Back when I was a young gamer dipping my toes in some platformers and RTS titles, one series that always eluded me was Heroes of Might & Magic. No matter how much I wanted to play it, time went by, and I never got the chance to experience it at its height. And now, decades later, it seems that said height is about to return because Ubisoft has been working on Heroes of Might & Magic 3 Remake. After playing a couple of hours of it, this reimagining is one of the greatest Ubisoft has made, as it recaptures the, dare I say, magic of the original, while giving it a much-needed modern look.
Reimagining a Classic
Out of all the latest titles Ubisoft has brought to the modern fray, Heroes of Might & Magic was not on my bingo card, but I’m extremely glad its third installment is getting the remake treatment.
I was extremely fortunate to attend a remote hands-on session of Heroes of Might & Magic 3 Remake. While I never truly delved into the original one, as I was way too young to play it during its launch, this title always caught my attention. The ability to raise your army, manage a town, conquer other foes, and do some exploration on the side was the perfect combination for me. And now, after playing this reimagining, it is as addictive as addictive as people claim it to be.
For this session, I played a short, tutorial-like scenario, which was pretty helpful since my strategy-RPG muscle memory was a bit numb, and it also let me see all the new things Ubisoft has worked on for this remake.
For starters, everything from the UI to the visuals has changed to make it feel extremely close to what the Olden Era team is doing right now. There are also several quality-of-life improvements, such as seeing enemy attack range, an easier way to develop your town, transferring units between heroes, and much more.
In any case, back to the first portion of the campaign. It was pretty straightforward, as my only objective was to take Queen Catherine. Along the way, I got to see certain systems, mainly combat, how every unit worked, recruiting more soldiers, and gathering resources. With that warm-up ready, I jumped into a longer play session, and boy, here is where that addictiveness of HoMM kicked in.
In the next scenario, I only had one goal: defeat everyone. Spoiler alert: I only managed to defeat one of the three enemy armies, but I had a blast while doing so. At the beginning, I only had access to four factions: Castle, Tower, Inferno, and Necropolis. For once in my life, I decided to go down the fiery, chaotic-evil path, and chose Inferno. When I began in my ravaged area of the map, I summoned my Hero, grabbed as many units as I could from my keep, and started exploring.
What I’ve always loved about HoMM is how it weaves so many systems into your usual rounds without making them daunting. In my case, I always started by upgrading or building new facilities in my town. Some allowed me to upgrade my Imps into a stronger unit or even summon Pit Fiends. Of course, there were other buildings that made my resource gathering process easier, and the Town Hall that generates more daily income. After I got that out of the way every day, it was time to explore.
Exploration is still done through stamina. Once your Heroes run out of it, the day ends. I used my time to gather resources around the map or visit locations that provided weekly bonuses, such as increased Attack or more Power for the next encounter. Speaking of, you still have enemies around the map that you can engage at any moment. One thing I appreciated was how the game told me how difficult a fight would be, ranging from Trivial to Deadly. Naturally, I always tried to engage with the former.
Leveling up your Hero is once again a key part of the game, and I was happy to see just how easy building these characters was. After leveling up, you get to pick between two passive traits, and in the case of my spell-slinging Hero, I went with those that increased my Fire damage, while also unlocking more powerful spells.
Another thing that blew my mind was just how strategic the combat system was without feeling overwhelming. Normally, when it comes to strategy or 4X titles, I tend to do auto-combat. Here, however, I tried to tackle all of them manually. You still have your board with hexes, and each unit has different movement and attack range. Yet, it was great to see just how unique every unit felt. Ranged ones, for example, do a lot of damage from afar, with some diminishing returns at longer ranges. If you get close to them, they are forced to attack in melee, vastly reducing their DPS.
Some other units, such as Titans from the Tower faction, are, pardon the pun, towering menaces capable of wiping entire squads both in melee and range—every single unit felt unique and fit different situations, depending on the army you were playing against.
I have to admit that it came a time when other armies started pushing toward my base, but as soon as I started capturing other towns, I not only had an Inferno army, but was also starting to bring in Heroes from the Necropolis and Tower faction to, as they say, fight fire with fire.
Tailored to New and Old-School Players
Even if I never saw the victory or defeat screen in my session, this preview was more than enough to convince me that Ubisoft is doing a superb job with this installment. It goes beyond a modern coat of paint, gorgeous 3D models, and an extremely user-friendly UI. It respects the game’s original feel, but it enhances that addictive strategy gameplay loop that many fans of the series have been looking for.
While the strategy RPG genre is seeing a comeback this year, with so many superb titles, Heroes of Might & Magic 3 Remake is easily my most anticipated one. It’s been ages since I felt so immersed in a turn-based strategy title, and all of that is thanks to just how much care Ubisoft is putting into remaking this classic. And frankly, I can’t wait to experience the game’s long-awaited return.
