I’d not heard of Eldegarde when I was contacted for a review of the game. I had heard of Legacy: Steel and Sorcery, and that’s what the game was known as for almost a year. It underwent a rebrand ahead of an early access launch that landed midway through January 2026, bringing with it a fresh identity and (hopefully) a new lease on life.
Eldegard represents a conundrum. It has stacks of potential, entertainment combat, relatively deep mechanics, and attractive visuals, but it’s being played by almost nobody, and for that reason alone, it’ll likely die a death in just a few months.
For now, read on and check out my full Eldegarde review, which might help you swing one way or another in buying or ignoring this extraction-based ‘mini-MMO’ from Notorious Studios.
The Origins of Eldegarde
For the most part, nobody really knew why Notorious Studio rebranded Legacy: Steel and Sorcery to Eldegarde ahead of the game’s early access launch. The studio, represented by Chris Kaleiki, a 13-year Blizzard veteran who cut his teeth in World of Warcraft, seems to have tried making the switch without alerting the community – but it didn’t work that way.
If anything, it has just confused prospective fans. Before launch, the demo of ‘Eldegarde’ still reflected ‘Legacy: Steel and Sorcery’ branding.
Kaleiki founded Notorious Studios in 2021, a few months after leaving Blizzard Entertainment. In an AMA posted around a year ago, he revealed Legacy: Steel and Sorcery, a PvPvE extraction RPG with MMO elements. Today, Eldegarde boasts the loop you’d expect from a game like that, but it has pivoted slightly to focus more prominently on a PvE experience, which I love.
After decades of multiplayer-based gaming, which includes five years of Escape from Tarkov’s punishing PvP platform, I relish PvE experiences whenever they appear on my radar.
Eldegarde is now a ‘mini-MMO Action RPG’ with a series of modes to accommodate all player types – PvE, PvPvE, and arena-based modes. The term ‘extraction’ isn’t mentioned in the game’s bio, but that’s the core concept of the title. If you don’t extract from the match you’ve queued for, you lose everything.
That’s the DNA of an extraction game, just like ARC Raiders or Escape from Tarkov.
The Depth of Eldegarde
When I booted Eldegarde, I had little idea of what to expect. I knew the base formula of the game and had seen footage of it, but that was it. What was ultimately delivered genuinely exceeded my expectations.
Eldegarde offers players a range of classes, all typical fantasy tropes, that they can build on and explore a series of open-world environments with. For instance, you’ve got a light and agile Rogue, a bow-wielding Hunter, a powerhouse Warrior, and a stalwart Paladin, to name a few.
Each class is diverse and entirely separate from the other, representing a range of playstyles and roles. You can play a healer and assume control of a Priest, or you can try to go high DPS and overwhelm enemies as a Wizard, for example. One negative at this point is that character customization doesn’t exist outside of cosmetics and in-game items, so identity duplication runs rampant.
As you explore the menus and options, you’ll start to see the depth of Eldegarde. You’ve got a range of vendors to choose from and grow alongside, skill paths and traits unique to each class, a ‘Lodge’ that serves as an upgradeable hideout, crafting area, and storage station, and a range of quests, including main, weekly, side, and a ‘battle pass’ style system.
It’s enough for a fair few hours of entertainment, even if there’s a major concern about the longevity of the game.
Loading into a ‘raid’ takes seconds, and you’re not just plunged in at the deep end. You can’t play PvP-focused raids until you’ve a) reached a certain level, and b) have the appropriate equipment to (potentially) survive. You’ve got day maps, night raids, the arena option, and core PvP loops, all of which fuse to represent a varied palette for gamers.
Those maps are also attractive. This game is like Fable meets ARC Raiders meets World of Warcraft. That makes sense, given Kaleiki’s origins, and it’s an easy way to describe the game you’re getting into. It feels like a charming MMO with cartoon visuals, but it plays like a third-person extraction shooter.
Combat is engaging and at times stunning, if a little tricky for controller players. I found that the on-screen glyphs don’t update when you play with a controller, so you’re left unsure of which inputs do what.
There’s a bit of jank and some inconsistent animations that crop up mid-battle, but not enough that it’s a huge problem. And I’d also stress that the difficulty balancing feels unpredictable, and that some classes are way more potent than others, which presents a dilemma of sorts, especially in a PvP world.
Is Eldegarde Worth the $24.99 Investment?
Eldegarde isn’t especially cheap, considering it’s a first outing for a new studio that has launched in early access. For a few dollars more, you can get a game like ARC Raiders, one of the most overwhelmingly successful extraction titles ever made.
That said, I think it could be worth the investment.
I’ve really enjoyed the game’s multiplayer, and the loot, shoot, and scoot mechanics are stable and simple enough for anyone to pick up the game and run with it. My wife has been playing alongside me, and she’s never even installed an extraction title before, but she loves Eldegarde because of the fantasy, fairytale vibe.
It’s like nothing else in the extraction space, I’ll say that.
Sure, I’ve had a few bugs, but this is an early access title from a small studio, and I’ve experienced nothing game-breaking. We keep noting that ‘this game keeps getting deeper’ when, in our little group, we discover a new element or mechanic. There’s a bit of meat on the bones for more hardcore players, but it’s a walk in the park if you just want a casual, PvE experience.
It all comes together quite nicely, even if I can’t see the game staying alive for more than a few months. It’s unfortunate for me to admit that, but as I write this review, it has just 540 players active on Steam, the game’s exclusive platform. It also has just 360 viewers on Twitch.
I hope it does well enough for Notorious to keep expanding on it, because I’m a good few hours deep and I’m really enjoying what has been presented thus far. With a bit more lore and some fresh maps, along with a loop that regularly introduces improvements and new missions, Eldegarde could be a subtle gem of the genre that fits nicely into a niche.
Eldegarde Review: Verdict
I’m having fun playing Eldegarde, but I appreciate that it’s a subjective topic. The game has great bones and a good foundation, but it’s not being discovered by enough players for it to be super relevant in the genre it’s trying to break into.
I love the visuals and depth of the game, but it just needs more juice to retain players for long enough for it to evolve. It’s a relatively safe introduction for players wanting an extraction experience, but I fear it might never become much more than that, and that has made me mournful more than anything else.
Eldegarde is available exclusively on Steam. Let us know if you’re enjoying the game on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
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Grant's adoration for gaming started on the Amstrad CPC in 1996. Now, he's a multi-platform expert gamer with a deep love for the industry, a passion for esports, and more…
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