Rise of Legions is a fast, free RTS based on an old Warcraft 3 mod

Rise of Legions is a "castle siege RTS" built around "short, intense 1v1 matches" that has players trying to smash their opponent's castle before their own castle ends up similarly schmucked. It's based on the old Warcraft 3 mod Castle Fight, if that rings a bell, it's free, and it's playable today on Steam Early Access. 

Players will collect cards to build decks of unique units, taken from across three unique Legions—factions, basically—which can then be turned against human opponents in quickplay matches or PvE "challenges" against AI-controlled bosses. The gameplay options are fairly basic right now, but it looks pretty good and doesn't require a significant time investment to play, as matches will normally only take about ten minutes to complete.  

The developers warned that Rise of Legions "might be a bit rough around the edges at first," but said that all listed features are implemented. In-game purchases of skins and cards are available, and players can redeem their Steam key in the Rise of Legions store for some free currency to get things started. Over the Early Access period, they plan to add more Legions, 2v2 and ranked play, tiered matchmaking, custom multiplayer matches, and new units, skins, and other features. 

If you give it a shot and encounter one of those rough edges, there's a Discord server where you can go for help—or if you just want to hang out and dispense ideas and suggestions, which are also welcome. Rise of Legions is expected to go into full release sometime this summer. 

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.