Songs of Conquest – Review

Songs of Conquest’s release has finally been the answer to my requests for a modern equivalent to HOMM 3 that isn’t HOMM 3. SoC unquestionably delivers on its promise and is well-deserving of a fight for the top slot!

The game appears to be very stunning. It’s fantastic, if I do so so myself. I guarantee that you will immerse yourself in each and every map you play. I was concerned about terrain readability before I could get my hands on SoC, but that was not the case. Not only is everything completely readable, but you’ll feel like a kid at a candy store. In each playing session, you’ll want to click and investigate everything and just look at everything. You have just entered a fantastical world from which you will never want to return. People could probably write entire books about the graphics alone, but the only thing that can be said is that this game is stunning.

Almost as good as the pictures at luring you in. Both work well together and are interdependent when it comes to game immersion. The music transports me to a fantasy story, with the exception that I’m not reading it, but rather playing it. I frequently find myself just listening to music because it is so magical. If you’re stressed, turn on some SoC music and you’ll feel much better in no time! There’s also nothing wrong with everything in-game sound-related that I can point out. Everything you hear has been absolutely nailed. Every sound has the right amount of heaviness/lightness and doesn’t sound too different from what you’d hear in real life. Everything is pretty well-rounded in terms of sound.

This is the portion that most people are concerned about. Songs of Conquest has a lot of features for being in early access. Something I’d want to emphasise. This is NOT HOMM 3, and fans should quit expecting it to be. Songs of Conquest is doing what it wants to do, and it’s doing it brilliantly. Please note that the developers want to make their mark and provide their own form of gameplay that you will enjoy, and they want it to be distinctive rather than a carbon copy of something else. Most importantly, they want you to feel distinct while playing the game, which they have accomplished admirably (a bit later on this). Of course, it will be different from HOMM 3, or else it wouldn’t be called Songs of Conquest, but HOMM 8.

As with every game in this genre, there is a learning curve, and it will take a few games to gain the necessary knowledge and the comfort of knowing “OK, Now I Know What I’m Doing.” First and foremost, army stacks. Depending on the unit, the number of stacks you can have varies. The developers want you to make your own decisions and play the game the way you want to play it. You can either extend the unit numbers on a stack or make it stronger if you don’t want to generate more of the same unit. Do you want a plague rat dread stack of 200-300 rats? It’s no problem. Maybe you’re like me, who plays Barya and deploys three stacks of seasoned pikeneers to guard another three stacks of veteran musketeers while my terrible dreads and shadows wreak havoc on the offence. My units may be few in number, but they are extremely powerful.

You’ll also need to level up your wielders and the skill Command in order to “unlock” new stack spots. You begin with three available stacks and may end up with as many as nine. We’ve reached the point when “the devs want you to make decisions” once more. Maybe you don’t need as many unit stacks and instead want to make your units tankier or have greater attack, or maybe you want to focus on your spells and grow your army later. It’s entirely up to you and your preferred style of play. As I already stated, the game forces you to think and make judgments. The developers have done an excellent job of making each gameplay session non-linear. You can always alter up your methods, and if you appreciate skirmish maps as much as I do, each game can be significantly different from the last.

Battles are exciting and enjoyable. Some gamers have complained that the game is lacking in complexity and that you are simply battling units. I don’t agree with it because each faction’s unit has a distinct job to play on the battlefield. In addition, each unit has its own set of benefits and “mechanics.” You will lose fights if you do not take these factors into account and play according to the strengths and limitations of your units. I don’t think the magic system is a problem either. It’s entertaining, and it adds to the enjoyment of the combat. I always put “fun” first, and playing SoC provides plenty of it. That isn’t to say that SoC is simple. It’s not the case. I’m still playing on “easy” because “normal” is too challenging for me. Your ass can and will be kicked by the AI. Even more challenging challenges aren’t implemented.

So far, this appears to be some type of compensated endorsement. It’s not the case. For me, the game has been a dream come true. With that stated, it still needs a lot of improvement (as do most games, including those that are “completed”). AI is a well-known problem, and the developers are well aware of it. Some argue that AI is too difficult, while others argue that it is too easy or not difficult enough, but developing AI takes time. One of the developers’ primary priorities is to improve the AI, although this will take time, and players should be aware of this. A random map generator is also on the way, most likely in the near future. The game still needs improved optimization and some significant problem fixes, but the developers are well aware of these issues and are working hard to improve them. With a few more features, refinement, and quality-of-life enhancements, the game will be a major force to be reckoned with. People desire more races and campaigns in general (don’t we all?). And, while I agree and believe they will appear at some point, I believe we will see additional races in a future DLC. Also, some fans demand more units for existing factions, as well as more upgrade types of those units, which, while understandable, brings up the subject of modding. Players being able to mod the vanilla game will solve all of these needs and wants (I understand the need to mod the game, but these requests are a little unreasonable for the vanilla version), and modding will also significantly extend the life of any game, but given how open to discussion and ideas the devs are, modding tools will most likely be implemented someday in the future (but probably definitely not the near future).

Last but not least, the developers are a gold mine! They’re simply incredible! They don’t mind communicating with players across various platforms. Not at all! I’ve even had private Discord conversations with one of the devs, which is incredible to me. They listen to what the fans have to say and write, and they communicate with them frequently. It’s a little odd since it feels like a large family, which is unusual in the game industry nowadays. It’s a first for me, at least in my experience.

This has become way too long, and there’s still more to say about the game, but it’s not necessary to list everything. Because of their strong relationship with the community, if there’s an issue with the game that I’ve missed, the devs are almost certainly aware of it. So, there you have it. It’s time to reach a conclusion. At the moment, Songs of Conquest receives an 8.5 out of 10 rating. Songs of Conquest will absolutely become a 10 out of 10 game with more time, improvement, features, content, and so on, and will undoubtedly dethrone HOMM 3 or, in the worst case scenario, stand at the very top of the mountain beside it.