RAID: Shadow Legends review: a deep collection RPG behind the famous ads

RAID: Shadow Legends is the game almost everyone has heard of and far fewer have actually played. Plarium launched it on Android and iOS in July 2018, brought it to PC in January 2020 through its own launcher, and released it on Steam on January 9, 2024, where Plarium Global Ltd is listed as developer and publisher. It's free-to-play, turn-based and built around collecting heroes, which Plarium calls champions.

Its sponsorship campaign, spread across thousands of YouTube and Twitch videos, turned it into an internet meme. So the question this review answers is simple: once you get past the ads, is RAID worth your time in 2026?

Presentation: the champions carry the game

RAID's strongest card is its art. The Steam page promises more than 800 playable champions, and each one is a detailed 3D model with its own attack animations, from armored knights to undead horrors. Critics who disliked the business model still tended to praise the visuals, and player summaries on Steam list graphics among the main positives.

The dark fantasy world of Teleria is less memorable. The story is thin and mostly there to justify new bosses. Plarium leans instead on themed crossover events. The current one, Echoes of Oz, reimagines Dorothy, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion as champions, alongside a new villain, Ozilda the Wicked. It's silly, but it shows the team still puts real effort into new characters eight years after launch.

Core gameplay: the real game happens before the fight

Battles are turn-based and most of them can run on auto. That makes RAID look shallow from the outside. In practice, the challenge is in preparation. You pick champions whose skills combine well, equip artifact sets, and balance stats such as speed, accuracy and resistance.

Speed is the stat that matters most. Faster champions take more turns, so tuning a team's speed so buffs and debuffs land in the right order is how you beat hard content. Cracking a Clan Boss or a Doom Tower floor after hours of adjusting gear is genuinely rewarding. For players who enjoy theorycrafting, this is a deep system.

Balance changes keep things moving. Update 11.80.0, released on October 8, reworked the healer Skartorsis so his skills now revive the whole team, and strengthened Kurosa the Covetous. The same patch improved Artifact Chest drops and eased Faction Wars Hard mode, two changes aimed squarely at long-time players.

Modes and progression: plenty to do, slowly

The Steam listing counts eight game modes. You get a campaign, gear dungeons, the Clan Boss, Arena and Live Arena, Faction Wars, the Doom Tower, plus rotating events and tournaments. There's always a goal, and the variety stops daily play from feeling identical.

The catch is pace. Ranking a champion to six stars means feeding it many other champions. Artifacts drop with random stats, so you farm the same dungeon dozens of times for one good piece. Energy also caps how much you can play each day. A free player can make steady progress, but building teams for the hardest content takes months. On Steam, "repetitive" is one of the most common complaints.

PvP battles reward careful speed tuning. Screenshot: Plarium Global Ltd via Steam

Social play: clans make the difference

RAID is mostly a solo game, but clans matter. A good clan shares Clan Boss damage for better rewards, competes in Clan vs Clan tournaments and offers advice on what to build. The 11.80.0 update added new Relic objectives to those CvC tournaments. Live Arena adds real-time PvP for players who want to test their teams against people. For many long-term players, the clan is the main reason they keep logging in.

Monetization: where RAID loses the most points

Summoning is random. Free Mystery Shards drop regularly, but the better Ancient, Void and Sacred Shards are what you want. A 2019 PocketGamer.biz breakdown found that a bundle of 15 Ancient Shards (plus other resources) cost around $100, and those shards still don't guarantee a specific champion. There's a cheap starter pack, daily packs, and a constant stream of limited offers.

Plarium does give a lot away. Dorothy Gale, a Legendary champion, only required logging in on seven days during Echoes of Oz. A 25-day Reward Calendar is running now too. Even so, the store is never far away. Critics such as TheGamer have called RAID pay-to-win, and Steam players repeatedly call the pop-ups intrusive.

Performance and reception

On PC, RAID is light. The Steam page asks for a 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 system, 8 GB of RAM, a DirectX 11 or Vulkan GPU and 5 to 8 GB of storage. It runs on modest laptops, and Arm64 Windows devices are supported. Bugs do appear: in September, Plarium acknowledged that a champion skill was hitting one target instead of all of them, and promised a fix.

Reception on Steam is split. The game holds a Mixed rating, with 1,708 of 2,805 reviews positive, or about 61%. Positive reviews praise the visuals, the depth and a fairly generous free start. Negative reviews focus on microtransactions, pop-ups and repetition.

Who it's for

RAID suits players who love collecting heroes, tinkering with gear and checking in daily for short sessions. It works best if you join an active clan and accept that progress is measured in months. It's a poor fit for anyone who wants a strong story, fast progression or a store that stays out of the way.

Verdict

RAID: Shadow Legends earns a 6.5/10. Behind the memes is a real strategy game with superb champion designs, meaningful team-building and plenty of modes. The slow grind, random gear and aggressive offers keep it from being easy to recommend.

Play it if you enjoy theorycrafting teams, collecting characters and playing patiently over a long period. Skip it if you dislike gacha mechanics, hate pop-up offers or want a game that respects a free player's time.

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