Don't Buy Heroes of Might and Magic 3: HD Edition

Heroes of Might and Magic III: HD Edition was advertised as an improved version of the original Heroes 3, but in reality has major drawbacks. Here's my review (of sorts) and why I don't recommend it - including a comparison with HoMM3 Complete Edition.

*Note: As a GOG affiliate, purchases through this link support the channel via commission at no added cost to you. This video was scripted/recorded before I became an affiliate.

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:47 Expansions
02:04 HD Edition vs Complete Edition
02:39 Armageddon's Blade
04:14 Shadow of Death
04:49 On Steam Achievements
05:54 HD Edition vs original game
08:00 HD Edition vs HD mod comparison
08:54 Multiplayer (PvP Online Lobby)
09:21 Horn of the Abyss fan expansion
10:49 Other mods
11:06 HDE mod
12:19 Worth It?

Featured playthroughs:

Complete Edition Mods:

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

#homm3 #heroes3 #heroesofmightandmagic

[Norovo]

Useful links:


*Note: As a GOG affiliate, purchases through this link support the channel via commission at no added cost to you. This video was scripted/recorded before I became an affiliate.



Featured playthroughs:




Complete Edition Mods:

[nataliep]

Keep in mind that the creators of HOMM3 doesn't get money if we spend money on buying it.. They sold the company a long time ago :)

[kubzer]

The worst thing about "improved" graphics and portraits is that it wouldn't even take that much time or money to do it properly.

[Wanderer]

Thank goodness of GOG and the Horn of the Abyss Expansion, I loved this game since I was 17, and now at the age of 35. I am glad there is a community here that keeps it alive. I one time thought of buying the Steam HD version but I remember Total Biscuit said it best: " Go buy the GOG version and you'll not regret it, there is even a mod expansion, do not waste your time with it".

[zlosliwa_menda]

It never ceases to amaze me how these giant corporations with huge resources and access to talented employees of their choosing often can't even make a proper remaster or remake. You'd think that if there is one thing they'd be good at it would be churning out uninspired, but well-polished and consistent products that follow an already established formula. But most of the time they can't even do that.

[GreetTheSacredCow]

The more people know to avoid HD Edition, the better. Excellent video.

[Szafirprince]

To be honest I would consider buying this if this would be fully reworked version containing both expansions(AB and SoD) and Chronicles campaings. It is hard to consider it "better" version if more than 60% of content is missing.

[tarkhan]

It makes me sad because even Command & Conquer got a better result, from EA of all publishers.

[JohnTibbitt]

I'm one of those poor sould who fell into the trap of buying HD Edition off of steam then feeling scammed when I experienced HD mod. Shows the difference between passion for a game and corporate greed to milk a fanbase.

[TheSnorkyShow]

Its really sad that we don't have a complete Heroes 3 HD complete edition. HOA community and overall all Heroes 3 has such a nice a good community. Its really nice to be around such people.

[umbrellaoli]

With ERA III the mod ability from the H3Complete is increase even more. This allows activate different mods at the same time (with some exceptions). Giga maps, QoL mods, alternative upgrades, or advanced classes f.e..
VCMI is a other great mod project, that recoded the complete base game to increase some limits.

If the HD Edition had add some QoL features and a random mapgenerator it wouldn't too bad. Age of Empires 2 Remakes got more love from the dev team than this game. 😢

[apathyinc.]

I bought the original HOMM III from Good Old Games. It's not high res, but it does use the whole screen instead of trying to accommodate the 15" CRT monitors that were pretty standard for the time. I'm fine with the old version. I do play Horn of the Abyss, as well. A great community there. This is still one of my all-time favorite strategy games ever.

[Paulsinke]

So cool that other people still love this game. I didn't play it back in the day and thought it looked stupid until a trusted friend finally convinced me to try it out, 2000 hours later it's one of my favorite games. So many robust mods too

[DogmanDraws]

I really appreciate you putting this video out and also linking the modlist, it's made me pick up the game from GoG and try it out for the first time.

[jakubdolezal]

Are you planning on playing HoMM V any time in the future by any chance?

[roninsdog]

I got the game when it first came out in 1999 but lost it somewhere along the line. I bought the HD Edition years later thinking that would be the best option, WRONG! So, I now have the HD HOTA Mod edition and LOVE it. many hours of gameplay. and the HOTA expansion is so well thought out.

[thomasneal]

I keep going back to Homm3 every ten years or so. The colorful maps always give me so much joy. it's fascinating.

[RNorthex]

I really enjoy the way you do content. It's not slapped together or overflown with memes and hot takes, but a nice mix of professional and casual, infused with a bit of fun.

[error_]

Didn't know the source code for the expansions had been found. A shame Ubisoft isn't going to do anything with them.
Great summary of the reasons why the steam edition is mostly worse than the complete edition.

[PanosNFP]

I used to play H3 back in 2009 when my uncle show it to me.
I had stopped playing until 2020 and i didn't have it so i bought it from steam and then i bought it from GoG and the i have played both versions for a while.
I have to say Complete edition is by far better but i don't regret buying HD edition. Is not good but it is playable.