SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars is both a real-time strategy and role-playing video game played from the third-person perspective. In the game, players take on the role of a character that they create (an avatar) who explore a variety of maps, conducting quests and killing monsters, and earning experience to level up, improve skills, and unlock the ability to wield new equipment. Alongside their character, players also control additional NPCs to help with exploration and combat, as well as armies of military units - done through gathering resources, building structures, and then recruiting units that are unlocked as a result - to help with large-scale battles.

As with traditional role-playing games, player-created characters can be defined by what skills players choose for them, which in turn impact what combat abilities and equipment they can wield in battle alongside their level. In Shadow Wars, skills are divided between two categories of skill trees: Melee, which is focused on heavy armour, ranged and close-combat weapons, and melee abilities; and Magic, which is focused on robes, staff and staves, and various types of magic spells. When the player's character levels up, they earn a skill point, which can be allocated to a skill, with new levels in a skill only possible when players allocate points within the skill tree  – for example, unlocking the highest rank of an armour skill, requires spending a number of points not only in that skill, but other skills in the skill tree that are available for acquiring. Alongside their avatar, players are also joined by two types of NPCs, both of whom earn levels but are placed a few behind the player's avatar: up to five Heroes, whose equipment can be defined by the player, alongside whether skills are automatically or manually assigned; and up to two Companions, who join temporarily, but cannot have their equipment or skills chosen by the player. The game features a level cap of 30, with avatars and companions capped at 24. If during the course of the game the avatar, heroes or companion die, they can be revived by the others as long as they are alive, with the avatar able to summon the others to their location if required.

The game's real-time strategy elements occur when the player must use armies to accomplish objectives. In Shadow Wars, the player can control armies belonging to one of three different factions: The Realm, consisting of human, elves and dwarves; The Clans, consisting of orcs, trolls and barbarians; and The Pact, consisting of dark elves, gargoyles and shadows. Alongside these, players may also encounter armies of undead and demons during the main campaign. Each faction has their style of structures and units, which are created from gathering resources: Stone, needed to build structures and upgrade certain buildings; Silver, needed to recruit military units; and Lenya, which is needed mainly to recruit advanced units. Recruiting armies not only requires building production structures, but also deploying special structures and making upgrades to the faction's headquarter, both of which defines how many military slots they have for controlling units - with more advanced units accompanying two or three slots each. Workers may be recruited to gather resources, build structures and repair buildings, though the player is limited in how many they may recruit, with the cost of recruiting more increasing at certain thresholds.

In the game's Campaign mode, players traverse between various maps by completing Main Story quests, granting them access to other regions of the map and to portals that link between the maps; Side Quests also can be accomplished, providing mainly experience and other rewards for use in the game. In addition, players may also make use of Journey Stones - fast travel points which, when discovered and activated, allow the player to fast travel around the map or move to another in a different map. Outside of Campaign mode, players may also engage in three other game modes: Skirmish, which focuses on real-time strategy gameplay; Freeplay, which works similar to Campaign, but without an overarching plot; and Multiplayer, in which players can compete or work co-operatively with each other.

Minimum System Requirements:

- OS: Windows 2000/XP

- CPU: Pentium 4 3 GHz

- RAM (memory): 1 GB

- Videocard: 256 MB

- Free HDD space: 5 GB

- DirectX: 9.0