Heroes of Might and Magic 3's Remake Transported Me Back to My Childhood, But I Have Some Worries

I don't know that I've ever had a hands-on demo go by faster than my two hours with Heroes of Might and Magic 3 Remake. For those couple of hours, it was like I was back in high school, glued to my monitor at 4 in the morning until the time limit snapped me out of my reverie. But while the sheer gameplay experience was still enrapturing, there are some major hesitations I have about the overall aesthetic change of this new version of the game. 

While the “remake” moniker has been applied here, this feels much more like a robust upgrade to Heroes of Might and Magic 3 that painstakingly keeps the vibe and gameplay systems almost exactly the same as it was. In a quick intro video before my demo, Ubisoft went at length over the focus of this remake and how it was put into development at the same time as the series newest entry, Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era. But one thing that immediately stood out was how Ubisoft is hoping to keep the legacy of the game alive.

Heroes of Might and Magic 3 has meant a lot of different things to a lot of different people over the years, creating one of the longest-lasting modding communities you can find for any RPG. It seems like, with this remake, there will be an effort to make it compatible with those decades of fan mods, allowing you to plug things into these new versions seamlessly. Ubisoft currently says the remake will be compatible with “thousands” of mods. 

That’s a tall order, but the fact that Ubisoft is at least cognizant of the importance of this game is a good thing. And I truly hope that they can pull off making all those years of mods supported – as Heroes of Might and Magic 3 is essentially one of those games you can keep playing for years. There’s such a vibrant fan community around this game, and if Ubisoft really, truly wants to court that, good. I have some obvious hesitations about the scope of that support truly being pulled off, but on paper it’s good. 

And in terms of actually playing Might and Magic 3, in terms of game feel, this remake is almost one-for-one with the original. My two-hour demo was separated out into two parts: a brand new tutorial meant to acclimate players to the experience, and then an hour and a half of a traditional scenario, where I played as the Inferno faction. 

Slipping back into the rhythm of Might and Magic 3 was like getting back on a bike for the first time in a decade – I instantly remembered the flow of improving my cities each day, trying to balance the number of units on each of my heroes to keep my entire kingdom protected, and how to best prioritize valuable riches when exploring. 

For all intents, this is the Might and Magic 3 you remember in terms of pure gameplay experience. The grid-based battles play exactly the same, making you weigh your army numbers and try to take down enemy heroes and fortresses with as few casualties as possible. You still explore the map in turns with stamina. And upgrading cities plays out exactly the same, as well.

Ubisoft has clearly made very few changes in terms of the core gameplay experience, although the company has announced some structural changes to the overall experience. Instead of disparate campaigns for each faction, everything has been woven into one continuous experience — with a new prologue campaign added that also serves as a tutorial. The snippet I played of that prologue section was extremely basic, so I wouldn’t expect any large narrative changes.

Instead, the bulk of major overhauls here applies to the sound, aesthetic, and visuals — and that’s also where my hesitations start to arise. There’s certainly a sort of flashy sheen to everything, and it’s fascinating to see these 2D maps turned into sort of 3D interpretations. Environments look genuinely gorgeous, but the sticking point for me is the design and aesthetics of each faction. 

The visuals, on a basic level, look quite good. Artistically, however, I’m starting to feel like this Remake is losing a bit of the original’s panache; a bit of its flair. Might and Magic, especially the third game, has such a unique visual identity — and this remake takes maybe one step too far toward generic fantasy. It’s hard to put your finger on it exactly, but something about the overall visual style just doesn’t gel for me. It feels kind of like a painting you might find at a Renaissance festival, and not bat an eye. 

And that might dig into a larger problem with some remakes. Sure, I’m happy to get a version of Might and Magic 3 that plays better than ever, has compatibility with modern systems and years of fantastic fan mods. But I also want a remake that recognizes the game’s place in the history of RPGs, and part of that extends to the way this game molded the series' iconic fantasy aesthetic.

Of course, I’m fully aware I’ve only played two hours and seen a single trailer of this remake — so I’m not quite ready to condemn the game’s visuals as a problem. At least, at the moment, the core of this remake is still the same classic RPG fans know and love. And in the end, being able to have that game transcend generations might be enough.