Heroes of Annihilated Empires

About

"Heroes of Annihilated Empires" is a fantasy RTS/RPG game using a new 3D engine, where players lead massive army battles or fight as a hero with magical spells. The game boasts a living game world, detailed lore by renowned writer Ilya Novak, and four unique races. Diverse gameplay includes hero upgrades, artifact collection, and random quests.

Genres & Tags

Strategy

Play Modes

Heroes of Annihilated Empires screenshot

86%

Audience ScoreBased on 289 reviews

story8 positive mentions

stability6 negative mentions

The game offers a unique blend of RTS and RPG elements, allowing for engaging gameplay with hero units and strategic battles.
Despite its age, the graphics and art style are colorful and charming, providing a nostalgic experience for players.
The skirmish mode is highly praised for its depth and replayability, with various factions and strategies to explore.

The game suffers from frequent crashes and bugs, making it difficult to enjoy the campaign without interruptions.
The campaign is criticized for being unbalanced and overly difficult, particularly the first mission, which can be frustrating for players.
There is a lack of content, with only one campaign available and limited skirmish maps, leading to a feeling of unfinished potential.

story
91 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
88%
3%
The game's story is a mixed bag, with an engaging premise centered around an elf ranger tasked with saving the world, but it suffers from inconsistencies and a lack of polish in later missions. While the initial missions are well-crafted and rewarding, the narrative feels incomplete, and many players noted issues with missing cutscenes that hinder the storytelling experience. Overall, the campaign offers a blend of RPG and RTS elements, but the execution leaves much to be desired, leading to a sense of frustration and disappointment regarding its unfinished nature.
- “The problem is that the passion seems to have run out halfway through; the first third of the campaign missions are detailed, reward exploration, and feel very well crafted.”
- “Extremely well done, the story is very well written.”
- “Very good story that sucks you in.”
- “The problem is that the passion seems to have run out halfway through; the first third of the campaign missions are detailed, reward exploration, and feel very well crafted. The rest of the missions feel like they slapped some polish on a first draft and called it finished.”
- “There might've been a problem with the cutscenes of the game not playing, but you can piece together the story without them, if they even exist. Campaign is fine but instructions are sometimes unclear; you have to pay attention to the story and conversation, but cutscenes are all missing.”
- “I really wanted to see where the story would go from here, but due to budget cuts or mismanagement, the studio was never able to release the trilogy.”
gameplay
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
65%
6%
The gameplay is characterized by a charming UI, engaging RPG mechanics, and a mix of humor and nostalgia, reminiscent of classic RTS games like Cossacks and Warcraft 3. While the inclusion of hero units adds diversity and depth, some players find the pacing slow and the mechanics initially confusing. Overall, the game offers a unique blend of strategy and creativity, though balance issues among playable races and a lackluster campaign detract from the experience.
- “In PvP matches, the heroes are that extra something that adds diversity to gameplay and breaks the generic RTS spam formula that inevitably kills the fun of all PvP RTS games.”
- “And to be clear, this is not the first nor will it be the last RTS game that includes hero units, but it is the only one that does so in a manner that really enhances gameplay.”
- “Great RTS gameplay, lots of troops which can be quickly and easily maneuvered on the battlefield, which in turn is large enough to accommodate different types of tactics.”
- “Also, I don't know what happens to the second hero; she only appeared for a very little part throughout the entire gameplay, and the protagonist always has to fight alone.”
- “This lack of information also bleeds over into game mechanics, as I had no idea how to start the process of building a base, eventually turning to a YouTube video to figure things out.”
- “The campaign wasn't that good; the gameplay is a bit slow.”
graphics
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
31%
12%
The graphics of the game, released in 2006, are generally praised for their colorful and artistic style, with many reviewers noting that they remain impressive and appealing even years later. While some mention that the 2D graphics can feel dated when zoomed in, the overall visual presentation is considered top-notch for its time, often described as fairy-tale-like and well ahead of its era. Despite a few criticisms regarding the aging of certain elements, the graphics are largely regarded as a standout feature that enhances the game's charm.
- “This game has a colorful graphic style and interesting artistic look.”
- “Visuals are stunning for a 2006 game.”
- “Add to this the fact that this game's graphics are easily some of the best ever from the mid 2000's era, and I was very impressed with the look and feel and how well it aged, even though I tend to be a graphics snob.”
- “Animations are well done for a game which came out in 2006, but the graphics, especially when zooming in, just don't hold up to appealing levels of satisfaction.”
- “Pretty good RTS/RPG mix, although you have to have tolerance for Cossacks-style graphics (2D pretending to be 3D) and gothic-style fighting (long, cheesy fights, but you feel very strong after lots of grind).”
- “It's graphics stand the test of time in my opinion, and the gameplay is great.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
10%
10%
The music in the game is generally praised for its charm and harmony with the fantasy theme, featuring inspiring tones and a relaxing atmosphere. However, many users note that the soundtrack is limited in variety, leading to repetitiveness that can detract from the overall experience.
- “Music is great with plenty of inspiring tones in complete harmony of the fantasy subject matter.”
- “Charming UI, relaxing music, funny characters, cartoon-like cutscenes, interesting gameplay.”
- “The soundtracks are good but too few of them and too repetitive.”
- “The music is decent, but the game has too few tracks, which can be quite repetitive and even annoying.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a charming UI and relaxing music, complemented by funny characters and cartoon-like cutscenes that enhance its humor. Players find the gameplay amusing, particularly with the quirky mechanics, such as the slow firing rate of fortification defenses, which adds a layer of comedic challenge. Additionally, nostalgic references, like the use of a track from "Stalker," contribute to the overall lighthearted and humorous atmosphere.
- “Charming UI, relaxing music, funny characters, cartoon-like cutscenes, and interesting gameplay.”
- “If you are a fan of Stalker, one of the tracks used in this game is pretty funny, works great, and brings back good memories.”
- “Hilariously, (or not) the fortification defenses tend to fire just once every 10 seconds, meaning you *have* to maintain a sizeable standing army at all times, just to ensure you don't get wiped out in the first 10 minutes.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is severely lacking, with frequent crashes that can corrupt save files, particularly in the Steam version. Overall, it is described as a buggy and unbalanced experience, reflecting its unfinished state due to the dissolution of the development team.
- “Sadly, the Steam version is very buggy and tends to crash, corrupting the save.”
- “But the game was never finished; it was left in a buggy, unbalanced, and poorly marketed mess as the dev team dissolved.”
- “Your hero freezes for 30 minutes while you start to grow your army.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express that the emotional impact of the game is hindered by the cut scenes, which leave them feeling as though they are missing crucial information that could enhance their connection to the story.
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be slow and tedious, which hampers their ability to effectively build up forces and keep pace with the relentless enemy attacks.
- “Building up one's forces is slow and tedious, making it impossible to keep up with the endless hordes attacking the player's forces.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's campaign is engaging, but players express a desire for more playable races to enhance replayability. The lack of variety in character options may limit the incentive to replay the game, especially since a sequel was abandoned.