1) In HOMM, you take action during your turn NOT after you click next turn button which means in this game you can only take one action per turn even if that action is as trivial as picking up a resource right next to you. If you make a mistake or skip something you have to wait till next turn. This feels clunky and annoying. 2) In HOMM, your units don't just fall dead automatically after each battle but in this game they technically do because almost all spells are consumables (except the few basic ones). I played the sequel first where spells are not consumables and was utterly disappointed how Etherlords handles this. 3) In HOMM, you get to keep your heroes and develop them further through the campaign but Etherlords forces you to level up random heroes every mission. There is no sense of progression. All in all, not enjoying this. It feels like the developers are desperately trying to copy the HOMM formula (map design, resources allocation, expendable units) in their card game but the attempt falls flat because the two systems don't work well together plus the developers decide (for no good reason) to modify some of the most important design choices of HOMM (aka the hero action) making this mishmash of a game even worse.
I have been thinking a lot about what this game actually is and finally I come to a conclusion. This is not an RPG as it claims to be but rather a point and click adventure game disguised as RPG. There are certainly many choices but not much freedom. I know this sounds conflicting but it is not. You have the choices to do various quests but there are requirements for succeeding in those quests, most of which require certain levels of this skill or that skill. So in the end, to do and complete quests you are forced to put points in specific skills instead of investing points as you like, just like in an adventure game, you are forced to put items together to solve puzzle and proceed the game. There are also encounters and events that you can not get out alive, no matter what class you choose and what skills/stats you put in, just like that death spot in the adventure game where you will simply die by walking over. They make different stories for different classes which exactly show how lacking the game is. No, you can't solve the same problems with different methods using different classes but you can solve different problems with specific methods using specific classes. No freedom, just branching, the fact that there are more branches does not mean it becomes open ended.
My problem with this game is that WHY ONLY HUMAN The game could have been really fun but for unknown reason the developers decide to throw away the most interesting parts of a HOMM or 4X type of game, the variety of races you can pick Thus the game becomes boring very soon
