Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes – Definitive Edition is the extended but fitting name for the remake of Capybara Games’ acclaimed turn-based strategy RPG. Over a decade since its original launch and possibly little more than a fond memory to gamers who have enjoyed it back then, this upgrade keeps the charm intact but revisits some aspects for a new generation of players. The old motto suits this game: don’t fix what isn’t broken.

Now With More Characters

Clash of Heroes takes a timeless game system and gives it a new lick of paint, one that is suited to the long-lasting Might and Magic series. You may know this type of puzzle gameplay by the popular match-3 moniker, where you try to connect units of the same color to score. In the case of this game, there are a lot of underlying mechanics that add significant depth and unpredictability to the outcome of the matches. It can be both addictive and frustrating, more of the former than the latter, and really shines when you are playing against a human, as the AI provides a challenge but is ultimately flawed.

But before diving into the mechanics, a quick look over the main features coming in this edition. The I Am the Boss DLC: Switch to the side of Chaos allows you to play with one of four bosses in multiplayer (Carlyle, Azexes, Ludmilla, and Azh Rafir), and Euny the Archdruid is available as well, increasing your multiplayer choice to a total of eleven characters.

The character portrait artworks were revamped and are now slightly more detailed, but the rest of the graphics didn’t deserve the same attention, remaining pretty much the same as when the original game launched back in late 2009. The maps still look good, with a nice hand painted style that aged with grace. The same goes for the units, mostly untouched in this remake, still cute and colorful but nothing to write home about. Could something else have been done in this department? The answer is yes, even if the argument that this is not the kind of game that lives by its graphics can be easily thrown around.

Clash of Heroes comes with a huge campaign divided into various chapters where you control a different hero, and consequently distinct units. You may have to start from scratch for each one, as you recruit and purchase new troops, but with the added knowledge and the experience of fighting some of these creatures in previous stages, progress should be smoother.

Moving around is a matter of walking on predefined markers, there’s no free movement of any sort. This limited tactical approach pushes you in certain directions and keeps the story battles coming consistently, but also provides opportunities for puzzles. Staying out of sight from some guards or arranging logs in a way that allows you to cross a river are just a couple of challenges that give you something other than combat to test your wits.

Merging Left and Right

The start of each chapter is an intentionally slow one aimed at teaching you the basics of combat, but mostly to take your time as you discover the new units. A complete army is comprised of three core units and two special units, but the twist is that the latter are finite – if they are killed in battle, they are lost forever, and your only option is to buy more somewhere on the map. Since these are stronger units with powerful and resourceful attacks, they are crucial to have, and they level up just as your character does. The goal of each battle is to drain the health points from the opponent by hitting the background line.

Merging three base units of the same color vertically triggers an attack, while doing the same horizontally creates a defensive wall. Depending on the type of merge, you must wait a few turns for the attack move to unleash. The core mechanics are simple, but things get more intensive as superior troops come into play, requiring other types and numbers of units to merge. Hit the opponent’s high tier units before they merge, and you are saving yourself from some massive damage in a few turns.

A few other factors come into play such as fusion, where you merge two chained units set to attack, consequently doubling the power, and each hero has a unique skill that can be used when your defensive line has taken severe damage. But the true gamechangers are the artifacts, pieces that you collect in your journey and come with the hard task of selecting one from several. Getting yourself a new lease on life or saving a move when calling reinforcements are options that you must consider if you want to win.

While most battles are straightforward rushes to bringing the opponent’s health down to zero, sometimes you may face a puzzle battle. Within a fixed number of moves, you may have to take out a few enemies, and other times you must aim your attacks to eliminate the enemies instead of the standard health line.

The multiplayer mode offers 1v1 and 2v2 battles with leaderboard, and this is where the real thrills are. All the campaign expertise is put into practice here, with characters and units that have their own strengths and weaknesses.

An Essential Upgrade?

Clash of Heroes can be challenging and addictive, but there’s an undeniable RNG element that plays an important role in some battles, and you must learn to live with it. Less understandable are some oversights that shouldn’t be in this definitive edition, such as the noticeable AI blunders – ignoring an elite unit merge in favor of a random move, for example. On the other hand, the turn switch animation troubles me, feeling like a second that lasts an eternity, as we’re bound to see it dozens of times per battle. This system would benefit from speed and urgency when control changes from one field to the other, instead of that lingering animation.

Can Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes – Definitive Edition be considered as an essential revamp to a cherished game? It doesn’t bring a hefty dose of changes and additions, that’s for sure, making it difficult to recommend to owners of the original; however, new players should be able to discover a gripping puzzle game that, albeit not perfect, still provides many hours of merging and fusing entertainment.

Score: 8/10

Pros:

• A vast campaign with different playable heroes
• Battles are challenging and more intricate than it seems at first
• Multiplayer mode with more characters than before

Cons:

• Not a massive jump from the original
• Turn switch should be faster
• Some AI niggles

Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes – Definitive Edition review code was provided by the publisher. You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.