Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom

Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom was released on 12 September 2026 for PC via Battle.net. It is priced at €29.99, or €49.99 as part of a bundle with Warcraft III Reforged. Both are also included in the €79.99 'Warcraft Forever' collection, which features additional content for World of Warcraft and World of Warcraft: Forever. However, those hoping for a traditional real-time strategy game may be disappointed, as Forsaken Kingdom is essentially a small role-playing game with RTS elements, strongly reminiscent of The Founding of Durotar, the free three-part bonus campaign from Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, which features Rexxar.

Essentially, players explore the familiar regions of the Eastern Kingdoms around Lordaeron and Stratholme. They complete quests, defeat enemies and level up their heroes while having access to an expanded inventory system with equipment slots and talent systems. Classic base-building and commanding large armies no longer play a pivotal role; instead, the game functions as a simplified isometric RPG. However, there are instances when extra units accompany the player's heroes on missions. These units often end up as fodder for the enemy.

The background story is more interesting, as the campaign bridges the narrative gap between the end of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne and the beginning of World of Warcraft. It explores the rise of the Forsaken (the Undead). The prologue, 'The Last Days of Lordaeron', comprises four missions which depict the downfall of the human kingdom. Players follow Lordaeron City Guard Lieutenant Garek Bandarion and Captain Landen as Arthas Menethil returns from Northrend to lead the Scourge in the destruction of Lordaeron. Players can then visit Stratholme and defeat Baron Rivendare, an iconic boss encounter reminiscent of World of Warcraft.

The main campaign, 'Forsaken Kingdom', follows the newly resurrected undead paladin Garek Bandarion and the Dark Ranger Anya. It depicts how the Forsaken, led by Sylvanas Windrunner, conquer the sewers and catacombs beneath the ruins of Lordaeron in order to build the city of Undercity. In doing so, they battle both the Scourge and the Scarlet Crusade. Many well-known WoW characters, such as Putress, Varimathras and Whitemane, make appearances, including in-game cutscenes with English voice-overs. Although the age of the technical framework is evident, the campaigns flourish due to their setting within the Warcraft universe and the sense of nostalgia they evoke.

In the typical RTS style, players control heroes across a large map and use abilities - positioned where the build or command menu would usually be found. These skills can be upgraded, but the selection of abilities is quite limited. The heroes' abilities are supplemented by a talent tree and the option to equip items, both of which strengthen them in battle. Unfortunately, however, the inventory, talent tree interface, etc. is rather clunky and clearly designed for a different purpose. While the main and side quests feature some surprising ideas, they do suffer from long travel distances, cooldown periods and rather uninspiring collection quests.

Alongside the expansion, Patch 3.0 has been released for free to all Warcraft III Reforged owners. This includes the Definitive Edition graphics mode. This new HD graphics mode completely redesigns over 600 models, improves performance and lighting, and brings the visuals closer to the classic Warcraft look. However, this option is only available in the Forsaken Kingdom campaigns, as well as in Custom Games/Versus and multiplayer. Additionally, the unit selection limit has doubled from 12 to 24 units, the World Editor has been modernised and a new multiplayer hero has been introduced: the Forsaken Paladin, based on the campaign hero Garek. This new hero is available for all four factions in multiplayer mode. Finally, LAN mode has been removed and players must now be connected to Battle.net, even for single-player campaigns. According to Blizzard Entertainment, the legacy Warcraft III client, which is included with the purchase of Reforged, offers LAN support and offline play (Battle.net support page).

Conclusion

When it was released, Warcraft III Reforged had a tough time, as it lacked features and much of it felt unfinished. However, the game has been improved over the years and has now been expanded with the release of Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom. While this is a positive development, unfortunately the developers opted for an RPG-lite approach similar to The Founding of Durotar, rather than sticking with the classic RTS format.

Features

• Interesting story set between Warcraft III and World of Warcraft featuring familiar characters.
• Extensive campaign set across large maps
• Numerous improvements thanks to Patch 3.0 & Definitive Edition graphics mode (not available for older campaigns)