Indie developer Unfrozen, along with publishers Hooded Horses and Ubisoft, have released Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era via Early Access on PC (Steam, Microsoft, Game Pass). It’s currently available with a 25% launch discount for the first two weeks.
As the first HoMM game in over 10 years, Olden Era racked up 1.5 million wishlists on Steam, making it among the top 10 most wishlisted games in Steam’s history. An impressive feat for a relatively niche genre.
The Heroes of Might and Magic series is beloved by turn-based strategy fans — like me! Players choose a faction and a map, then guide their heroes and armies across colorful maps full of monsters and treasures and stat-boosts. Castles are built and improved to recruit new units and unlock spells, while battles play out on a hex grid battlefield as fantastical creatures pummel each other.
The venerable series can trace its roots back to the 90s, with Ubisoft acquiring the rights in the early 2000s. However, the most recent entry, Might and Magic Heroes 7, was poorly received back in 2015.
Olden Era is a return to the series roots, modeling the fan-favorite entry, Heroes of Might and Magic 3. It’s even set on the older Enroth fantasy setting before Ubisoft took over (and before New World Computing blew it up before that).
As an old school HoMM fan, I ended up playing Olden Era for about 3 hours straight on launch day. It’s definitely scratching that itch, and has the look and feel of a classic Heroes game while adding some fun elements, such as focus points, alternate attacks, spell levels, sub skills, and more.
The early access version features six playable factions, the first act of the single-player campaign, and a full tutorial. Plus, skirmish modes, procedurally generated maps, challenge maps, pre-made scenarios, and the initial beta of the map editor.
Olden Era also supports online multiplayer, as well as classic local hotseat.
The full roadmap is coming soon, but players can expect the rest of the campaign, more maps and scenarios, map editor improvements, and various tweaks based on player feedback. According to the Steam store page, Heroes of Might and Magic Olden Era should remain in Early Access for about a year.
