Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition Review (PC) – A Befitting Improvement But Some Quirks Remain

I’ve been a gamer for nearly my entire life, but PC gaming mostly passed me by until recent years. That said, back in the late ’90s and early 2000s, I fell hard for real-time strategy games. One in particular stood out to me: Stronghold Crusader by Firefly Studios. Its blend of city-building, combat, and economic management hit differently—and, dare I say, I even preferred it over Age of Empires.

So when Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition was announced for a 2025 release, I was all in. Sure, there was a remaster back in 2012 with Stronghold Crusader HD, but I wasn’t gaming on PC then; I just couldn’t afford it. That makes this Definitive Edition my first real chance in over two decades to revisit a classic I’ve always held close.

The big question is: does Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition do justice to the original, and does it still hold up in 2025?

Game Name: Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed)
Publisher(s): Firefly Studios
Developer(s): Firefly Studios
Release Date: July 15th, 2025

What is Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition?

Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition is a remastered version of the original 2002 release. However, labelling it a remaster feels a little bit disingenuous and disrespectful of the work that has gone into this release, but more on that later.

If you played Stronghold Crusader back in 2002, you’ll be happy to know that everything seems to be intact here for Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition. The original campaign, trials, and skirmish modes all remain key focuses of the game. There is also online multiplayer, but unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to test this during the review period due to limited player numbers.

Don’t worry if you haven’t played before; even the game’s in-depth tutorials remain, but the best thing to do is to start with the trials. These are specific scenarios, each with a different goal, from defending a castle, laying siege to the enemy stronghold, and more. Each trial helps you learn something about the game, from how to use certain units in combat to optimizing your economy and more. If you don’t start with this, then I’d recommend you give them a go before trying to take your skills into multiplayer.

Another option is playing through a campaign, which is more story-focused with specific goals to accomplish between missions as you play through the crusades. These can be enjoyable, but as someone who has experienced most of them before, I didn’t feel the need to play the old campaigns again.

How Does It Improve On The Original Release?

Fear not, if, like me, you have little interest in replaying the same old content, this is one area Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition looks to improve on the original release. With two brand-new historical campaigns, four new skirmish trials, and even a co-op trial to play through with a friend.

For multiplayer fans, you’ll be delighted to hear that Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition includes some new maps, but more importantly, bigger map sizes. On top of that, Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition adds eight new units for players to use in combat. Bedouin Warriors can be trained using their unique building, brand-new in Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition.

Unfortunately, I have yet to have the opportunity to test out these new units, but I do know that they will help to add extra tactical options, especially in multiplayer.

A Facelift Fit For A Lord

Of course, a massive part of any remaster is upgrading the visuals and audio to a more modern standard. In that regard, Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition delivers a facelift fit for a lord. Everything, from menus to character and building designs, has been revamped, keeping the core designs but cleaning them all up into a smoother, more vibrant presentation.

Keeping up with clever improvements, audio has been remastered and even re-recorded in some cases. Both the voice lines and the game’s score sound better than they ever have. Not everything is the same, of course, with new voice lines for the new units and AI lords. Thankfully, these new lines all fit well within the presentation you’d expect from a Stronghold game.

You’re Accessibility Could Use Improvement

The only area I can really see for improvement with Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition is in the accessibility. Don’t get me wrong, being an RTS game means that most gameplay requires one or two clicks of a mouse. The fact that we have no controller support here feels like a huge missed opportunity, especially when recent re-releases of Age of Empires have added controller support to great RTS classics. I would love to see Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition do the same, so if the developers read this, please consider adding this in the future.

No Taxing Performance

Thankfully, in terms of performance and bugs, I’ve had zero issues with Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition on my PC. Being an RTS means the game isn’t particularly taxing on my hardware, and I wouldn’t expect it to be taxing on any PC hardware from the last few years at the very least.

This is a highly polished experience; I haven’t encountered a single bug per se during the review period. Although some quirks of the original release remain, primarily in combat, your units can sometimes be a bit stupid and won’t always follow your instructions correctly. In the grand scheme of things, this doesn’t have a huge impact on the experience, and veterans of the franchise will know exactly what they are getting into. That doesn’t mean that it won’t be a point of frustration with new players, so keep that in mind.

Victory

Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition is a triumphant victory for developer Firefly Studios. Sitting somewhere between a remaster and a remake, Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition is the best the franchise has ever looked and sounded, with new content sure to delight returning players. Small issues remain from the original release, and the lack of controller support feels like a missed opportunity. However, those small issues don’t take away from the fact that this is the best way to play Stronghold Crusader in 2025.

Review Disclosure Statement: A copy of Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition was provided to us for review purposes by Firefly Studios. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy for more info.

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