Might and Magic: Heroes VII – Trial by Fire Reviews

i liked everything

great

fun game and challenging.

One of my favorite games. I hope they make another soon. It says that I have played it 790 hours!

Game is full of bugs, Do not waster your time or money

Might & Magic Heroes VII – Trial by Fire is an ambitious expansion that attempts to build on the strengths of the base game while addressing some of its most persistent weaknesses. As both a standalone title and an add-on to Heroes VII, it introduces a full new faction—the Dwarven Fortress—and brings with it two large campaign arcs, new maps, additional skirmish content, and a suite of technical and quality-of-life updates. Taking place five years after the events of the original game, the narrative centers on rising tensions between the Holy Empire and the dwarves of Grimheim, with Emperor Ivan once again caught in the middle of a looming war. The central characters, particularly the formidable dwarven general Vilma Stoneshield, bring new energy to the series’ ongoing lore, offering a story that feels politically grounded while maintaining the mystical charm of the franchise. The Fortress faction is the most significant mechanical addition, featuring a lineup of classic dwarven units like Rune Priests, Fire Giants, and Red Dragons. Fortress gameplay emphasizes endurance, rune-based magic, and terrain manipulation, giving players a more defense-oriented playstyle compared to the more aggressive factions. Their towns are visually striking and thematically consistent, combining Norse-inspired architecture with fiery underground caverns. While the faction is not revolutionary in terms of gameplay mechanics, it adds much-needed variety and is a welcome return for long-time fans of Heroes V, where the Dwarves last appeared in a major capacity. Alongside this, the campaigns do a solid job of easing players into Fortress strategy, slowly escalating in complexity and giving players time to learn the nuances of rune casting, defensive stacking, and hero synergy. Trial by Fire also introduces a number of systemic improvements that benefit the entire game, not just the new content. The revamped skill system gives players more predictability and control in hero development, a welcome change from the often arbitrary skill unlocks in the original release. The flanking system, added as a major tactical element, encourages more thoughtful positioning and movement during battles, rewarding players who take the time to maneuver troops around enemy sides or rears. These tweaks do help to modernize the combat, although they don’t fully resolve all of Heroes VII’s underlying balance issues. Spellcasters, for instance, still feel disproportionately powerful compared to might-based heroes, and AI behavior remains erratic, sometimes failing to capitalize on opportunities or retreat when clearly overmatched. The campaign design itself is perhaps the expansion’s strongest asset. The maps are well-crafted, with dense layouts, layered objectives, and clear incentive to explore. The return of Terry B. Ray as a narrative designer for several bonus maps also adds a nostalgic touch, as his storytelling roots trace back to Heroes IV. Some of the missions, especially in the second campaign, feature branching choices and scripted events that provide a stronger sense of player agency. While the overall narrative may not be groundbreaking, the worldbuilding is rich, the political tension is compelling, and the character writing for Vilma and her allies gives the story a personal arc that complements the broader military drama. However, Trial by Fire inherits the technical shortcomings that have dogged Heroes VII since its original release. Performance issues such as lag on larger maps, long load times, memory leaks, and random crashes remain a part of the experience, especially in longer sessions. Multiplayer is notoriously unstable, plagued by synchronization errors and broken matchmaking. Even years after release, some of these bugs persist, and official support has been minimal. Many players have turned to community-created fixes like the Unofficial Community Patch (UCP), which addresses many of the most egregious problems, optimizes balance, and improves the interface. With these community tools, the game becomes significantly more playable, but it’s unfortunate that they remain essential rather than optional for a smooth experience. Presentation-wise, the expansion is visually consistent with the base game—colorful, detailed environments and unit models, though not cutting-edge by modern standards. The Fortress towns are a highlight, beautifully rendered with warm lighting and thematic cohesion. Music and voice acting, while not standout, do their job adequately, with some of the dwarven voice lines adding a touch of humor and grit. The overall interface has seen slight improvement, but still occasionally suffers from clunkiness, especially during army management and hero assignment. The new map generator adds replay value, though results vary in terms of balance and interest, requiring manual tuning for optimal play. Despite its flaws, Trial by Fire represents a meaningful addition to the Heroes VII experience. It doesn’t reinvent the formula or erase the missteps of its base game, but it enriches it with a substantial amount of content, a strong new faction, and a pair of campaigns that are genuinely worth playing. For series veterans, it offers moments of tactical satisfaction and narrative depth reminiscent of earlier Heroes entries. For newcomers, however, the technical roughness and lack of polish may be a barrier to entry unless they’re willing to invest time in community patches and adapt to some awkward design choices. In the context of the broader Heroes of Might & Magic franchise, Trial by Fire is not a high point, but it is a respectable expansion that reflects both the potential and the limitations of the seventh entry. With the right expectations—and some technical patience—it can provide a rewarding strategy experience steeped in tradition and fantasy lore. Rating: 7/10

The Heroes series are my favorite games of all time. The graphics, immersion and gameplay are excellent. I highly recommend this game to people who like RTS games.

If the game don't launch, open the Ubisoft Connect launcher and log in. This will let you start the game normally through steam. And yes, I love this game and play it a lot. Although, I must confess, I have never played this game unmodded. I have Heroes 7.5 installed and it is great!