Hegemony III: Clash of the Ancients

Hegemony III: Clash of the Ancients is the third game in the Hegemony series, created by Canadian developer Longbow Games and launched on Windows on August 25, 2015. It blends historical grand strategy with real-time tactical battles on a map that players can freely zoom in and out of, switching between a 2D strategic overview and a 3D tactical battlefield while the game runs in pausable real time. Resource management ties these two levels together, with a focus on building supply chains to connect resource hubs to infrastructure and keep armies supplied. On the tactical side, players command different unit types, winning fights through careful selection, stance, and positioning.

Set in the 5th century BC, when Rome was just one of many city-states on the Italian peninsula, the game lets players start as various factions—such as the Etruscans, Gauls in the north, or Greeks in the south. Expanding influence requires managing resources, building an army, upgrading cities with structures, researching technologies, and engaging in diplomacy. A tutorial mini-campaign helps new players learn the mechanics.

In sandbox mode, the goal is to earn hegemony points by achieving cultural, economic, and military dominance. The base game includes a large Italy sandbox (the Apennine peninsula) and a smaller Etruria mini-campaign/tutorial, which is not a separate sandbox mode. The Eagle King DLC adds a medium Sicily sandbox and an option to expand the Italy sandbox to include Sicily. This DLC also offers an invasion scenario where players pick a faction (like Gauls, Cretans, or Macedonians), equip troops using a point system, and land in Italy with settlers to establish a base and compete against local factions.

The game features 28 factions from six cultural groups—Etruscan, Gallic, Greek, Illyric, Latin, and Sabellic—with the Eagle King DLC adding five more from a Sicilian group. Factions differ in starting bonuses, unit types, and researchable technologies. Examples include Rome, Veii, the Sabines, the Marsians, the Lucanians, and the Venetians.

Campaign mode guides players through a historical scenario with optional tasks and events. As of early 2021, the only campaign is the Pyrrhus of Epirus campaign (from The Eagle King DLC), where players take the role of King Pyrrhus to protect Greek city-states in southern Italy from the expanding Roman Republic.