Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes gets a surprise Definitive Edition this summer on PC via Steam and the Ubisoft Stores, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. Inexplicably, there is no Xbox version.
The puzzle RPG classic – so loved here at Eurogamer – has been 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 in December 2009 on the Nintendo DS. Its brilliant mix of role-playing, turn-based strategy and match-three puzzling, drenched in a charming anime-inspired art style, was followed by a high-definition version in 2011 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Android and iOS ports followed in 2013, though they were the weakest versions ever.
And that’s where we left off with Clash of Heroes, now, 10 years later, with a surprising Definitive Edition I don’t think anyone expected.
According to the official barb, DotEmu has not changed the established scope and vision of the original, but it has given a new look to the art style with updated character art and illustrations, as well as quality-of-life improvements, such as a full multiplayer. Mode rebalancing.
This Definitive Edition includes the I Am the Boss DLC, which lets you play as four bosses (Azxes, Count Carlyle, Ludmila and Az-Rafir), and a new multiplayer boss called Uni the Arcadrid, Which is used in quick battle, online and online. Offline multiplayer mode.
When I was asked the question of the video game version of that Desert Island disc: What is the only video game you would take to your desert island? I cycle between Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes and Tetris Effect for my answer. Clash of Heroes has been one of my reliable go-tos for over a decade now. My wife and I played this game in the labor ward while we waited for our babies to arrive. I have the Xbox 360 version on my Xbox Series S hard-drive, free from deletion forever. It’s a shame this definitive edition is leaving the Xbox.
If you’re hungry for more, Eurogamer has some great write-up on Clash of Heroes. Ex-Eurogamer editor Oli Welsh did his expert review of the mobile version of Heroes back in 2013. In that review he said:
“Dan Pearson (RIP) reviewed the DS original three years ago, calling it ‘a really, really good game’ – with some understatement. Kristen Reed (RIP) went further when she released Xbox Live Arcade And PSN reviewed the remake: ‘With a depth and long runtime that belies 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 also appeared on Steam, Fred Dutton (RIP) anointed it as one of our Games of 2011 (it was on his list was at the top, and mine) Fred wrote, ‘The gameplay system in Clash of Heroes is a thing of rare, mesmerizing beauty – a creation so deep and so elegant it’ll keep you up at night, and he was right.
As you can probably tell, I’m excited for this.