Hi all!
Recently, the wiki started gaining Stronghold 3-related content, in the form of the military walkthroughs. It is planned that the other two campaigns (economic and Blackstaff) will be added over time, together with the main game content information. For the following paragraphs, I'll hint out the various feelings and impressions I got during the playthrough.
Stronghold 3 has always been a 'black sheep' in the Stronghold series not just for me, but for all other players out there, who has been used to the storytelling mechanics of SH1 and the dynamic combat of Crusader. Due to the fact that SH3 was published unfinished and it took years(!) to fix problems for Firefly, even then, the game is riddled with shortcomings. To this very day, the community doesn't like that the game has no Skirmish mode, which made Crusader so prevalent. However, SH3 is all about single-player campaigns. Let's see what a now more than 8 years old game can offer!
Storytelling[]
Stronghold 3 drives a narrative that draws inspiration from Stronghold 1. Instead of animated character portraits and backgrounds, this game tells its story by presenting monochromatic sketches that are bolstered with photographic tricks and effects, kind of like a movie draft, with some sound effects and music edited underneath. This provides dynamism for the viewer, however the minute details will quickly become apparent and grant a minimalistic feeling that is hard to admire. Spoiled by the mini-videos from previous games, the intros feel stale and so many things are happening on the screen that the experience is rather nauseating than exciting. While this style definitely has some pros, the sudden movements make it hard to figure out, what the heck is happening.
The story of Stronghold 3 feels a bit too simplistic, if not rushed. The Boy's adventure from start to finish is good as a concept, but it basically boils down to the following:
- gather supporters for an alliance against The Wolf
- steamroll the Wolf's underlings
- epic fight
- WIN
The first half of the campaign does not feel engaging at all. True, we get to know new characters, however there is just too many of them! Even worse, the only two characters who get to speak or interact with you at all are The Boy and The Wolf, and even then, they are only heard during the interlude movies.
Sorry, a third one is the Scribe, who spits trivialities in your face during gameplay. Yes, the Scribe is like the only man speaking anything during gameplay. No taunts from your adversaries, no pleading for help from your allies, no good word from your soldiers. Just... the... Scribe's one-liners, my liege, sire and my Lord. It is not a welcome sight when only one person keeps you engaged at certain points of the mission.
Stronghold 3 tells of characters who have either been featured in previous iterations or debuted in this story. We get to see old faces like the Sultan, who has always been a hedonistic, yet kind-hearted ruler with a wit of his own, or the King of England, who entrusts you with leading the final siege against the Wolf in the final mission of SH1. New characters included are the exiled advisor of the King, Blackstaff, and the Iron Duke: a wealthy master smith, who supplies the court with arms. Yet, we do not hear their voices one bit.
The whole impression of SH3's story is empty and shallow, and it feels hard to press through missions when the story does not bring much entertainment to the table.
Gameplay[]
Stronghold 3 blends together the gameplay of SH1 and the 3D graphics of SH2. Like with SH1, we get a gynormous arsenal of towers, siege engines and buildings. Game mechanics are however reminiscent of SH2. While we don't get the interference mechanics of crime, gong and rats, the feasting mechanic returns, with a Stronghold Kingdoms-esque reskin.
The most notable difference is the redesigned popularity mechanic, which is also borrowed from Kingdoms. Instead of a monthly balance change, popularity now affects peasant migration right away, which makes deficiencies more punishing, requiring quick interference to recover. While it is not bad per se, the rates for different aspects have been rather imbalanced. For example, food variety and ale dwarfs compared to religion and positive fear factor, which can yield much higher bonuses for considerably less investment. Also, peasants come way too slowly at times, which is apparent in the beginning of some missions, slowing down the game noticeably.
Units are once again available from the barracks, with a large overhaul in terms of costs and equipment required. Men-at-arms are the javelin throwers like those in Legends, except that their speed is abysmal and their range is the same as an archer's. Leather armour is gone, and this is reflected in adjustments to units requiring it previously: macemen are faster and have no armor, while crossbowmen are tankier, now requiring plate armor. We also get the new ranger, a bowman that is capable of defending himself in melee. The engineer's guild introduces a new unit, the sapper. This unarmed unit is the spiritual successor of the tunneler, who now runs up to a wall and destroys it at an alarming rate. Sappers can be converted from some other units, if needed.
Firefly put a huge emphasis on castle building, which is now reflected in a huge variety of castle structures and defenses. Buildings are no longer tied to a tile system, which means that they are freely placeable and rotateable, as long as they don't collide with other structures. Walls are connected between two points that prioritize existing tower and wall segments, however this system is often buggy and it feels weird compared to previous iterations. There are lots of different bastions, traps and defensive mounted engines, which are great for cosmetics, but hardly have any impact on gameplay. Defense engines now fire manually, which rewards quick fingers. I enjoyed hurling haybales at times and commanding the mighty ballista against catapults.
The other new stuff is day-night cycles, which is an interesting concept. Fighting at night is generally more challenging, as unit visibility is reduced and light sources are required to illuminate areas to counter it. Paying attention to enemy positions is vital in this part of the day, however you get lots of means to light an area. Haybale launchers are a great way and the most comfortable to do so, throwing an infinite amount of hay to the field. While a neat mechanic, it is heavily manipulated. During the campaign, the cycles are obviously scripted, as no mission follows the daily cycle. In fact, most missions play in one of the day periods, and others making use of it change at very trivial points.
The lack of Skirmish[]
Like mentioned before, Skirmish mode is missing from SH3. This is a burden and in my opinion, the nail in the coffin for this game's low popularity. Even after years, the studios decided not to make it into the game, which hurts.
However, the more pressing issue is that no skirmish mode means no incentive to create interactive AI opponents. All characters in Stronghold 3 single player are represented by pre-placed estates doing nothing. When a character attacks, an invasion army spawns from inside its domain and makes its way to your fort. This is lazy design, makes characters feel the same during missions and on the top of that, the absence of communication results in a bland, husk-like feeling. It's true that Stronghold 1 worked the same way, however lots of time passed since then, easy enough to implement a working building manager. Besides, the scripting of custom messages really gave Stronghold 1 single player a unique vibe that still carries to this day.
It is known that the game was delivered before its time due to release and contract constraints. Still, the Studios could have had reconsidered their paths and add additional features into the game, not mentioning custom mini-videos and sound files. The Wolf got his 3D-art on the title screen - couldn't the others get their own media as well during that time? Recuperating could have been achieved if the problems (outside bugfixes) would have been addressed and corrected. People opinionated negatively on the game right after release, but there was always room for forgiveness.
As a whole, Stronghold 3's campaign feels...[]
... hollow and bland. It makes good steps towards recreating the Stronghold 1 campaign's vibes, however it just falls short in every department. While gameplay is certainly more dynamic, the shallowness of narration, briefing graphics and unliveliness of characters label it a forgettable member of the Stronghold series.