Little Big "Heroes". Game Review + Freebies Inside!
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Some games are hard to describe in words. "Geometric shapes falling to the bottom of a glass" doesn’t explain the years-long cult status of "Tetris." And the phrase "a plumber battling mushrooms and flying turtles in search of a princess" will hardly make anyone eager to try out Super Mario Bros. It's just as hard to believe in the quality of a game described as "a casual match-3 RPG in the Might & Magic universe in anime style." But sometimes it’s worth making a little effort...

Casual Epic

The game's plot unfolds in the world of Ashan, 40 years before the events of "Heroes of Might and Magic V." A new eclipse of the Blood Moon is about to begin, and the whole world is anticipating a new invasion of demons. In the elven forest realm, guardians of a powerful artifact – the Blade of Conquest, whose bearer can subjugate any demon – are gathering. As usual, the peaceful assembly turns out to be anything but: the unfortunate demons mysteriously leave their fiery prison of Shio ahead of time, attack the guardians, and kill them all. The only survivors are their children: the young elven huntress Anwen, three offspring of Duke Griffin – Godric, Aidan, and Fiona – and the sorceress Nadia. These five teenagers must, as in any decent anime, save the whole world.

This is the sacred tree na'vi of the elves

The game consists of five campaigns, one for each hero. Each of whom represents one of the five traditional factions from the "Might & Magic" series: humans, elves, wizards, demons, and undead. And while the game is based on a simple, student-breakfast-like match-3 mechanic, the designers managed not only to convey the spirit of each faction but also to make the gameplay noticeably different from the others. For example, elves have strong defense and the fastest units, while necromancers are weak in combat but drain life from their opponents, whereas demons know very little about defense but can deal massive damage.

As the heroes find themselves in different parts of Ashan, they go through a variety of adventures, improving their combat skills, gaining levels, and recruiting new monsters for their armies. Each faction has three common creatures (occupying one cell), two elite creatures (two cells), two champion creatures (four cells), and one secret creature (unique to each faction). Each of the non-common creatures has a unique ability, and their combination becomes the basis of gameplay strategy. Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you: I am indeed talking about strategy and tactics in a match-3 puzzle game. Believe me, without tactics, you won’t last long in this game.

Soldier's "Triple Line"

The basic mechanics are primitive. The creatures in the army have one of three colors; you spend the whole game lining them up by color. A vertical line creates an attacking squad, while a horizontal line forms a defensive wall. Against you, in most cases, is a similar commander with a three-colored army, and the battle takes place in a turn-based mode with a limited number of available moves per turn. Something similar can be seen in the [Puzzle Quest](/games?search=Puzzle Quest) series, whose creators were the first to think of merging "match-3" with RPG. The developers of Clash of Heroes took ideas from [Puzzle Quest](/games?search=Puzzle Quest) and refined them to such an extent that they surpassed their predecessor in every aspect. Those who played PQ know that three-quarters of the battles in that game are straightforward; the only real challenge comes from the bosses, and only until higher levels—after which the player becomes completely unbeatable. This does not happen in Clash of Heroes.

No one welcomes wizards in Erisha

First of all, the game is significantly, note I said SIGNIFICANTLY, more challenging than you would expect. The arcade mechanics combined with the diversity of monster abilities provide numerous opportunities for victory, and the computer takes advantage of every one of them. Moreover, developers often place you in unequal conditions, giving your opponent stronger creatures and more health points. Secondly, even after achieving all this, the game's designers did not rest on their laurels. It would seem that, having created a quality gameplay mechanic, they could just scatter a bunch of monsters around and let the player methodically eliminate them. Not quite. Every other duel in the game is a special puzzle with unique victory conditions. In some, you need to hit the only squad in the enemy's army, which unpredictably moves every turn. Or attack three targets in a specific order. Or simultaneously hit two targets. Or simply survive an attack from vastly superior enemy forces. Some puzzles may seem similar at first glance, but upon closer inspection, you find that some minor detail changes everything.

Thirdly, for those who enjoy torturing their minds, the game features special "combat puzzles" where you do not need to fear for your life, but winning is much more challenging. All of them require you to destroy the opposing army in one turn with a pre-selected set of creatures. It feels reminiscent of chess problems like "checkmate in one move." The game quickly starts to resemble chess, and that itself says a lot. If only chess looked as good.

The Color of Sword and Magic

The elves have their own understanding of the expression "bear's service"

Readers who despise anime, I urge you: for just a second, set aside your prejudices and try to look at the game without bias. The artists did an enormous job creating a charming yet serious game world. Brave heroes look like brave heroes, cunning villains look like cunning villains, gallant soldiers... well, you get the point. The animation of characters, units, and spells is particularly impressive, especially considering that the game was originally developed for the Nintendo DS console, which slightly lags behind your phone in performance. With minimal resources, Capy Games managed to squeeze out everything possible and even a bit more. Every creature in the game is bulky, mischievous, whimsical, etc. Spells appear no less spectacular than in the "big" games of the Might & Magic series. When a fully charged archangel raises its sword, and a wave of light incinerates rows of enemies in a cleansing fire from Elrath – the term "casual" naturally disappears from the tongue.

Moreover, there is a story! And not just any story, but a full-fledged narrative that connects dozens of battles, shedding light on the past of many characters from "Heroes of Might and Magic V," while also telling us about the different fates across Ashan. Where else would we learn about the fierce competition in the slave market in Shio or the initiation ritual into necromancers in Erisha? You will laugh a lot, believe it or not, as the developers threw in some truly successful jokes, for which they deserve gratitude.

A good knight of the Empire is a dead knight of the Empire

Seal of Chaos

Unfortunately, a review cannot be filled with praise alone. There are criticisms to be had of the game. First of all, the game interface, inherited from the portable console, is lacking. Many control elements are not obvious, and I bet you won't immediately figure out how to leave the first locaion in the game. The game is unwilling to explain many features at all (hint: if you hold Shift during battle, you can see unit and hero statistics; no one will tell you this but me), and others are mentioned only once – in the tutorial – and then refuse to repeat.

Online play 2 on 2 – a corner of chaos and madness in a world of strict tactical discipline

The videos were also sacrificed to the console demons – there are none in the game. The story inserts are done in a comic style and accompanied by a commentator's voice. If, instead, there were a couple of animated scenes as vibrant and colorful as the game itself, it would have been even more pleasant. Besides, there exists a slight subjective feeling of imbalance. Sometimes it seems that playing as humans is just a tad easier than with the other factions. However, this "a tad" does not compensate for clumsy hands and inability to plan three moves ahead. And in online battles, you will need that the most.

More than the Sum of Its Parts

As I mentioned at the beginning, Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes is very hard to describe in words. The game is woven from dozens of small details, discussing which would take too much time – artifacts, "merging" and "absorbing" squads, bosses, online ratings of the best heroes, etc. Only after starting the game do these details intertwine into a single fabric that you cannot tear yourself away from. If you feel my enthusiasm is excessive and my conclusions biased – just download the demo from Steam and give it 20 minutes of your time. Trust me, you'll agree with me.

Clash of Heroes is, after all, a true anime game. Not because it’s drawn that way, but because it OVERCOMES. It overcomes the preconceptions of the "Might & Magic" fans, overcomes its casual genre, its complex setting, and even its console past. After all, if I’m just a fan of the series, why did journalists unanimously rate the game 84%? Like in a true anime hero, no one believed in this game either. But give the little Heroes a chance – and they will conquer your heart.

The promised giveaway mentioned in the title. I happen to have an extra activation key for Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes. In five days, I will give it to the author of the best comment on this post. That's the kind of wonderful person I am!