The Heroes of Might & Magic series is making a grand return with Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era, a long-awaited revival of the legendary turn-based strategy franchise developed by Unfrozen (Iratus: Lord of the Dead) and published by Ubisoft. This game will try to bring back the magic of classic Heroes titles while introducing modern enhancements, a fresh storyline, and a deep experience for both veterans and newcomers. Here’s everything you need to know about Olden Era before its launch.
- Storyline And Setting
- Factions and Playstyles
- Gameplay Mechanics and Combat System
- Multiplayer and Game Modes
- Graphics, Audio, and Technical Details
- Release Date and Platforms
Storyline and Setting
Set hundreds of years before the original Heroes of Might & Magic, Olden Era takes players to Jadame, a continent on the world of Enroth, previously explored in the classic Might & Magic RPGs. The narrative focuses on the rise of an apocalyptic threat—the Hive, a demonic insectoid faction bent on devouring the world. Kingdoms that once waged war against each other must form uneasy alliances to survive the growing menace.
The campaign is nonlinear, allowing players to make key choices that impact alliances, battles, and the fate of various factions. Some missions will branch into multiple story paths, letting players decide which faction to support or betray. This means no two playthroughs will be the same, and the narrative adapts based on strategic decisions.
Factions and Playstyles
At launch, Olden Era will feature six playable factions, each with its own unique units, heroes, and abilities. These factions include a mix of fan-favorite classics and brand-new contenders.
Confirmed Factions:
- Temple – A human faction resembling the noble knights of past Heroes games. Their strength lies in high morale, healing abilities, and well-balanced army compositions.
- Necropolis – The undead horde returns, specializing in necromancy, life-draining attacks, and raising fallen enemies to fight once more.
- Sylvan – A nature-aligned faction of elves, druids, and forest creatures. They rely on ranged combat, mobility, and magical buffs.
- Dungeon – The dark elves and their underground beasts. Expect stealthy units, powerful magic, and creatures with shifting battle stances.
- Hive – A brand-new demonic insectoid faction. They are an aggressive swarm race that breeds rapidly, poisoning enemies and overwhelming opponents with sheer numbers.
- Mystery Faction – The sixth faction remains unannounced, but hints suggest it will introduce a playstyle that drastically differs from the others.
Each faction has unique kingdom-wide mechanics through the Faction Laws system, which allows players to specialize their empire as they progress. These can range from economy boosts to combat enhancements, reinforcing each faction’s identity and strategy.
Gameplay Mechanics and Combat System
The core gameplay of Olden Era stays true to the traditional Heroes of Might & Magic formula—exploring an adventure map, gathering resources, building cities, and engaging in turn-based battles. However, several new mechanics modernize the experience while preserving its strategic depth.
Exploration & City-Building
- Players will explore vast maps, capturing resource nodes, conquering towns, and uncovering hidden secrets.
- Cities will feature deep upgrade trees, allowing players to construct buildings that unlock new units, enhance their economy, and research spells.
- A random map generator ensures endless replayability, with procedurally generated worlds offering fresh challenges.
Turn-Based Combat on a Hex Grid
- Battles take place on hexagonal grids, a return to the classic format of Heroes III.
- Units have special abilities that charge up during combat, adding layers of tactical depth.
- The initiative system determines the order of unit actions, rewarding speed-based strategies.
- Spellcasting and hero abilities remain crucial, allowing players to control the battlefield with buffs, debuffs, and area-of-effect attacks.
New Mechanics
- Unit Energy Meter: Each unit has a special ability that charges over time, creating new strategic opportunities in battle.
- Hero Customization: Players can develop heroes through subskills that fine-tune their strengths, offering greater build variety.
- Artifact Sets: Equipping multiple artifacts from the same set grants special bonuses, encouraging treasure hunting and hero specialization.
Multiplayer and Game Modes
For those who love competition, Olden Era features multiple ways to play, including online, local, and cooperative modes.
- Story Campaign – A full single-player experience with a rich, branching narrative.
- Skirmish Mode – Play standalone battles against AI or human opponents with fully customizable settings.
- Hotseat Mode – Local multiplayer returns, allowing multiple players to share a single PC.
- Online Multiplayer – Up to 8 players can battle in classic multiplayer matches, with ranked matchmaking and custom game lobbies.
- One-Hero Mode – A new, fast-paced variant where each player controls just one hero—losing them means instant defeat.
- Arena Mode – A competitive battle mode where players draft an army and fight in an enclosed arena, focusing purely on combat tactics.
Graphics, Audio, and Technical Details
Visually, Olden Era adopts a richly detailed, painterly art style, reminiscent of the older Heroes games but with modern enhancements. Town screens are vibrant and full of life, and battle animations feature dynamic spell effects and creature abilities.
The game runs on the Unity engine, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of PC hardware. Expect smooth performance, customizable animation speeds, and scalable graphics settings to suit different system capabilities.
On the audio front, the original composer of the Heroes series, Paul Romero, returns to craft the soundtrack. He is joined by Cris Velasco (known for God of War and Mass Effect) and the Heroes Orchestra, ensuring an epic musical experience with orchestrated themes for each faction.
Release Date and Platforms
Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era is set for an Early Access release in Q2 2025, marking the series’ return after a decade-long hiatus. Initially launching for PC (Windows) via Steam, the game will remain in Early Access for about a year, allowing developers to gather feedback and refine mechanics before a full launch. While there’s no confirmation yet of console versions, the possibility of expansions to other platforms in the future hasn’t been ruled out.
