units. Good mix of rpg and RST. Shame it stopped to work
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bwahahahaha!!!! :D Okay, I HONESTLY don't get all the positive reviews on here. Are you guys sure we're playing the same game? Because I'm playing one where the "introduction cutscene" is just a random flyby of a landscape, the camera is fixed in a weird position (okay...it can be rotated with the mousewheel), the villagers look more like zombies than those blue attacking guys and the voice acting is so bad it's downright hilarious (to be read in a monotone voice: "ggggggggooooo.....…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wish there was more games like this. Played it a while back, but never left a review.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The bugs...so many bugs. My friends and I would play this, and we'd enjoy it for a bit, but after a while we noticed some balance issues, and graphic glitches that would cause the game to crash, and more often than not the AI would just sit there and do nothing. Shame too, because this held so much promise, but the Devs abandoned, without fixing the bugs. Game breaking bugs. Enjoy it for what it is, but don't expect to get too many hours of enjoyment before you get tired of doing the same…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Would love to get other factions campaigns. Great RTS with RPG elements.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Old-school gem. RPG+RTS style similar to SpellForce series. Campaign is worth it on its own.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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