Might & Magic: Heroes VI

About Might & Magic: Heroes VI

Might & Magic: Heroes VI is a turn-based strategy RPG set in the Ashan world, blending deep tactical combat with a large political and mystical narrative. Released in 2011 by Black Hole Entertainment under Ubisoft, it serves as a prequel to Heroes V, focusing on a fractured Griffin family caught in a centuries-old war between Angels and the Faceless. Players manage heroes, cities, and armies across a grid-based world, balancing resource management, diplomacy, and battles. The story spans decades, intertwining multiple characters and factions, with player choices influencing outcomes. It’s a dense, ambitious entry in the long-running series, prioritizing mechanics over streamlined design.

Gameplay

Heroes VI revolves around building and commanding heroes to conquer territories, destroy enemy structures, and complete quests. Each hero has unique skills, classes, and equipment, requiring careful progression. Battles occur on hexagonal grids, with units moving and attacking based on terrain and stats. Between battles, players manage settlements, research technologies, and trade resources. Multiplayer allows co-op or competitive matches, while single-player campaigns offer branching storylines. The game demands careful planning, every move costs action points, and positioning units to exploit weaknesses is critical. Late-game pacing slows as resource management overshadows combat, with repetitive objectives like clearing demon waves.

What Players Think

The game holds a 75.6/100 on IGDB (98 ratings), with mixed reception. Only 32% of players finish it, averaging 43 hours. Community moods lean toward frustration (53%) and boredom (45%), with 2% finding it engaging. Reviews highlight “complicated mechanics that take hours to master” and “repetitive late-game.” The average completion rate drops to 24% for Blood alignment endings. Achievement hunters note 142 trophies, with 8% unlocked in 10 hours. Despite its depth, many criticize the steep learning curve and grind.

PlayPile's Take

Heroes VI is for strategy veterans who enjoy grinding through intricate systems. The 2011 price tag (now ~$15) offers decent value for completionists, but its complexity and slow pacing deter casual players. Achievements reward patience but lack variety. While the story is ambitious, execution falters in pacing. Play it if you thrive in methodical, long-term strategy, skip if you prefer brisk, accessible games.

Storyline

In the everlasting war between the Orcs and the Griffin Empire, led by duke Pavel Griffin, Toghrul, an Orc shaman, summons the demons in order to help him and his tribe get rid of Pavel. The demons then overpower Pavel and slay him, but his sister, Sveltana (a necromancer in disguise) is able to trap Pavel's soul in the Griffin familial sword with which he has fought. However, before she can intervene, an Angel descends and steals the sword. Counseled by Angels in the impending war against the demons, Emperor Liam Falcon posts a decree enabling Duke Gerhart of the Wolf duchy to exterminate Orcs in the Empire. Duke Slava, Pavel's son, retaliates in solidarity with the Orcs, and the Dukes' bickering forces cause the Archangel Uriel - Michael's brother - to intervene. Uriel decides that Slava's eldest daughter, Irina, is to be betrothed to Gerhart to force a lasting peace. A decade passes, and Sandor learns that Irina has been imprisoned in the Wolf Duchy's jails for injuring Gerhart. He rouses an army of Orcs to free his half-sister, and the renegades flee to the Jade Ocean, where Sandor leaves Irina in Hashima and departs. Irina quickly befriends the native Naga and assists them in destroying a Wolf trading port, before discovering she is pregnant with Gerhart's child. Gerhart accuses Slava of orchestrating Sandor's attack, and the two dukes are called before the Emperor, where Slava's daughter Anastasya - Uriel's pupil and lover - kills Slava with a concealed knife before the court. Anton is crowned Duke, but the inquisition tries to force a confession from Anastasya, fearing she is in league with the Faceless; Anton elects to euthanize his sister before she can be tortured. He learns that Jorgen - one of Slava's former advisers - is an undercover Faceless, but not Slava's killer, while Anastasya is resurrected by Sveltana as an undead. Resolving to learn who manipulated her into slaying her father, she frees Jorgen from the inquisition before traveling onward to Heresh with her aunt. Meanwhile, Kiril finds himself abandoned in Sheogh by his mentor, the Archangel Sarah, with the soul of a demon prince sharing his body. Desperate to expunge the demon, he pursues Sarah as a renewed demon invasion begins. Sveltana is kidnapped by Anastasya's rival, Miranda. Suspecting her of Slava's murder, Anastasya kills Miranda, and she explains that Anastasya was controlled with a comb empowered by Faceless magic. Irina ransacks the Wolf duchy, slaughtering Gerhart, and both she and Sandor devote their resources to the eradication of the demons. Michael dispatches Anton to assist Gerhart against the Naga, but Anton soon learns the Duke has already been killed. Using the comb, Anastasya enters the mind of her betrayer: Uriel, who had sought to use her soul to reincarnate his mother. Enraged, Anastasya destroys Uriel's mind, and both he and Emperor Liam are slain in battle, leaving Anton to eliminate the remaining demons. Kiril finally apprehends Sarah, who reveals she sold Kiril's soul to the demons in order to cripple the Faceless by destroying their repository of knowledge; Kiril usurps the repository and frees himself of possession, while Sveltana discovers that Pavel's soul was used to resurrect Michael. With the demons overcome, Michael appeals to the Griffin heirs to assist him in ending his war against darkness. If the alignment of the player's chosen heir is Tears, the heir rejects Michael's calls to arms and leads armies against the Angels, alongside Cate. Michael is killed in battle and Cate succeeds in sending the remaining deceased Angels' souls to Elrath, but the ritual ultimately results in her death. Alternatively, if the heir's alignment is Blood, they launch an offensive against Cate, sponsored by Michael, and succeed in slaying her to apparently prevent the impending conflict. In both instances, the Griffins lament Cate's death and bury her with Slava, while Jorgen conspires with the Dark Elf Raelag to instigate the war against Elrath in the wake of her absence.