The fantasy realm of Atre: Dominance Wars is one I’ve had eyes on for fairly a while now, and developer Ironward is getting one step forward of the upcoming February Steam Subsequent Fest by dropping its demo early. It steps into an attention-grabbing spot someplace between extra conventional 4X choices like Civilization 7, the hero-led technique of Complete Annihilation: Kingdoms, Black and White’s godly powers, and role-playing components that may reshape the world by way of key narrative occasions.
Ironward cites 4X video games together with Age of Wonders and Stellaris amongst its key inspirations for Atre: Dominance Wars, together with the Heroes of May and Magic collection. Fusing technique and RPG components collectively, it drops you into the function of an Elder – a robust being looking for to realize godhood in a world warped by a phenomenon referred to as The Merge. This cataclysm has twisted 4 completely different lands collectively, and when you do not act quick to show your value, you may be eaten alive by your rivals.
A big a part of Atre is establishing and upgrading cities throughout the land, constructing out your legions of followers able to serve the trigger. As an Elder, you are able to unlocking the keys to powers able to bringing prosperity to your lands, or unleashing devastation upon them. The extra that power grows, you may study to mutate your armies, craft potent artifacts, or name upon the immortal avatars of the gods. Act with care, nevertheless, for opening the gate between worlds can enable highly effective threats to flood in.
The world you are dropped into is altered by the way in which you construct your Elder and the magical attributes you assign them, as are the occasions you may encounter as your marketing campaign progresses. Which means that no two playthroughs ought to really feel fairly the identical.
The brand new Atre demo skips the Elder customization that the total sport will supply, however permits you to play by way of the early story, making decisions that can outline your stats, and witnessing the cataclysm of the Merge play out.
You may then be walked by way of the sport’s core mechanics of constructing and upgrading cities, conducting analysis, mutating items, casting spells, forging artifacts, participating in battle, and making quest-altering selections, earlier than culminating in a full-scale conflict towards a rival Elder to place these newfound expertise to the take a look at.
Ironward estimates which you can count on roughly two hours of gameplay throughout the prologue, tutorial, and 60 minutes of time-limited play in skirmish or on-line. You are additionally capable of replay the demo when you’re eager to get a style of mastering all 4 planes of magic.
The Atre: Dominance Wars demo is obtainable now on Steam, with the total sport deliberate to launch within the second quarter of 2026. You may obtain the demo right here, and it will even be a part of the upcoming Steam Subsequent Fest, which runs from Monday February 23 to Monday March 2.
Ironward notes that progress made within the demo will not carry over to the total model of the sport, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a perfect probability to pattern the distinct mix of flavors that it has been cooking up with Atre: Dominance Wars. It is actually one I am watching carefully as the total launch will get close to.
