The masterful Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes gets a surprise Definitive Edition on PC and console this summer
Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes gets a surprise Definitive Edition on PC via Steam and Ubisoft stores, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch this summer. Inexplicably, there is no Xbox version.
The puzzle RPG classic - much loved here at Eurogamer - is revived by Dotemu, the studio behind the excellent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge.
The announcement trailer, below, shows a first look at gameplay in the campaign and multiplayer.
The original Clash of Heroes, developed by Capybara Games, launched on the Nintendo DS in December 2009. Its brilliant blend of role-playing, turn-based strategy and match-three puzzling, drenched in an eye-catching anime-inspired art style, was followed by a high definition version for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC in 2011. Android and iOS ports came along in 2013, although these were by far the weakest versions.
And that's where we left Clash of Heroes, until now, 10 years later, with a surprise Definitive Edition I don't think anyone expected.
According to the official burb, Dotemu has not altered the established scope and vision of the original, but it has given the art style a refresh, with updated character arts and portraits, as well as quality-of-life improvements, such as a complete rebalancing of the multiplayer mode.
This Definitive Edition includes the I Am the Boss DLC, which lets you to play as the four bosses (Azexez, Count Carlyle, Ludmilla and Azh-Rafir), and a new multiplayer boss called Euny the Archdruid for use in Quick Battle, Online and Offline Multiplayer modes.
When I'm asked the video game version of that Desert Island Discs question: what one and only video game would you take to your desert Island? I flit between Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes and Tetris Effect for my answer. Clash of Heroes has been one of my reliable go-toes for over a decade. It's the game my wife and I played in the maternity ward while waiting for my children to arrive. I have the Xbox 360 version sat on my Xbox Series S hard-drive, forever immune from deletion. It is a crying shame that this Definitive Edition is skipping Xbox.
Eurogamer has some fantastic writing on Clash of Heroes, if you're hungry for more. Ex-Eurogamer editor Oli Welsh expertly reviewed Clash of Heroes' mobile version back in 2013. In that review, he said:
"Dan Pearson (RIP) reviewed the DS original three years ago, calling it 'a very good game indeed' - with some understatement. Kristan Reed (RIP) went further when he reviewed the remake for Xbox Live Arcade and PSN a year later: 'With a depth and longevity that humbles most full-price releases... Clash of Heroes HD demands your immediate and undivided attention.' Then I awarded it Game of the Week (RIP) and eight months later, after it had appeared on Steam as well, Fred Dutton (RIP) anointed it as one of our Games of 2011 (it had topped his list outright, and mine). 'The gameplay system at Clash of Heroes' core is a thing of rare, bewitching beauty - a creation so deep and so elegant that it will keep you up at night,' Fred wrote, and he was right."
As you can probably tell, I'm excited for this one.
Source: Eurogamer.net
