Heroes of Might & Magic V

This game is a lot of fun at first, but it becomes incredibly tedious over time. I love the core concept, and I genuinely enjoyed the earlier campaigns. By the time I reached Zehir and the Academy campaign, though, I realized I wasn’t having fun anymore. The game had become a massive time sink. The biggest problem is how poorly the mission objectives are explained. The game often gives you little or no indication of what you should prioritize, which direction you should take, or whether you’re operating under a hidden time limit. You can spend hours exploring, building your hero, and playing what seems like the logical strategy—only to discover that you were supposed to rush the objective from the beginning. By then, the enemy has become overwhelming and your only realistic option is to restart the entire mission. That isn’t satisfying difficulty. It’s old-school trial and error combined with missions that can take hours to complete. I don’t need a game to hold my hand, but it should at least hint at the right direction and clearly communicate mechanics that can permanently screw up a campaign. Heroes V frequently punishes you for decisions you had no reasonable way of knowing were wrong at the time. If you have endless free time, enjoy consulting walkthroughs, and don’t mind repeatedly restarting missions after discovering that you went the wrong way or built your character incorrectly, then go for it. For me—and probably much of a modern audience—we simply don’t have time for that ♥♥♥♥. Before starting, ask yourself: Are you willing to lose several hours because the game poorly explained—or completely failed to explain—what it expected from you? Do you enjoy replaying the same long missions until you discover the specific strategy the designers secretly intended? Are you a masochist? If the answer is yes, this game may be perfect for you. I loved the concept and enjoyed the beginning, but eventually the frustration and wasted time outweighed the fun. I’m done.