Etherlords II

2003 Nival Adventure, Indie, RPG, Strategy

Windows 11With a fix

MacNot sold

LinuxGold

Gamicality score

Metacritic 784

OpenCritic Not rated

Steam players 781

How it’s combined

Playability today

3.5

Runs today3/5

Design today3.5/5

Steam user reviews

Very Positive

84%

464 reviews1

Get it on Steam

Facts checked November 1, 2026

Does Etherlords II run on Windows 11, Apple Silicon Macs, Linux and Steam Deck?

Windows 11With a fix

Runs with a fix. See the steps below.1

Mac (Apple Silicon)Not sold

No Mac version is sold.

LinuxGold

Through Proton. ProtonDB: Gold, runs perfectly after tweaks.3

Played Etherlords II lately?

One click, no account, so the next player knows. How we check where it runs

How to get Etherlords II running today

If the game shows a Cannot clear primary surface error, run Config from the game folder and untick Full Screen (Steam review).
Set the game to Windows XP compatibility mode and run it as administrator, which one player says solved most of their problems (Steam review).

Synopsis

Etherlords II is a fantasy strategy game from Nival that mixes adventure map exploration with turn-based card duels. Across five campaigns the player leads a hero through story missions, collects spells and builds a 16-card deck to fight enemy heroes and creatures.

Developer: Nival
Released: 2003
Genre: Adventure, Indie, RPG, Strategy
Where to get it: Steam

Reception

Critics at release liked the duel system and multiplayer but called the single player campaigns linear and padded with filler fights; the PC version holds a Metascore of 78 from 17 critics. On Steam it is Very Positive, with players describing each enemy deck as a puzzle to solve. Recent reviews call it slow and fault the small, story-gated spell pool and the lack of saved deck builds, and official online play has shut down.

Playability today

The average of two parts, each from 1 to 5. Tap a check to see why. How it works

Runs today

3/5

Sold or given away today by an official source
Needs fan patches to run well on Windows 11
?Not confirmed yetSingle-player works without an internet connection
No source covers the current version yet, so this check counts as open, not passed. Played it lately? Tell us
Some content no longer works (servers, DLC, unlocks)
The official online servers have shut down; only LAN and hot seat multiplayer remain (PCGamingWiki).
No proper support for modern resolutions and widescreen
Widescreen is only possible through a community hack, with no native support (PCGamingWiki).
No full controller support and no remappable controls
There is no controller support (PCGamingWiki).
?Not confirmed yetSteam Deck Verified or Playable
No source covers the current version yet, so this check counts as open, not passed. Played it lately? Tell us
No intrusive DRM or required third-party launcher account
No pay-to-win or pushy microtransactions
No known game-breaking bugs in the current version
PCGamingWiki lists no open issues, and players report it runs on Windows 11 after a windowed mode or compatibility setting (PCGamingWiki), (Steam review), (Steam review).

Design today

3.5/5

Controls feel natural on a modern controller or mouse and keyboard
Play is turn-based, F1 to F4 switch between battle camera views, and the camera can also be moved and zoomed freely, though there is no button to repeat the last command in long battles. Source: gog.com.
Menus, text or interface are hard to read on today's screens
The graphics are locked at 1024×768, and widescreen is only possible through a community hack. Source: worthplaying.com, pcgamingwiki.com.
Saving is fair: free saves or frequent checkpoints, little lost progress
A player review says failure only happens in battles and that battles can be reloaded as often as needed; no source describes how manual saves work. Source: gog.com.
It teaches itself: no guide needed to make progress
Two tutorials teach the duel rules in about 15 to 20 minutes. Source: gog.com.
Pacing drags: grind, filler or forced backtracking
Many battles take ten minutes or more, filler fights pad the linear campaigns, and decks cannot be saved, so they have to be rebuilt by hand for each encounter. Source: worthplaying.com, steamcommunity.com, steamcommunity.com.
Camera and movement never fight the player
The automatic camera sweeps during battles can cause misclicks, but they can be switched off in the options, after which the camera moves and zooms freely. Source: gog.com.