Kyle, I almost completely agree with you, but I still think that the 4th installment is a step sideways, even diagonally, and the 5th, if you go from the 4th, is half a step to return to the "general path of development" and half a step forward...

That's right! A step, not to the side, but diagonally... I agree!
The ideas in the 4th installment are great, but in my opinion, they are a little underdeveloped... not quite "polished"...
By the way, I like how the battles play out in the 4th installment more... there, the units run where they look... i.e., it is possible that two of your units can stand face to face... in the 5th, this feature was removed, and the units always look at the enemy... they should have gone back to the option from the first Heroes, when flying units fly backward with their backs. :D

and a bunch of patches to fix bugs:D

+1! What is, is... but we must give credit where it's due, patches are at least being released...