Villagers and Heroes is a classic, story-rich, MMORPG, that has been compared to the likes of Runescape and WoW. While I feel a direct comparison to these games is a little less than accurate, players from these other titles will find it an easy transition in terms of game play and mechanics. The base mechanics of game play are not that difficult to pick up on, thanks in large part to the games opening quest which serves double duty as a well crafted tutorial. While the game offers many of the traditional aspects found in other games of this genre, it has an acceptable learning curve. The main thing that differentiates this game from those previously mentioned is that it can be enjoyed as either a casual or more hardcore experience, which results in a friendlier community than the average game of this nature.

Like many other games in the fantasy genre, V&H has a medieval setting in which characters engage in three related aspects of game play. Combat and exploration, gathering, and crafting and, Village life. Characters can join join a public or guild village where they maintain a house which grants additional storage, raise crops in their own gardens, and maintain a small ranch which yields components useful for crafting.
In addition to these three major aspects there is a raiding system for moderate and advanced players that can be ran as a solo or group encounter. Access to the Raid system comes through the main quest line and is usually unlocked around level 30.

Despite being squarely in the middle of a somewhat crowded genre, V&H offers a few aspects that make it somewhat unique; The most useful of which is that you can play the same account on both PC and mobile devices, transitioning smoothly between the two. A more unique aspect is an add-on to crafting referred to as the Gnog station. Through gnoging, a character can take existing gear and modify its properties. They can add and remove the various feats and abilities inherent to gear to create custom gear tailored to the individual needs of the character. From there, you can use the Wardrobe function to select what appearance you wish to display for all gear and clothing items. Yet another unique feature is the ability for a character to be "Reborn" which allows them to reset their combat stats and advance their character with bonus skill points, without the loss of non-combat achievements.

My most favorite aspect of the game, however, does not have so much to do with the game itself as it does the games community. The owners and staff at Mad Otter Games have a reputation for being receptive to their customers, which results in player driven development. In actual game play, a player will find the game itself to be well moderated, which results in a play environment remarkably free of Trolls and Drama-llamas. Of all the on-line games I have played, Villagers and Heroes has perhaps the most friendly and welcoming community that I have ever encountered. Feel free to join us at the home of The Otterman Empire to post your thoughts, questions, and suggestions @ https://villagersandheroes.com/forums/


Read more: http://mm-mysticalts.proboards.com/thread/270/villagers-heroes-revised-01-2016#ixzz3wfpDGkPC


~LL


*Notes:

(1) I played this game for over a year before making a Steam account for it. My SAC [Stand Alone Client] account is my primary account. My hours on record as a Steam player are a mere fraction of the actual hours I have put into this game. Just sayin'... :p

(2) Several updates and improvements to this game since the mid point of 2015 have prompted me to revise my original review. Any review you read for this game made prior to June of 2015 needs to take into account the ongoing development it has received since that time.
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(3) Re-Re-Revised to make mention of certain upgrades and expansions. Any review you read for this game made prior to November of 2021 needs to take into account the ongoing development it has received since that time.
The next anticipated expansion is stage one of of a housing update and overhaul. Anticipated release is sometime between December of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023. with additional upgrades to follow.