Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader
What if history had magic?
Black Isle/Reflexive's Lionheart combined Fallout-style SPECIAL character creation with an alternate history where the Crusades released magic into the world.
Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader used the SPECIAL system from Fallout in an alternate-history setting where Richard the Lionheart’s Crusades tore reality, releasing magic and spirits. The Barcelona section offered genuine choice and consequence; later acts devolved into hack-and-slash. It’s remembered as an ambitious game that couldn’t quite fulfil its premise.
Fast facts
- Developer: Reflexive Entertainment (with Black Isle oversight).
- Publisher: Interplay.
- Setting: 16th-century alternate Europe with magic.
- System: SPECIAL (from Fallout).
- Reception: praised early game; criticised linear later sections.
- Black Isle involvement: design assistance, but not primary developer.
The premise
Alternate history:
- The Disjunction: Crusades tore reality.
- Magic returns: spirits and powers enter the world.
- Historical figures: Leonardo da Vinci, Machiavelli as characters.
- Barcelona: hub city with faction conflicts.
The divide
Why opinions split:
- Strong opening: Barcelona offers RPG depth.
- Later acts: become linear dungeon crawls.
- Development issues: apparent resource constraints.
- Potential unfulfilled: ideas exceeded execution.