Auto-translated
The game looks decent. I would give it a solid four out of five. The Gameplay is diverse and therefore engaging. Even despite some questionable design decisions (two Castles don't look very good to me, but as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder). What I liked:
1) The presence of alternative upgrades right from the start, without patches or DLCs.
2) Almost every creature has active and passive unique abilities. Like in King's Bounty from Katauri or in HoMM 4, 5, 6.
3) Diverse specializations for heroes. Which are also enhanced compared to previous installments. Perhaps only part 5 is somewhere near the old era in this regard. And even there, the specializations for heroes like Talannar, Sorgal, Irbet, Wulfsten, Ilaya, etc., have not been fixed. This makes these heroes almost useless, and playing as them is not so interesting.
4) A rather unusual mechanic for improving spells. Spending a special resource on these improvements. It is clear that they were partly inspired by Disciples 2.
5) Working Multiplayer with the function of simultaneous turns already at the start of the game (they promised this for the launch in 2025/2026). None of the previous installments could boast this.
6) In general, good and balanced skills and abilities (although there is still room for improvement). It's a pity that they didn't go the way of building a skill tree like in the fifth part, but this will do.
7) An intuitively understandable strategic map. It is not difficult to distinguish objects on it. Nothing merges into a "graphic cacophony".
What I didn't like. Or rather, what didn't meet my personal expectations:
1) A classic linear turn-based system. Just like in the third or sixth installment. Too boring and not dynamic. Although it is easy to learn.
2) A strictly deterministic RNG in combat. Just like in the fifth or in HotA. I would like it to be more like in the original SOD, with more randomness and freedom in conducting battles. It is unlikely that this can be fixed with mods.
3) The design of the Factions and creatures, as well as the style of some hero portraits.
