Silence of the Siren
Last updated: 2025-04-11
- Excellent sci-fi HoMM-like with addictive gameplay.
- Appealing art style and excellent atmosphere.
- Engaging campaign with classic turn-based strategy.
- Active development provides constant updates.
- Balance and economy systems are flawed.
- Heroes lack strategic depth; limited races.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 89% · Negative 11%. Score: 11 / 100
Positives:
- A dominant theme is the game's strong resemblance to and improvement upon the Heroes of Might and Magic (HoMM) series, particularly HoMM3, with a sci-fi twist. Reviewers appreciate the familiar mechanics, QoL improvements, and successful translation of the formula into a new setting. Some consider it the best HoMM-like game they've played.
- The game is praised for its addictive gameplay loop, often described as having a 'one more turn' effect. Reviewers highlight the engaging mechanics, polished interface, and overall fun factor as key contributors to this positive experience. Many also noted the game is well-optimized and runs smoothly.
- The game's art style, graphics, and unit/faction designs receive consistent praise. Reviewers appreciate the unique and well-defined factions, interesting creature designs, fluid animations, and the overall visual appeal. The game's setting and lore are also highlighted as well-thought-out and engaging.
- The game's music and sound design are frequently mentioned as positive aspects, contributing to the overall atmosphere and enjoyment. Reviewers describe the soundtrack as mesmerizing, fitting, and of high quality, enhancing the gaming experience. The music is memorable and complements the gameplay well.
- The game's campaign mode is consistently praised for its engaging dialogue, well-written narrative, and overall fun experience. Reviewers highlight the humorous and suspenseful plot, as well as the absence of bugs encountered during gameplay. The campaign's atmosphere and presentation are also noted as strong positives.
Negatives:
- The game suffers from significant balance issues, with overpowered units and strategies making it easy to exploit. Unit costs are high relative to income, and battles often result in unsustainable troop losses. This leads to a restrictive and monotonous gameplay experience.
- Heroes lack specialization and strategic depth, with limited unique traits and abilities compared to similar games like Heroes of Might and Magic. The ability system feels inferior, and high-tier units offer little advantage, reducing strategic options.
- The game's content feels limited, particularly regarding the number of playable races and available campaigns in the early access version. This lack of variety contributes to a sense of repetitiveness.
- Several reviews express concern that the game's early access price is too high for the current content and quality. Some reviewers find the graphics and overall experience underwhelming, questioning whether it justifies the cost.
- Multiple reviewers have encountered game-breaking bugs, crashes, and optimization issues that significantly hinder the gameplay experience. These technical problems can make the game unplayable.
Gameplay:
- The game features classic turn-based strategy gameplay with resource management, army organization, and hero-led exploration. Battles take place on hexagonal grids, and players can strategically deploy units with unique abilities. The game also incorporates a day/night cycle that influences gameplay.
- Players can build and upgrade mines to increase resource output and construct defensive structures like turrets and outposts on the map. This adds a layer of strategic depth to resource management and territorial control.
- Heroes can level up, learn skills, and specialize in different areas like combat, magic, or exploration. The game includes skill reset options, suggesting the need for diverse and viable hero builds.
- Players can collect items on the map to increase experience, mobility, or stats. These items can be used immediately or stored for later use or transfer to another hero, adding a strategic layer to item management.
- Players recruit units in towns, upgrade them through city buildings, and can purchase all available units with a single button. Unit numbers can be stacked infinitely.
Performance:
- The game generally runs smoothly and is stable, with many players reporting no significant bugs or crashes. Some players mention the game is visually appealing but can be demanding on PC resources, requiring adjustments to graphics settings for optimal performance. Load times are generally fast.
- The user interface receives mixed feedback. Some players find the UI clean and good, especially considering the game is in early access. However, others think that the menus are not well-designed and appear unfinished.
- The game has specific hardware recommendations, including a 10th generation i5 processor, RTX 2060 graphics card, and 16GB of RAM. This provides players with a benchmark for the expected level of hardware required to run the game effectively.
- Some players feel that the menus are not well-designed and appear unfinished, with one reviewer speculating about the game's programming language. This suggests a need for improvement in the user interface's design and polish.
Recommendations:
- Many reviewers recommend the game, praising its potential, solid foundation, and current state in early access. They express excitement for future updates, new content, and the full release, highlighting the game's engaging qualities and the developers' efforts.
- A common sentiment is the desire for more content, specifically additional races/factions, campaigns, and a map editor. Reviewers believe these additions would significantly enhance the game's replayability and overall experience.
- Some reviewers suggest purchasing the game to support the developers, especially noting that they are a Czech studio. However, some also express concerns about the pricing, suggesting that the game should be priced around 20-30 euros, with the current price being too expensive.
- One reviewer specifically points out that the Space Pirates faction needs adjustments to improve unit synergy, as they are only viable in the early game on small maps and struggle in the mid-to-late game on larger maps. This suggests an imbalance in faction strength that needs to be addressed.
- One reviewer does not recommend purchasing the game due to its low cost-performance ratio. Another reviewer considers the game a waste of money if online multiplayer is not developed soon, indicating that the lack of multiplayer is a significant drawback for some players.
Miscellaneous:
- The game is currently in early access and actively being developed. Players should consult the development roadmap for planned content and features. This status indicates that the game is still evolving, with more content and features expected.
- The game offers a variety of game modes, including story campaigns, skirmish maps, arena, and online PVP. However, some campaigns are still in development and not yet available. The game also features a random map generator and a map editor for creating custom content.
- The game features multiple unique space civilizations vying for control of the Siren star system. These civilizations include the Fossarians (moles), Children of the Source (insects), and The Sovereign Fleet (humans). Players choose one of these factions to compete in a turn-based strategy setting.
- The game is inspired by Heroes of Might and Magic 3 (HoMM3) but has its own distinct style. This comparison suggests a similar strategic gameplay experience with a space-themed twist. Players familiar with HoMM3 may find this game appealing.
- The developers plan to add mod support and new factions/mechanics in the future. This indicates a commitment to expanding the game's content and replayability. Players are looking forward to these additions.
