Gameplay is just like Heroes III where you have a main character, in this case a Wielder, who has an army of characters with them.
When you complete a mission, you have a bard singing about your exploits in the previous mission which is a fantastic and rewarding experience. The reference to songs didn’t really sink in until I completed the first mission of The Song of the Stoutheart. There are two campaigns to play through – The First Song: The Song of the Stoutheart, and The Second Song: From the Ashes.
However, Songs of Conquest can be added to the mantle with these great games, as the gameplay is just as good, if not a better take on the genre. There have been many turn-based RPGs that have come and gone over the years, and for a long time the King’s Bounty games were as good as the Heroes series. It was incredible gameplay at the time with a decent story and the ability to maintain a kingdom, grow an army, and search the lands for loot and monsters to kill. We found we could play co-op, so I would play my turn and then we would swap chairs while my friend played his turn, then the AI moved. It was a turn-based RPG where you controlled a knight who had an army, and you could only move a certain number of squares before your turn was over. It was June 1999 and while playing Baldur’s Gate, taking turns to play while my best friend was sitting in the chair next to me, we heard about this game called Heroes of Might and Magic III. If you have played Heroes of Might and Magic III and the early King’s Bounty series games, Songs of Conquest takes that formula and adds its own modern twists that are very impressive.
It released in Early Access on Steam and the Epic Games Store on May 10, 2022, but had it not been labelled as Early Access, it could easily have been a full release as it plays amazingly from what I’ve played so far.
Songs of Conquest is a turn-based RPG developed by Lavapotion and published by Coffee Stain Publishing.