Explore, loot, and survive in Legacy: Steel & Sorcery, a high-risk PvPvE extraction RPG. Read on to learn everything we know, our review of the demo, and more.
Everything We Know About Legacy: Steel & Sorcery
Legacy: Steel & Sorcery Plot
Unlike traditional RPGs, Legacy: Steel & Sorcery doesn’t follow a scripted narrative or predefined protagonist. There’s no grand prophecy, no ancient evil to defeat, and no detailed backstory explaining why you’ve entered this dangerous world. Instead, the game fully embraces player-driven storytelling, allowing you to forge your own path through quests, battles, and alliances. Whether you become a feared warrior, a cunning rogue, or a wandering priest, your journey is shaped entirely by the choices you make and the conflicts you survive.
Legacy: Steel & Sorcery Gameplay
Legacy: Steel & Sorcery is a high-risk, high-reward third-person, full-loot PvPvE fantasy RPG. With a mix of PvE and PvP elements, every expedition into the world is a gamble. You’ll face deadly AI-controlled creatures, but the real threat comes from other players looking to claim your hard-earned loot.
Each of the four launch classes—Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, and Priest—offers a unique playstyle, with additional classes like Paladin and Wizard set to arrive in future updates. Class abilities don’t just influence combat but also how players interact with the environment. Warriors can charge through walls, Priests can levitate to reach inaccessible areas, and other classes have their own ways of bending the world to their advantage.
Legacy: Steel & Sorcery Release Date
Legacy: Steel & Sorcery launched in Early Access on Steam on February 12, 2025. While the game is currently in its early stages, Notorious Studios has yet to announce a full release date. The developers have hinted at ongoing content updates, including new zones, dungeons, classes, and an arena system, but no official timeline has been set for when the game will transition out of Early Access.
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| Price | Wishlist Only | ||||
Legacy: Steel & Sorcery Review (Early Access)
Promising Chaos in a Brutal World
Legacy: Steel & Sorcery throws you into a ruthless, high-stakes world where every match is a gamble between survival and total loss. As a PvPvE extraction-based fantasy game, it has all the makings of an adrenaline-pumping experience—but as it stands in early access, it still feels like it's missing something. The core gameplay loop is undeniably addicting, as any good extraction game should be, but after a few rounds, the question lingers: "Is this all there is?"
The game currently offers solo play or groups of three, with no duo option yet—a surprising omission. Given how often matches devolve into chaotic, battle-royale-style skirmishes, a duo mode would make sense. If players are going to treat it like a battle royale anyway, why not lean into that and provide more matchmaking flexibility?
The Brutality of Matchmaking
This lack of duo mode feeds into a broader issue—matchmaking. Right now, matchmaking doesn’t seem to be skill- or level-based, meaning fresh players can drop into a lobby full of bloodthirsty veterans. Imagine loading in, barely stepping onto the map, and suddenly being gunned down before you’ve had a chance to grab anything. That’s the reality here. Sure, this is a player-driven issue, but the game could do more to mitigate it. Maybe a simple communication tool, like stickers or white flags, could help signal non-hostile intentions. Or perhaps a safe zone where players can loot in peace before the real danger kicks in. Because as it stands, survival often feels like a pipe dream.
And then there’s the penalty for death, losing absolutely everything. Not just the loot you gathered during the match but also your carefully upgraded gear. It’s the ultimate "back to square one" punishment. While punishing loss is standard for the extraction genre, the sheer brutality of it here, combined with the matchmaking imbalance, makes progression feel frustratingly slow. One potential solution could be implementing a tiered matchmaking system based on gear score or experience level, similar to other extraction games. This way, newer players can get a fair shot at looting and survive without immediately being wiped out by veterans who already have better equipment.
Class Balancing Woes
And that imbalance doesn’t just exist in matchmaking, it extends into class balance as well. The game currently has four playable classes—Priest, Rogue, Hunter, and Warrior—with Paladin and Wizard coming soon. And let me just say, that melee classes have a massive advantage. As someone who always gravitates toward magic users, I immediately noticed the imbalance. Running out of mana in a crossfire is basically a death sentence. Sure, normal attacks restore some mana, but that doesn’t help much when you’re already overwhelmed. Meanwhile, Warriors and Rogues can just brute-force their way through encounters with far less risk. Class balancing is definitely something that needs refining.
The leveling system ties into this issue, too. Each class must be leveled separately to unlock new skills and traits, meaning switching playstyles requires a significant grind. But good luck doing that efficiently, because the starting gear is almost useless. I struggled to take down even basic mobs, let alone players who were already rocking high-tier weapons. The gap between new and experienced players feels wider than it should. Future updates could introduce a more gradual power curve, where early-game gear isn’t completely ineffective but instead scales better based on how players progress. Adding minor buffs to starting gear or ensuring early mobs drop better loot could make the experience smoother.
The Main Hub
Stepping away from the battlefield, the game redeems itself with its well-crafted hub area. The hub isn’t just a matchmaking lobby; it brings a more traditional RPG feel to the experience. The different vendors like the Alchemist, Armorer, Enchantress, Tailor, Tavernmaid, Treasurer, and Weaponsmith allow you to buy and craft potions, upgrade gear, and even manage your home base, the Lodge. It’s in these moments that the game truly embraces its RPG elements.
That said, these vendors are static. While they serve an important purpose, they really don't have any personality. Having actual dialogue or voiced lines could add some much-needed immersion. Right now, they function more like UI elements than actual characters.
The Lodge, on the other hand, is a nice touch. Acting as your personal base, it allows you to craft, and cook to boost stats, or even earn passive XP if you’ve unlocked the bed. This kind of long-term progression is one of the game’s strongest elements, and I hope future updates expand upon it further.
Progression System & Technical Performance
This progression ties into how you move forward in the game—primarily through quests. If you want to level up efficiently, finishing quests is essential. These range from successfully extracting during a match to gathering specific materials for brewing potions and crafting upgrades. The variety is nice, offering different ways to engage with the world beyond just looting and surviving. However, given how punishing the actual matches can be, it would be nice to have more ways to earn meaningful XP outside of constantly risking everything. More PvE-exclusive missions or additional quest types could help alleviate this issue.
Of course, no early access game is without its technical hiccups. Framerate drops occur occasionally, and I encountered an issue where enemy health bars would randomly disappear, hardly ideal in the middle of a fight. While not game-breaking, these issues can be frustrating. That said, considering its early access status, the game runs relatively smoothly, and I expect continued updates will iron out these bugs over time.
Potential Updates
The developers seem to be aware of these growing pains, as the game’s roadmap outlines several promising additions. A new zone and dungeon are planned, along with character customization, additional classes, and an arena system. The arena, in particular, could be a game-changer, offering structured PvP outside of the chaotic free-for-all found in normal matches. Hopefully, these updates will also introduce PvE-safe zones where players can focus on questing and resource gathering without the ever-present PvP threat.
Another feature I’m excited about is the Guild Hall. This could add a much-needed social element, allowing players to form structured groups and strategize outside of combat. If implemented well, this could significantly improve the game’s cooperative experience.
Better With Friends
Legacy: Steel & Sorcery is best enjoyed with friends. While solo play is an option, it’s far less forgiving and much more frustrating when you have no one watching your back. The game has a solid foundation—intense extraction-based gameplay, a rich hub world, and promising long-term progression systems—but it still feels like it’s missing key elements to make it truly stand out.
Right now, the biggest hurdles are balancing issues, matchmaking fairness, and the general lack of content. There’s plenty of potential here, and if the developers build on what they already have—adding more classes, refining PvP mechanics, and smoothing out progression—this could become a must-play in the extraction genre. But for now? It’s fun, chaotic, and sometimes frustrating. If you don’t mind being constantly hunted down by trigger-happy players, you’ll probably have a blast. If that doesn’t sound like your idea of a good time, you might want to wait and see how it evolves.
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Legacy: Steel & Sorcery Product Information
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| Title | LEGACY: STEEL & SORCERY |
|---|---|
| Release Date | February 12, 2025 (Early Access) |
| Developer | Notorious Studios |
| Publisher | Notorious Studios |
| Supported Platforms | PC (Steam) |
| Genre | RPG, Extraction Shooter |
| Number of Players | 1-3 |
| ESRB Rating | TBD |
| Official Website | Legacy: Steel & Sorcery Official Website |
