Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era

I've always had a soft spot from the Heroes of Might and Magic (HOMM) games, particularly the first three games. I grew up playing these games and can still picture the laminated tech-tree / unit card that came with the original game. I've never been a hardcore player, nor have I ever played a multiplayer match in any of the games, and my experience doesn't go beyond the third game. For me, the Heroes series is a comfort game - I don't need to be good at it or pushing the limits by any means. I enjoy it for the art, the slow progression through a mission and the strategic decisions to be made along the way. For all these reasons, that is why I was excited to get into Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era.

HOMM: Olden Era released into early access on Steam on April 30, 2026, to very positive reception. The current build provides a good amount of game to sink your teeth into. With 6 playable factions, multiple modes, random maps, and the first act of multiple planned for the campaign. The game stays very true to the original titles, using ideas from a selection of the previous games. Despite influences of the past, there are new approaches here, with new factions in the game, new modes and plenty of differences.

Enter the Olden Era

Visually the game has a beautiful hand-painted aesthetic, with menus, static screens and campaign dialog being presented with great 2D art. The game itself is rendered in 3D, with a layer of the same visual style applied. The traditional aspects of a HOMM game are ever present, with an overworld map, hexagonal battle screens and town screens giving great display to the dwellings your faction has access to. The low point on the visual side of things is the way in which cut-scenes are presented, following the same drawn style with only a few frames of animation for each moment in the scene.

Gameplay is excellent and continuing to improve throughout the early access period. There are lots of QoL additions similar to what Horn of The Abyss a popular HOMM 3 mod brought to the series and small but impactful tweaks to things like decoupling creature speed and hero movement points. Beyond just QoL and small tweaks, the game also brings new ideas to the table in the form of:

• Hero secondary skills providing a selection of perks to choose
• A focus charge system used in combat
• Creatures have abilities to be used while in combat
• Alternative upgrades for faction creatures
• Two new factions and reworked old factions

The biggest downside to the game I've experienced in my few hours of playtime so far is the story and voice acting. The story provides enough of a backdrop to aid in worldbuilding, but it's nothing magical that will have lore videos produced to cover every bit that gets uncovered throughout the campaign. Similarly, the voice acting has a certain "early access" quality to it and whether or not it's something to be replaced in the future, I believe it can be easily overlooked.

If random maps are more of your thing, the game delivers three different modes to try out: classic, single-hero, and arena. The classic mode is just that, tried and true Heroes gameplay without restriction. Explore the overworld with your hero, build up your settlements and battle enemies for control of the map. Single-hero mode is much the same approach, with the key difference being that players can only control one main hero for the entire game. If the hero falls, the match is over. Finally, Arena mode is a concept brought over from HOMM 5, where it was referred to as Hot Seat Duel Mode. Upon starting an arena match, players are given a selection of three heroes. Once picked, you choose your heroes skills, artifacts, spells, and army. This mode lends to fast paced battle focused play, that will be a good amount less time consuming that a traditional game.

There are also a handful of scenarios available to play, along with a custom game function that allows for arena, traditional, and pick / ban formats. With lots of customization options and a map editor in beta as well there is hour and hours of content here for a Heroes enjoyer.