The proven strategy of the Songs of Conquest, Heroes of Might & Magic style

From time to time, some developers try to revive a genre that has been marginalized by the market for a myriad of reasons. Let’s just say it touches everyone a little, going through some subgenres of strategy, from graphic adventures to classic shooters. It must be said that these are often unsuccessful attempts, either due to the quality of the titles or the reaction of the players. But it’s nice that someone is trying to cater to forgotten niches, for example, they want to try to work. washing With Heroes of Might & Magic emulator.

we therefore I tried Songs of Conquest With a certain curiosity, wondering how far he could go in imitating his inspiration.

campaigns

As the main content, the version early access Songs of Conquest offers two campaigns called “Songs”, as well as a skirmish mode that can be played both solo and in multiplayer using the four available factions. If you want, there’s also a map editor where you can juggle the creation of custom missions to use for your own games or exchange with the community.

This two campaigns, they are completely autonomous, have a very classical structure, that is, they consist of a series of linked tasks that are narratively connected. In the first, “The Deeds of Stoutheart” she plays the role of Baroness Cecilia Stoutheart, who must figure out what’s going on in her kingdom and stop those plotting to overthrow her power. The second campaign, “From the Ashes” features the toad-man Rasc from the Torrentesud Plains and a group of slaves forced to work in the Barya mines. Their goal is to escape and find freedom in a hostile area called Marsh.

Needless to say, it’s better to go through the campaigns in order, not so much for the story they tell, because the first is designed specifically to introduce the player to the game mechanics gradually, complete with a textual tutorial, while the second is a little more introductory, brutal, which makes one’s head. it can get you into trouble (though to be honest there is nothing really insurmountable).

discovery

Once one of the two campaigns is launched, it’s easy to spot immediately what the inspirations are for Lavapotion. The player controls units called auctioneers, i.e. mages who support the troops behind them during battles, cast spells, and affect attack and defense with equipment and attributes. The game is split into two phases: the exploration phase, where you flip maps and interact with points of interest, and the actual battle, where units move around a fixed split-screen battlefield. come across.

There discovery phase It is a very typical example of the genre. In fact, you just need to find the best strategy to collect as many resources as possible before the next fight. There are many elements to interact with around the maps: buildings to conquer to obtain various types of resources (gold, building materials, troops, etc.), magical places to obtain permanent or temporary bonuses, objects to collect, lairs, portals and the like. There are also conquerable settlements that allow you to build buildings to have other resources and the possibility of replenishing armies, in case of particularly difficult battles that cause many victims in the allied ranks.

However, each auctioneer has a certain number of action points spend every turn to move, so it’s always advisable to study the best way to achieve all set goals, especially when there are opposing auctioneers trying to do the same.

With a role-playing system that can be managed through a very simple inventory that allows you to assign items to the auctioneer, once the troops are filled with resources and equipment, you can dedicate yourself to the battle. The latter can be caused by main quests, secondary objectives or simple events taking place around maps or visiting some points of interest. Exploration and combat help level up the auctioneer so he can hone his support skills in ways the player chooses. Each level offers three growth options that increase performance on the battlefield. For example, you can unlock slots to carry more units with you, increase the damage done by troops, unlock new essences needed to cast spells, etc.

fights

While the discovery phase is the accumulating phase, war It is the place where the harvest is used well. At the beginning of each battle, you must first distribute the troops on the map, taking into account the location and height of each square, as well as the placement of the opponents. The principles to follow are quite logical and follow the classic pattern: it is better to place units that attack from afar, such as archers and crossbowmen, higher up so that they have a better and wider view of the enemies. Melee units should be used to take control of your opponents and come face to face with them. Some units also have secondary skills. For example, bards sing songs that give various effects to all troops, while archers can set up barricades in their squares to slow down their enemies.

Over battlefield, the units act in turn, following the initiative values ​​of each. The game interface is very clear and you will never be in any doubt about what you can and cannot do: when you select a unit, the area within which it can move and attack is clearly shown during the turn.

In all this, the auctioneer, like the heroes of many other games of the genre, works behind the scenes, that is, he watches and throws the battle. spell support, for example, by creating magical obstacles, speeding up movements or activating attackers; or offensive spells, for example by blinding or injuring the enemy, repeatedly injuring him to bleed. Consider that spells cannot be used immediately, but are unlocked by accumulating essences obtained by fighting units during battle. The clear winner is the one who defeats the opposing army.

general impressions

in terms of gameplay Songs of Conquest is a really agile name. The first tasks are overcome quite quickly, and once you understand the game system, it becomes really easy to perform various actions. Basically, it only takes a few mouse clicks to do a little bit of everything, and the summary screens are minimal. The action is also relatively quick. I must say that with the management department entering the scene, the possibility of hiring more auctioneers, albeit very slim, disappeared and the story became a little more complicated.

This mapsHowever, they are never very large and it doesn’t take much to spin them far and away, so much so that you can often notice a large concentration of points of interest in enclosed spaces with a bandit camp near a tree. enchantment or enchanted source near a destroyed village. From this perspective, it seems that the developers wanted to make the experience as agile as possible, paying more attention to the game than to the not-so-bad possibility at certain moments.

Of course, it must be said for now, challenge bidding isn’t exactly impossible, especially on the first maps of each campaign. Things get more complicated in advanced versions, but the hope is that at least one full top-level campaign will be included in the final version, because as it stands now, it only takes a few hours to finish the Lavapotion title.

The impression is also confirmed from a technical point of view: graphically Songs of Conquest presents itself with multicolored pixel art that creates a detailed 2D world filled with small animations, reminiscent of the classics of the 16-bit era. The overall effect is particularly pleasing, thanks to the attention paid to very small details such as the wind that moves the market flags or the smoke coming out of the chimneys of the buildings. The fighting animations are also excellent, although they’re only a few frames away, they’re really well done, and some of the effects are managed in a way that makes the kills particularly intense thanks to the zoom and slow motion. Used.