Giant dragon versus frog: it usually doesn’t end well for the little green hopper. But what happens when hundreds of fighting Kermits jump on a dragon?
At first glance, the fantasy world of Hero’s Hour 2 looks like Heroes of Might & Magic 3 with a pixel art filter applied. Those familiar with the legendary original will immediately find their bearings, conquering gold mines with their mounted heroes, gathering resources, plundering treasure chests, and lifting the fog of war.
But as soon as our hero encounters the first monsters or even wants to conquer a city, everything changes: instead of starting turn-based hex field battles, the game switches to auto-battle. And instead of individual unit stacks symbolizing, for example, 123 harpies, 123 harpies actually flutter around. This allows for battles with hundreds of units at the same time, from tiny frogs to fat dragons.
From lone warrior to quartet of heroes
“At the time, I found that intro video for Heroes of Might & Magic 3 was so cool because towering titans trampled harpies,“ developer Benjamin Hauer tells me during his presentation, ”but in the game itself, the titans were just as small as the harpies. I want to do better in Hero’s Hour 2, with really big monsters.”
There are also nasty spells, so you can throw spider eggs at an enemy troop, and when the hosts die, spiders hatch and fight for you. Some heroes also master a particularly powerful dragon form, in which they themselves fight alongside you.
Role-playing and city building
You develop the eponymous heroes as in the great role model Heroes 3. They gain experience, equip captured gear, and improve primary virtues such as attack power or luck, which directly affect their accompanying army. A hero can lead up to eight types of troops, which means that even at level 1, we’re talking about around 200 units.
Your warriors also learn spells such as brutal meteor showers or the more perfidious spirit spell, which turns your opponents into ghosts after their demise, who then attack their former comrades-in-arms.
In addition to feeding heroes, fighting monsters, and exploring the world, you also take care of expanding your cities, which, among other things, provide you with more and better troops. These are also full of pixel art details, and Heroes 3 veterans will immediately feel at home with them.
You’ll soon be able to try it out for yourself: Hero’s Hour 2 is set to launch in Early Access next, and its Steam page is now live.
