Humanity has been pushed to the brink of extinction after the discovery of a strange rift that appeared one the once peaceful God’s Continent. The purpose of the rift was unclear at first, that was until hordes of the undead spilled into God’s Continent from another dimension. The endless armies of the undead spread across the land, destroying everything they touched and pushing humanity to the edge of existence. That was until the humans discovered the Gate of Ages. A legend that was once thought to be a child’s story spoke of a magical gate that could transport people through time, it was only after the humans discovered it that they began to fight back. Featuring an exciting selection of innovative MMORTS mechanics, combined with the in-depth character progression seen in popular MMORPG games, Shadowland Online is a unique free to play title that can be played directly through your browser.

There are hundreds of browser-based MMORTS games on the market, and each new title that’s released must bring something special in order to standout. Shadowland Online manages this by combining a unique story backdrop with a strong selection of fresh strategy related features. Unlike most other games in the RTS genre, Shadowland Online doesn’t focus around base building and construction, instead it offers players enthralling combat based mechanics. You start out with a very basic town consisting of several buildings. Each building has a specific use such as the Armory, that’s used to upgrade and fortify weapons, and your Town Hall, the center of your city. Other buildings are available but they’re unlocked and constructed automatically, as you level up your Town Hall. This means you don’t have to worry about balancing resources to ensure you can construct a new building, or upgrade an existing one, giving you more time to spend in combat.

The combat system in Shadowland Online is one of the most exciting I’ve experienced in a browser game. The fighting itself is automated but the animations and fully supported UI make it highly interesting each and every time. In order to battle you must first raise an army, which is done by training Heroes, instead of paying for mindless infantry units. Each hero has a certain type, such as Paladin or Mage, and depending on the heroes type, different units will be available for battle. Hiring new heroes is one of the main focal points of Shadowland Online as you can use the Gate of the Ages to travel back to iconic eras throughout human history, defeating and hiring famous historical characters such as Napoleon and Leonidas. Each hero levels up individually and can be equipped with a variety of items to increase their strength in battle.

Shadowland Online breaths fresh life into a stale genre, offering a variety of unique features and one of the best hero systems available in your browser. A must play title for strategy fans.

Rating: 7.0

by Blaine Smith