PC players have been familiar with the long-running Might & Magic series for decades. Its different flavors of strategy and high fantasy have made it a mainstay among fans, and new releases always garner attention. In 2009, Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes was released on the Nintendo DS, and while it was very different from every other game in the series, it was good enough to see ports to major platforms in 2011 and smartphones in 2013. This year began with the announcement of a remake to the game, and there's a playable PC demo of the game during Steam Next Fest, which runs from June 19-26, 2023.

The gameplay can be best described as an adversarial puzzle game with a more strategic angle. When you get into a fight, you find your side on the bottom of the screen and the enemy at the top. Both parties have armies consisting of various units and creatures, and all are color-coded. On one's turn, you have three moves to move a piece in a manner similar to the developer's earlier title, Critter Crunch, where your pieces are at the bottom of the field. You can pull a piece and shoot it back to the field, but removal is expanded, so you can remove any of your pieces regardless of placement. Unlike in a standard puzzle game, you decide when to add more pieces to your side of the field. Filling up your side so you don't have space to maneuver never ends the match; it can actually be strategic in a pinch.

From here, Clash of Heroes becomes more strategic. Make a vertical match, and you form an attacking trio that rushes forward and breaks through enemy lines. The goal is to reach the other side to attack the enemy commander once their timer expires. Enemies standing in the way, whether they are alone or part of an opposing trio, may die from the rushing force, but they also take on some damage that results in a lessened attack against the enemy commander. Make a horizontal match, and that immediately transforms into a barrier that your troops can move or shoot through, but they serve as buffers against opposing attackers. Unlike attacking units, these barriers are formed immediately, and the match ends once one side gets enough attacks on the opposing commander to kill them.

The formula works very well with the inherent elements of the genres being mixed together. The match-three element is easy to understand, and while you can get by with making random matches early on, the ways you match things together force you to think about what kind of match you want versus just clearing the field. It also forces you to think about when you want to make a match, given the lack of a timer on the playfield and the presence of one on matched units before they attack. Combine that with the various unit types, and it is easy to see why this slightly casual angle is very appealing to strategy fans.

The only complaint with the demo is its length. It's short — very short. The main game hits about 20 hours in length, but all you play in the demo are the most basic tutorial stages before the game kicks you to the pre-order screen, just as some of the main characters make their escape. It's good enough to get the mechanics down once, but you'll be left unsatisfied if you wanted to play for against enemy forces without any help.

Multiplayer remains intact for online play, and even though the pre-release audience for the demo was small, we still found the performance to be solid once we got a game going. The good news is that hot seat offline play is still intact, and it was much easier to get multiple one-on-one games going on that way. Even though the demo only lets you access four of the heroes for multiplayer, it remains as engaging; everyone has a long health bar and individual powers.

The presentation looks very nice, but it needs a small touch-up since the original game already looked good with 1080p in mind. The hand-drawn art style shines through thanks to its color vibrancy and loads of detail on the battlefield and the environment. The game remains devoid of voices for most of the cut scenes, but the music and sound effects create the expected medieval epic vibe. Even though this is just the demo, Clash of Heroes is already a perfect fit for the Steam Deck. The game hits the native display of 1280x800, and while there aren't too many options, the title already looks great, and all of the text is very legible. The game has no issues reaching 60fps, and the battery life on a full charge goes a little over six hours. Again, the system is perfect for a game like this, not just because of performance but because of its quick battles.

There's a little more than a month to go before the full version of Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes - Definitive Edition drops, but it's clear that fans are going to love this iteration. The increased compatibility with modern systems ensures that more people can play it again and enjoy the timeless combat system. We didn't get to see too many of the advertised quality of life changes, but the online play was good, so there's very little for newcomers and series fans to worry about. It's pretty much a guaranteed buy for those who are already familiar with the game, but for those who are still on the fence, expect a review around the time this title gets released.