Deal | Old-school RTS with 93% positive reviews now just $2.40 on Steam

Seven Kingdoms: Ancient Adversaries is a real-time strategy game released in 1998 that combines classic RTS battles reminiscent of Age of Empires with surprisingly complex economic and diplomatic systems for its time. The retro strategy game is currently 60% off on Steam, bringing the price down from around $6 to just $2.40. According to SteamDB, this matches its previous all-time low, although the game regularly goes on sale at this price.

As the name suggests, players take control of one of seven kingdoms – including the Greeks, Persians, Vikings, Normans, Maya, Chinese and Japanese – and attempt to turn their empire into the world's dominant power. The setting is a historically inspired fantasy world drawing on both ancient civilizations and the Middle Ages. Each culture has its own strengths and weaknesses, along with a powerful deity unit that can be sent into battle.

In terms of gameplay, Seven Kingdoms initially offers familiar real-time strategy mechanics: building settlements, gathering resources, raising armies and fighting battles. However, its economic and diplomatic systems are considerably more complex than what players might expect from a 1990s strategy game. Players need to organize production chains and trade routes, keep their population happy and maintain diplomatic relations with other kingdoms. Those who play their cards right can even infiltrate rival kingdoms with spies or simply buy their way to the throne instead of defeating their enemies on the battlefield.

The retro RTS has only around 250 Steam reviews, but 93% of them are positive. Aside from the dated graphics and relatively steep learning curve – both of which are hardly surprising for a nearly 30-year-old real-time strategy game – players have few major complaints. At a price of around $2.40, the game is certainly worth a look for RTS fans. However, it's not a great fit for the Steam Deck. According to ProtonDB, the game suffers from frequent lag and crashes.

The video here offers plenty of gameplay footage: 

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