6.5/10
(I only recommend this game if you don't care about multiplayer (which is broken) and only with HoMM 7.5 mod which is like a Unofficial Patch for this game. Without it, HoMM 7 is a fun, but buggy, unfinished mess stuck somewhere in beta stage).
After controversial HoMM6, HoMM series returns to its roots with HoMM7. New devs (Limbic) tried to replicate HoMM3 and HoMM5 formula and mostly succeeded...but due to Ubisoft (publisher and IP owner) greed, they were not allowed to finish and polish their creation properly. Game was released too early and they never fully fixed it. Fortunately, modders from HoMM 7.5 team managed to improve this game significantly, but it still has some flaws.
Additional info 1: this game was NOT made by HoMM 1-4 devs, but by Limbic Entertainment (under direction of HoMM IP owners Ubisoft).
Additional info 2: besides fixing lot's of bugs and improving balance and AI a bit, HoMM 7.5 mod also adds optional (you may choose to not install them) brand new factions (like HoMM3 HoTA did). These are (as of 2024), Inferno, Tower, Sanctuary, Temple and Xel.
Pros:
+ Return to HoMM3 and HoMM5 formula.
+ Good variety of factions and units. Factions: Haven, Stronghold, Academy, Necropolis, Sylvan, Dungeon, Fortress (DLC), Inferno (7.5 mod), Tower (7.5 mod), Sanctuary (7.5 mod), Temple (7.5 mod), Xel (7.5 mod),
+ Random map generator
+ 2 HoMM4 campaigns (Lost Tales of Axeoth) that we never got back in 2002 due to HoMM4 development issues. Basically, they were already written back then, but never implemented into the game. In my opinion, these are better than base game HoMM7 campaigns.
+ Skill wheel system. Nice idea and works well. Besides skills for all factions (like Exploration), each faction has unique faction skill (for example Stronghold/Barbarians have Bloodrage).
+ New flanking mechanic. It adds some tactical depth to combat. I would like to see this mechanic in future HoMM games.
+ Caravan system from older HoMMs comes back, works well and helps with micromanagement.
+ Decent equipment/artifact system. You always want to find/buy all set items which will give you some nice unique bonuses. Some items will persist for the entire campaign that you are currently playing.
+ Decent graphics and realistic art style. It doesn't look like a mobile game (looking at you HoMM Olden Era).
+ They fixed OP healing system from HoMM6.
+ Compared to HoMM6, they reduced amount of cheats that AI receives. AI cheats were crazy in HoMM6.
Mixed:
- Mediocre singleplayer main story campaigns. Writing and dialogue varies from mediocre to very poor. Map design is mostly OK, but there are also some frustrating and badly designed maps. But most are fine.
- Mediocre soundtrack. Especially compared to HoMM 1-5. Few good Romero tracks, but lot's of filler ambience. Get's repetetive quite quickly.
- Mediocre DLC. Faction itself (Dwarves/Fortress) is OK, but campaign is quite boring, cliche and...even more buggy than base game campaigns. Even with 7.5.
Cons:
- Bugs. Base game was so buggy, that even with HoMM 7.5 mod there are still some bugs left.
- Broken multiplayer. Endless desync issues. Sadly, these issues seems to be unfixable by modding. And Ubisoft is too lazy to fix them.
- Very poor optimization. Memory leaks. It seems that Limbic didn't know how to handle Unreal Engine 3. Sadly modders can't do anything about it.
- Poor AI. It's slightly improved with 7.5 and better than HoMM6 AI, but it's still worse than HoMM 1-5 AI. However, it's stupidity is mostly tolerable in singleplayer campaigns thanks to the scripted nature of these campaigns.
- Poor balance of the game (even with 7.5). Magic is a lot better than Might. There are some OP spells (Summon Elemental, Implosion, Tsunami, Wall of Flames). Warcries are completely useless.
- Too many reused assets from HoMM 6 like textures, some unit models or even parts of soundtrack. Lazy.
- Even on Steam, this game still requires Ubisoft Connect to launch and work in the background.
So as I said, I recommend this game, but with 7.5 mod and only if you don't care about multiplayer. It will offer you a decent singleplayer HoMM experience, but most older HoMMs are just better. And if you want good multiplayer, try HoMM3 with HoTA mod. They have their own, fully working servers and active community.
12/2024
