For example: the magic system currently feels overpowered and kind of wonky, often rewarding smaller armies in ways that don’t feel quite right. The visuals (and the strong soundtrack) help sell the entire package, but it all feels quite smooth and “finished”, though it’s obvious there’s a long road ahead full of QoL improvements, small fixes, and tons of balancing. Songs of Conquest also feels like the most polished early access release I’ve come across recently. In fact, spamming the “pass turn” button can be exploited in some single-player scenarios where the player is well-positioned, making the decision-making not as important. Of course, if your army only has a couple of incomplete stacks of archers, it won’t be very effective, and you should run away to the nearest town and wait for more recruits to be generated. Controls and mechanics are straightforward, and the gist of encounters is good positioning combined with striking, defending, or casting spells at the right time. So the heroes don’t actually partake in the battles that play out, which are usually quick and decisive for those involved. Push forward a bit further and you’ll face ruthless AI and end up entangled in tug-of-wars that might as well be real-time because of how tense they feel.Įach army is led by a hero character (a Wielder) who can cast spells to help their troops in battle. As a result, you won’t be paying too much attention to the finer details of combat - which can be resolved automatically if you’re confident about your army - and the configuration of the towns’ buildings won’t matter much. Early on in the first campaign (out of two currently available), making money is extremely easy, and the main enemy forces aren’t very active, so the missions are just a matter of taking your time with exploration (there’s so much to discover and loot) and leveling up before facing the key objectives. Mind you, Songs of Conquest ain’t overly deep, but there’s definitely more to its combat and managing than what it appears to be at first. Songs of Conquest does the second it’s an accessible game that avoids overcomplicated and boring micromanaging, instead going classic with its design choices and making sure the depth of its gameplay doesn’t overtake the enjoyment and breezy pacing of missions/matches. In other cases, they can elevate something which already works. In fact, I’m sure many players will be approaching Songs of Conquest because of how good it looks, and who can blame them? In many cases, art styles and the overall graphics used can make or break a game. Most of your time in-game will be spent in beautiful, lush overworld maps filled with striking 2D sprites and 2.5D lighting that make everything pop out and feel livelier than many full 3D games with much bigger production budgets. So far, I think that Lavapotion has successfully reignited that same fire while also nurturing a distinctive identity. So, while their components were fairly common, they were pretty unique games. Moreover, exploring the maps and uncovering their secrets was as important as building towns, upgrading your troops, and carefully clashing against your enemies. You might be thinking there are plenty of turn-based fantasy titles around, and that’s right, both from Western and Eastern studios, but none have really dared to replicate the HoMM formula or to put their twist on it we’re looking at either turn-based RPGs or 4X games (like Endless Legend and such).Ī key part of the HoMM games was a somewhat strong focus on narrative, complete with interesting campaigns that justified all the conquering and building of empires. It’s time to dust off your turn-based strategic skills for Songs of Conquest, the new indie sensation that will cast a spell on you thanks to its lovely graphics and approachable systems.Ĭreated by 2017-founded Swedish game studio Lavapotion, Songs of Conquest aims to recapture some of the magic that fueled the earlier Heroes of Might & Magictitles (developed by New World Computing) - nowadays, the franchise has essentially been run to the ground by Ubisoft.
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