A Hero's Return

Might and Magic is a series of ten mainline CRPGs that ran from 1986 to 2014.  The setting for each game was a fairly generic fantasy world.  So much so the "Might" and "Magic" could be replaced with "Dungeons" and "Dragons" without having to change much else.  Overall, the games have been compared to Bard's Tale and Ultima in terms of design.  A number of franchise spin-offs also exist.  These include both third and first-person action-RPGs with titles like Crusaders/Warriors/Legends of Might and Magic, as well as an RTS entitled Might and Magic: Hero Kingdoms.  There's even a fan-made-turned-official game called Might and Magic: Darkside of Xeen.

The big spin-off franchise, when it comes to the Might and Magic series though has to be Heroes of Might and Magic.  They are (collectively speaking) turn-based strategy games that feature tactical combat, base building and some light RPG elements.  The origin of the Heroes games can be traced back to a little-known title called King's Bounty (released in 1990).  Trivia aside, the series properly began in 1995 and has spanned seven mainline titles.  My person favorite is Heroes II (the last one to come out by the now-defunct New World Computing), but the general consensus seems to be that the franchise peaked with Heroes IV (the last one to be made by 3DO before they too went under).  Once Ubisoft acquired the license, Heroes went into a steady decline in terms of quality.  The one bright spot being Capybara Games' puzzle-based offshoot - Clash of Heroes.  Having briefly gone over the history of the IP, I now finally come to a recently released (early access) successor of sorts.  It is Songs of Conquest.

Published by Coffee Stain Studios, the same company the brought us Satisfactory, Songs of Conquest is a Heroes of Might and Magic game in all but name.  That said, it doesn't simply copy the formula.  Instead,  the developers have made a concerted effort to improve on (or otherwise refine) a number of core gameplay elements.  To give some examples, battlefields now feature  terrain elevation along with the various advantages and disadvantages that sort of thing typically confers.  Range units now have three different attack distances, melee, a nearby "killing zone" radius that inflicts high damage, and a long range attack radius that is far-reaching but weaker than closer attacks.  Battlefield magic works a bit different than what one might expect in that heroes accrue different kinds of magic points at the start of the battle and each time one of the units in their army gets a turn.  These points can then be spent to cast spells.  Obviously, as battles progress into their second or third rounds the types of effects that can be trigger grow in strength.  The way settlements function has also been changed in interesting ways.  Structures are now built on the overworld map with a limited mix of small, medium and large foundations providing a variety of construction options.  Generally speaking, no settlement can have it all, but some have more potential than others.  As of the posting of this blog only two of the four factions in the game currently have campaigns available to play.  The first of these is of the classic medieval high-fantasy variety.  Things start off slow, which is good for me since it took a little while to familiarize myself with the iconography used on the overworld map.  Lumber mills, and stone or gold mines (as well as their associated resource piles were) are easy enough to identify.  However, other things like tents, huts, cairns, orchards, and so on took a little bit longer to decipher.  In a unique (albeit kind of cheesy twist) the interludes between missions feature mini-ballads summarizing recent events.

One point of criticism I do have is the UI for sentiments.  It could use some tidying up.  Another minor complaint I have is there not being a a way to dispose of (recycle?) redundant or outclassed hero equipment.  As is, it simply ends up taking up inventory space.  Hopefully they'll get those issues sorted out before leaving early access.  Quibbles aside, Songs of Conquest shows a great deal of promise.  I look forward to seeing how it shapes up in the not-too-distant future.