Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes - Definitive Edition

Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes - Definitive Edition

released on Jul 20, 2023

Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes - Definitive Edition

released on Jul 20, 2023

Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes is a unique mix of puzzle, strategy and RPG: Plan your every move and combine your attacks to defeat your enemies in matching puzzle inspired battle scenarios, upgrade your heroes and creatures to unleash increasingly devastating attacks onto your opponents, and let the strategic thinker in you lead your troops to victory. Originally developed by Capybara Games, Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes is getting a Definitive Edition including its DLC, refreshed character portraits, many quality-of-life improvements and an expanded, fully reworked and re-balanced online mode!


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Definitive Edition


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Let’s get straight to the point, this definitive edition doesn’t add a lot to the game. The art of the characters got changed (some characters look much better), same for some of the UI and you can edit your party before starting battles. I might be missing some other minor things but this is what you can expect for the most part. The game itself is a mix of puzzle and RPG, the fights are the puzzles and the rest is a light RPG. Your party members and the hero level up individually, you find artifacts to equip on the hero, level up increases a few stats, you have currency to re-buy some party members, you run through areas, talk to NPC and you can do some side quests. There are 5 mini campaigns with a different hero each with unique moves, party members and artifacts. The campaigns are unlocked one after another because the stories are connected.

The game perfectly balances many elements. While it’s not a full fledged RPG in terms volume and options, what’s there has a purpose and is well designed. The game has a kind of simplicity that makes it easy to get into but it’s also complex enough in the right way. The puzzles are very addictive. The story, while nothing original nor the best, is engaging enough to follow. The entire game has a good pacing with no real filler. It took me around 31 hours to 100% the achievements. It looks and sounds nice, you can save anywhere and the game seems to generally respect your time even with the most grindy achievement.

That said, the game seems to have many loading screens that take longer than I’d like. The loading times themselves are not too bad but I’m surprised how many times the game needs to load. There are some multiplayer exclusive achievements with at least one requiring 3 other players. They’re not bad if you can find others to work with but you’re basically on a timer to get this done. I got lucky when I checked steam forum. Lastly, this definitive edition could have added more to the game. The text on the game’s steam page is misleading when it mentions many new quality of life additions. It feels like it was released with the bare minimum effort to cash in on the game. I bought it when it got released with a discount for owners of the original game (I paid around €8). The normal price is way higher than the game’s original price.

Even with all of this in mind, M&M CoH is a game not to be missed if you haven’t had the chance to play it. It’s a beloved game that is timeless. It doesn’t feel old despite the age. I’m an RPG and puzzle fan. The game offers the best of both worlds without the bad stuff like bloat or dragging out the experience. I wish we had more games like it.

Does the new edition add anything of note? No, not at all. But it does mean that anyone with only a modern console can play it. Did that matter to me, owner of the old PC version? No, but the I'd fond enough memories of the original that I was happy to rebuy it (particularly as it's <£7 for owners of the original on Steam). Does the game still hold up? Absolutely, it's a masterful little puzzle game. The plot is bobbins and the aesthetic a bit confused, but the game design shines through; I ploughed through this in a week, just as I did the first time around. Lovely stuff.

The gameplay isn't very engaging. It's just boring match three crap. The art style (and production values in general) feel very cheap. I'm not sure why the original has a good Metascore.

This is one of the most fun puzzle battlers I've played. I see now why it had so much hype.

My only complaints are that the campaign difficulty curve varied wildly throughout, with it seemingly randomly getting much harder or easier, culminating in a final boss you kind of have to cheese.
The only other complaint is that I don't see people online when I try to quick match, which tbh is sort of expected I think.

All around though an excellent game that I'd recommend to anyone who likes puzzle battler type games.