Heroes of Might and Magic Olden Era: Heroes III is back, and it means something

We played Heroes III to death. Really to death. Late nights on custom maps downloaded from sites that no longer exist, sessions that stretched until someone surrendered or fell asleep, the sound of horses on the strategic map engraved somewhere in muscle memory. When Olden Era was announced, we didn't say "oh, a new Heroes." We said "finally."

The question was: does it hold up?

Unfrozen does what Ubisoft couldn't

Olden Era is developed by Unfrozen and published by Hooded Horse. Released in Early Access on April 30, 2026 on PC, it sold 250,000 copies on day one with 89% positive reviews on Steam. For a Heroes of Might and Magic game, that's the community saying it got exactly what it was waiting for.

This isn't a reboot. It isn't a Heroes VII with a new skin. It's a game built by people who played the old ones, who understand why they worked, and who decided to start from there rather than reinvent what didn't need reinventing. The similarities to Heroes III are striking: the strategic structure, the pacing, the way every decision on the adventure map carries real weight. You find your footing within minutes.

What genuinely works

The Laws system is Olden Era's real new idea, and it lands. Rules that apply to your faction for the run, opening customisation possibilities without throwing balance out the window. The kind of addition that increases replayability without unnecessary complexity.

The combat skill system is smart: it forces trade-offs between unit types and prevents ability spam. Cities look great, construction animations have charm, spells have impact and genuinely change battle outcomes. The AI doesn't play for numbers, it builds strong heroes to counter you. Already more than we expected.

Units are well designed, the roster keeps just the right amount of iconic creatures without leaning on them entirely. The game runs well, not a single crash. For an Early Access title, that's an achievement.

What still needs work

The interface icons have a real problem: some, particularly in cities, have a "mobile game" aesthetic that clashes with the rest. Not catastrophic, fixable, but visible.

Resource buildings on the adventure map blend too much into the background. Too many identical buildings early in a game. Factions depend too heavily on one or two resources, limiting strategic flexibility. The level V Mage Guild is impossible to build, cutting off a logical progression path. Level IV spells are unbalanced: some dominate everything, others like the Star Children summon are completely useless.

The absence of war machines is something longtime players will notice immediately. The ballista, the tent, the catapult: that was an entire tactical layer. It's not there. Some French translations are rough. The recruitment window could be redesigned to give creatures the visual prominence they deserve.

These are real flaws. None of them are dealbreakers for an Early Access title, and the team has announced a year of additional development. The question is whether these points get addressed or quietly dropped.

What it feels like to play this in 2026

There's a moment, fairly early in the game, where you recognise the sound of something. Not the music, not a specific visual. The rhythm. Calculating how many moves remain before the opponent reaches your resource, weighing whether to attack now or wait for reinforcements, realising you missed something three turns ago and you're about to pay for it. Heroes had that rhythm. Olden Era found it again.

This isn't a perfect return. It's an honest one, made by people who respect the source material and delivered something solid in Early Access. The road is still long, but the direction is right.

The verdict

Olden Era is the Heroes we've been waiting twenty years for, not quite finished yet but already good enough to matter. Unfrozen understood what the recent entries missed: the weight of every decision, the pleasure of the strategic map, the balance between building and combat. There's still work to do, and the Early Access label justifies that. But if you grew up with Heroes III, you're home.

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Review based on the Early Access version (April 2026). The game is in active development with a full release planned within the year.