I have finished the two introductory campaigns, and started the economic campaign, but I have decided to shelf the game for now. It's not very fun. They have stripped down a lot of things that made "Stronghold" games unique in favor of making it speedy. When the biggest "military" strategy is spamming units and when it comes to kingdom building the variety is very low, it's hard to see what in this game will make me keep coming back to it.
It isn't without some strengths though. It looks pretty good (with enough of a throwback not to look sloppy), and it does have novelty of being a "Stronghold" game that isn't European-centric. Also, if you enjoy spamming and having fun with the battles, it's pretty good for that too. But when it comes to core gameplay, I found it very lacking. I will stick with the older ones for now.

I think I love the atmosphere and the concept art WAY more than I care for the gameplay. It hasn't aged well in terms of level design and combat, because both are very frustrating. It's not really fun to traverse the big open plains and the many buildings with convenient ladders attached to them, because after the first hour or two it loses its novelty and the game does nothing unique or interesting with it at all. What you see in the first hour of the game, is what you'll see in the last hour of the game; with little innovation in the middle. So, basically, it becomes a little bit boring.
When each level shows me the big open plain with buildings, routing my journey for me, I have two simultaneous reactions: first of all, I'm in awe. I like the architecture and the atmosphere. I want to know more about this world and explore it deep and see how it ended up the way it did. Secondly, I'm filled with dread. Because I know I have to go through all of these big open spaces, and have monotonous fights with enemies that either will shot at your vitals in their first try or run into a wall headfirst and let you shoot them in the back. But one is overpowering the other one, and that's because the story of the game is also very dumb. It's so lacking in depth that the enjoyment of this worldbuilding and steampunk is dampened heavily, and since the gameplay isn't anything to write home about, it just fizzles every bit of joy from you slowly.
I hate that this game isn't much more than it is. There are good things in it. I really can't say how much I enjoyed the concept of it and how it looks, because it looks good. Not only in terms of graphics (which it does look good for a game that's 15 years old), but in terms of cohesion of style. I really want a RPG game in this world where I can explore it. But this is a shooter. It's a poor shooter too. The parkour and vertical travelling would've been great, if "Assassin's Creed" didn't come out two years before this. It just showcases the jank in this more when you compare the two. It does have some moments that "look cool", but it rarely has any moments that "feel cool".

"Armies of Exigo" is a blatant rip-off of "Warcraft 3" (just look at the opening cinematic), but that doesn't mean it's all that it is. It does rip-off "Warcraft 3" when it comes to aesthetic and core mechanics, but tries to revamp the RTS genre by having two surfaces at all times. It's a fresh take on an old formula and it does lead to some awesome mechanics; which combined with the good graphics (especially for a RTS of its age) and good voice acting and some good music can make some really good moments for the player. There's also leveling up per unit which can incentivize keeping your units alive as long as you can and don't treat them as canon fodder. Sadly though, that is where the strengths of the game comes to an end.
"Armies of Exigo" is one of the worst games when it comes to balancing and strategy, which is a shame because it's also very lacking when it comes to management. On the building and management side it is very lacking, because it has a ton of redundancies. You need to have special buildings for creating unique unites, but those unites need a separate building to get their upgrades; and then those buildings are not needed. So, it becomes really hard to manage your settlement in a moment's notice and it can become very confusing.
On top of that, the game's AI really has issues with focusing on target and will get pummeled if you leave your army alone for a second; which is okay if not for big battles with multiple fronts that needs your attention at all times. Also the game just lacks a lot of quality of life features, which makes the game frustrating. Like how one remaining worker can rebuild a whole settlement for the enemy, but your own workers can barely function. And that's the key word here. Playing "Armies of Exigo" is not fun, it's a chore and it's frustrating.
I will not comment on the story and world-building, because this game really hasn't put enough thought in either of those. The most generic story, with the most generic world. It's "fantasy" in its most basic elements. It lacks cohesion or a history, and because of that just comes across as generic and lackluster, which it is.
When I had first played this game around 15 years ago, I managed to get to the beast section; but for the replay now I managed to go to the end of the empire section. This is one of those games where it supplements challenge for time-consumption. There's no joy in outwitting the enemy AI, because you know exactly how to win over them and it's not with strategy or planning, but with overwhelming numbers. There's no "right" combination of troops to help you get a leg up. It's just who has the most troops, and so it's just turtling until you rack up a massive force and attack them. It's not fun or engaging, and the story isn't compelling enough to make going to the end something you want to do.
It's a shame because there are certain mechanic and elements in this game that really does work and with a better story and balancing, and maybe some better level design, it could've become an instant classic. Right now it's a forgotten RTS, and sadly, it's easy to see why.