Songs of Conquest, the very good, very beautiful Heroes of Might & Magic-esque game that first hit Early Access in 2022, has reached its final form. Well, kind of. The game has finally left Early Access and headed towards a bright future with a 1.0 release, but the developers promise more development. “This is just the beginning of a new chapter in our epic story,” say the developers.
For those of you who don’t know, Songs of Conquest is a classic style tactical game similar to Heroes of Might & Magic 3. Players choose a side and lead their heroes across a vast world map, seizing resources and fighting armies on a hexagonal grid, doing everything they can to defeat their enemies. At the same time, they must defend their base and work their way up the production ladder from “a small hamlet churning out the occasional spearman” to “a fearsome war factory.”
This comes at a good time, given the near absence of games like HoMM on the modern video game market. The Early Access release also received a much-needed stamp of approval from PCG’s Head of Strategy, Fraser Brown. The 1.0 release will bring a new campaign that will “conclude the epic adventure that began with the Barony of Alleon’s battle for power, Lana’s rise to reclaim the swamp, and Roth’s loyalists’ determination to bring the dead Empress back to life.”
This all sounds like a very urgent task, and I’d love to jump into the 1.0 release of the game and thwart these Dead Empress Returns myself. After all, despite the enduring popularity of the HoMM series (or at least its previous entries), it feels like a very difficult format for the studio to establish.
Heck, even the HD version of HoMM 3, which should have been a huge success, ended up feeling like a lower-quality version of the original game due to the lack of some key expansions. Having a good, modern “game like this” out there, with the developers actively giving it some love, feels like a treat not to be missed.
If you want to try out the full game, you can find it on Steam, GOG, and Epic.
