There are some pathing issues and bugs in the game however, the game itself is entertaining with some interesting game play. I would recommend picking it up on a sale. Looking forward to the follow-up chapters.

This game definetly resides in the Diablo 3 genre but is also very unique. So far I have beat this game with the merchant king and now I am working on the enchantress. this is obviously a beta version of the game but is well worth the money upfront. There are some minor improvements to the mechanics of the game but everything else is outstanding especially the graphics and effects especially for a non main stream or popular name like Blizzard.

Con's:

The mechanical issues I have quams with are as follows:

#1. When holding down your left mouse button to walk automatically if your mouse cursor by chance hits a destroyable object (which happens every friggen single time!!) will cause the character to pause and shoot or melee that target......this is a major "no, no"

#2. Spontaneous game crashes. Luckily every time the game crashed I had saved my progress at major points of the game before the incent but still cost me many wasted minutes. This is also a major "no no"!!!.

#3. Unlike games like diablo 3 when you press your button to attack a target then quickly press the button again to attack a different target in the middle of your attack and executes instantly to attack the other target after hitting the original target. This game has characters that execute 10x slower than the characters in Diablo so when you predetermine your target then change targets in the middle of your execution your character pauses and does not execute the original target then restarts the movement to attack the new target........This is super annoying for D3 players like myself but this setting is much more realistic so if you appreciate the realism vs the unrealistic stuff like D3 then this game is for you.

Pro's:
#1: The Price of the game is low for this quality of a game.

#2. The music & the character voices/material is great.

#3. The graphics are very detailed and realistic.

#4. The gameplay and story line is very unique in it's genre.

#5. This game has great potential.

Heretic Kingdoms is a generic isometric hack and slash that tries to stand apart with its unique ability to switch between characters on the fly but is held back by its slow and clunky gameplay. It is a visually appealing game but the UI is lacking, items on the ground are virtually invisible unless you hold the alt key to highlight them and the inventory can become cluttered. Unfortunately I can not comment on the complete story as I encountered a save file bug 7 hours in that froze my character in place whenever I loaded the file preventing me from advancing any further and I was not compelled by the story at that point to bother replaying it.
Hopefully these issues will be remedied in any future sequals/updates as I feel there is potential here especially with the party system, switching between 4 characters and chaining their abilities to melt your enemies was very satisfying.

+Appealing graphics
+Unique party system

-Game breaking bugs (may be solved in future updates)
-Slow combat and cumbersome movement (clinking near an enemy will cause your character to attack making positioning difficult)

+/- Story had some highlights but mostly bland (unable to complete the full story due to bug)
+/- Gamepad support, I personally love playing games with a controller but at the time of this review the gamepad controls were bugged and would crash the game after several minutes of play. (definite + if this is resolved)

I have played this game for four hours at this point and am unsure whether to give a thumbs up or a thumbs down. This may be a product of not playing the game enough but in most games I play, by 4 hours you usually know where the game is going.

So this is what I know so far and what I believe people will find useful if they are looking at buying this game. I bought this game because I wanted to try another arpg that marketed itself as being different from the usual model. This game does that. It is story driven and has characters that very much have their own flare and personalities. The voice acting is very good and the dialogue always feels important and interesting. However, I feel that even a story driven game should have fun and interesting combat, or at least cool combat animations. In this game I never found myself saying "Holy (explicative) that was awesome" or "This move is fricking amazing". Instead I found myself mumbling "ok, this a stun/aoe" and "Im not sure why I even picked up this second skill". I tried using both the archer and the barbarian and although the archer seemed a little bit more versatile, the abilities used still seemed lack luster. And maybe this was by design in an effort to make a more grounded game. But in my defense I bought a game where you play as a soul devouring demon who controls/ binds with souls of fallen heroes, and that just sounded a lot more awesome than it turned out to be combat wise. Im choosing to leave out anything dealing with bugs and technical issues because the developers do seem to care whether or not the game runs well and have taken the time to roll out a few updates. For that reason I wont judge the game based on how many times it crashes. But I will say this, when a game comes out of early access, beta, or whatever testing phases it uses and is marketed as a finished game, it should be finished. It shouldn't be released with known crashes or unfinished graphical features (like vsync). With that said the game is under 35 and should get a little slack for technical issues. For me personally it's the combat that kills this game. I plan on finishing the game after the crashes get fixed because I spent money on the game and because it does have a really interesting story line. But if I had known now what it plays like then I woulnt have spent more than $10 on it.

So in conclusion, if you dont care too much about combat or gameplay and mostly judge games based on story and concepts, then this is a game you will love. However if you are like me and want a visceral combat experience where you can feel progression at every skill point, then you will be underwhelmed by this game. As a general piece of advice, give this game another month or so to iron out tech issues. This will be a good game for some and a poor game for others, unfortunately for this reviewer it just wasn't up to snuff. The only reason I chose "No" is because I had to choose something and I wouldn't tell my friends that this is a must have. If you need a number this is a 60/100 and thats assuming tech issues get resolved. I hope this review was helpful(:

If you are looking for another Diablo game, this is not it.

Cons:

EDIT: No more crashes happened after that first one so I guess this is a non-issue
"It still has some technical issues but I only experienced 1 crash so far and you can say I abused the game quite a lot. Most games can't take the amount of Alt+Tab that I throw at them but this one did. :)"

EDIT: this getting stuck has not happened in a long time.
"The most annoyng technical issue I ran into is related to collision when the character gets stuck on a level difference, and that usually happens when there are 7 enemies around him."


EDIT: the con mentioned on the next row has been solved and combat is now more spectaluar and you can see clearly who you hit (can be seen in episodes 16+ of the series I linked below)

"The combat could be a little more spectacular, and by that I mean, a few more clues of who your abilities hit when you use them." <-not valid anymore as of 03.dec.14

EDIT2: the below mentioned con has been addressed in the patch from 04.dec so now all enemies are manageable.
"EDIT: but I can add a new con and that is about game balance. Some enemies are to tough, some are not tough enough and some characters get loads of good gear, and others you spend 6 levels with the same thing. I know that in this game, stats don't scale like in other arpg's but still it is a little annoying. "

Pros

EDIT: there have been 3-4 patches since launch and they have fixed almost everything that I had a problem with. I really like that they moved pretty fast on issues that mattered and not just promises. I also like they interact with the players here in the Steam Community forums and are open minded about stuff. (I don't have any relation with the developers, I just find them to be some of the cooler people in the business about how they handle stuff)

This game has a nice story, interesting characters and awesome voice acting.

The developers are invested in making the game awesome, and the progression the game has seen in the last 6 months is really impressive, so I have very high hopes, they will fix all the annoying stuff. :)

I find combat to be more satisfying than that of other arpg's because you need to employ tactics when fighting enemies, not just spam Blizzard of Fire :) (I have hundreds of hours of D3 but sometimes it annoys the hell out of me :))

I have made a playthrough series with the hunter/archer and there you can see the tactics I talk about. Once you get past the first chapter, (on normal mode) you will need to synergize your abilities if you want to be able to kill the enemies efficiently. For efficent killing speed, you'll need to use your puppets in synergy. Also you'll need to synergize your Devourer and your Puppets since some enemies need both to be killed.(you can see this in episode 8 of my series if you want)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5M3T6ArHoE


EDIT: If you feel that my review is solely to boost my videos, please do not visit them, but go and find gameplay footage on youtube from other people. There is plenty to choose from. I wrote this review because I love this game, how it progressed and how it is still progressing.

Edit:

If you want to see why I am optimistic about this game take a look at how the game was 6 months ago compared to how it is now and you'll see the progress I am talking about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7ADizNWHe8

I had been jumping from game to game looking for something with an interesting story to follow that wasn't long winded as heck. This game is pretty interesting because you get to play as a demon and its 'puppet(s)'

When I first started playing I thought it was going to be just the demon and one character...then I found another puppet...I also went to the soul place and saw many soul diases.

Best Mechanic (Pre-10/30/2014 Patch): Collecting new puppets.
Worst Mechanic (Pre-10/30/2014 Patch): Loot, The RNG hates me...

This game is amazingly well done. Excellent story line thus far, flexibility in how you approach things, and an innovative method of dealing with a "party" type situation without having a party following you. You are able to switch back and forth between playing a soul devourer and his many meat puppets. The game pay reminds me on some levels of the genius of the old game Soulbringer,in that you uncover things and sometimes need to accomplish objectives both on the mortal plane, and on the astral.

The environments are stunningly beuatiful, especially when playing using the DirectX 11 drivers. This is an amazingly well-done game. This is not your typical hack and slasher. Some moral grey areas throughout on potential situations. I have not played far enough through with multiple playthroughs to determine how this affects the overarching story or potential endings yet, but I cannot wait to keep on plugging away and explore those sorts of options. A very enjoyable game. Well-done.

Wow, great game! I'm only 8 hours in, but I've completed Chapter I, so I think I have a good taste of the game. There's just nothing about this game I can critize. The UI, the character inventory, the crafting, the voice acting, the graphics, the writing, game performance are all just great. I've experienced no bugs or glitches, at all. And, above all, the game is fun. The combat isn't revolutionary, or even evolutionary, but it works and it's fun in the way it's implemented. The difficulty on normal is reasonable. There's a nice strong story, too, which is tied to your character's backstory. This is just the game I've been looking for; all fun and no headaches.

Gameplay Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLIimXdq5c0

+ Visuals & Level design
+ Voice Acting
+ Easy to get to grips with
+ Exploration and questing
+ Fluent movement
+ Dual-realm mechanics and puzzles
+ Moral choices
+ Easy to sink hours into
+ Multiple characters to choose from
+ Expansive maps
+ Very challenging bosses

- Story is poorly presented
- No co-op
- Combat is slow to begin
- Gear Drops are fairly rare
- Prologue is a poor first impression

Overall I would recommend this game for people who are willing to give it a chance. Once you get past the first couple hours, combat becomes more fluid and exciting and the story begins to open up. Not recommended if you are looking for a fast paced ARPG focused on gear and loot drops.

you can play with 1 hand most the time. your other hand is only needed for the heal button and still attacking button. you can switch in and out of different souls. you can be a monster, a animal person, a slow super armored zombie. you can go to the shadow world, and it also works like a puzzle mechanic. like zombies that cant die, unless you kill the souls in the shadow world.
yes its a diablo clone, but then it dosnt matter if it was a fps, strategy, 2d platformer. most everything is a clone of mutiple things. its a little buggy, combat can be sluggish, items are kinda hard to pick up, crafting is lacking only because you buy the recipies and they can be useless by the time you can make em. alot of crafting mats that just sit in your bag because you havnt gotten to a place with recipes that use them.
its not complete, but its fun. havnt played that much, but i already have 5 souls. if what i read is true, then this game will give alot of play time. if you can afford to buy it then buy it, you can be a armored zombie monster that crushes everything.

Definitely YES. This game is a fresh breeze in nowadays RPGs! Cool characters, many skill variations, tough gameplay, cool graphics, great atmosphere and storyline! Thumbs up for the developers from Slovakia!

An incredible ARPG game with a big twist - playing as more characters simultaneously! Great gameplay, interesting story, beautiful graphics and stuning soundtrack. Realy great game, would recommend to anyone who is looking for interesting new RPG game :)

Heretic Kingdoms: Shadows
Early Access Gameplay

Played it for a bit but this game really surprised me. Kinda slow paced hack-and-slash which is refreshing after the Diablo's and Torchlights of this world. You also play as 2 characters, one Deamon and the character it has ressurected which is an interesting twist to the good old party system. Switching characters changes the surroundigs to an alternate world or the 'real' world, each with it's own enemies and physics. You can use your souls to ressurrect your character if it dies, which is quite fun mechanic. You lose health quite easily, and if you are near dead you hear your heartbeat go faster and faster until you die and are ressurected again. So dying isn't a big problem which is kinda cool.

Graphics are good, sound is excellent and animations are fine. Had a fun time until now, so I can recommend this game.

Amazing game and really enjoying playing it just like Diablo 3. Graphics are nice, gameplay is smooth and the characters likeable. Story is not bad either. Finding that changing into other characters makes the game more interesting.
Just bought it and have not played much yet. Will update the review once I have played more.

This game is indeed a game.

Pros:
Extremely good voice acting and witty dialogue, it's similar to David Eddings Belgariad\Mallorean, if you have read it.
Fitting graphical style.
Extreme moddability which is only going to improve.
Very good release and post-release support.
A real storytelling.

Cons:
performance can suffer hiccups. being worked on.
Too short, but that is getting fixed too.
A crafting system that feels too restrictive.

I'll be honest: I was gladly surprised by this game.
After disappointements like Sacred 3 and Diablo 3 (no wonder Valve refuses to release HL3 xD) I was in need of this type of game. And I've gotta say: Diablo II is still amazing! But I wanted something new :/
Now don't expect this to be another cheap Diablo clone. Like Torchlight, this game is able to withstand on its own with an interesting blend of puzzle mechanics with the ones of a regular RPG xD
If you are in need of an action RPG, this is your best bet!

If you expect this Game to be like Torchlight or Diablo 3, do not buy it.

Combat: It is somehow pretty buggy. You end up pretty often hitting nothing but Air, if you get swarmed by multiple Enemies at once. Also, it seems that quite often you just hang, and then you end up dying, because your Character decided to do nothing.

Running: While that System is nothing you should think its buggy, it is still buggy. Because you find yourself a few Times just getting stuck on Things .. and yes, you can even get stuck into NOTHING. Then you just cant move anymore, no back or forth.

Content: Here comes my biggest complain. The Steam Version of the Game is incomplete. When you finally end up killing the "End-Boss", you find yourself with a few unfinished Quests that lead into nothing. There are several locked Doors/Gates that you cant open. Missing Boss in the Steam Version. On the other Hand, if you have the Retail Version of this Game, all those Quests are doable, and you can open the Gates/Doors.

Crashes: You experience random and non-random Crashes all over the World. There are several Hotspots in the World, where the Game just crash, and it does this every time you get close to this Point. And the Random Crashes happen also, all the Time. So you can repeat or walk over the Map all over again, just to end up having another Crash.


As of now: Dont buy this Game, at least not on Steam, if you want the Full Experience of the Game.

Additional Information: For Achievement-Hunters - DO NOT BUY. Due to the Fact that the Game is not complete, many Achievements are not unlockable!

I’m not talking about the game being release in two halves. There’s actually locked doors and three quests in part 1 that can only be opened in the retail edition. It’s not available on the steam version, even to earliest of the early adaptors like myself. And there's nothing in the game to tell you this, so expect to waste time backtracking because you don't know which bits you were supposed to come back to with your new shiny, and which bits were never meant for you at all.

Chapter 1 is great. There’s a good mixture of combat and plot. Chapters 2 & 3 and the other hand is just combat. The combat’s not bad, but that’s really all there is to Chapters 2 & 3 so if you looking for something other than grind, stay away.

I played through to the end, but wished I hadn’t bothered.

Pros:

• Excellent art design. Each level is both pretty and functional. The ability to switch to a ‘ghost world’ gets twice the millage out of each level without it feeling tired or forced.
  
• The ability to switch between characters is quite cool and well implemented. All characters receive XP whether they are in the party or not, so there’s no penalty for trying one out. The characters each have a distinct feel even though they all fall into one of three classes (ranged, magic, melee).
  
• Bosses are varied and feel special.
  
• In the configuration settings, you can change the ‘highlight loot/interactive area’ key from push-and-hold to toggle-on-and-off.
  
• Tom Baker voice over.

[b[Cons:[/b]

• There are no movement keys. It’s right click to move, left click to attack. This makes most combat stationary and a battle of health bars rather than something dynamic and exciting. There is some ability to kite by switching between ghost and meat characters (and you’ll be doing that a lot in chapter 3).
  
• Some of the later levels have you backtracking across multiple levels without fast travel no apparent reason.
  
• The game engine does not support multiple CPUs or GPUs (source: dev posting in the comments). My 4 core, GTX 970 SLI config could barely manage 40FPS on max settings.
  Mob difficulty level is all over the place, typically at the start of a new chapter.
  
• Skill are unbalanced.

First Impressions:

Beautiful graphics, excellent voice acting, and solid combat. Based on my research, the game offers roughly 10-15 hrs per character (there are three), which potentially gives players 30-45 hours worth of play time. I also discovered that free DLC will be offered early 2015 that adds 5-10 hours per character. For $29.99, 45-75 hours worth of play time (DLC included) isn't something to scoff at. Worth a look if you don't mind playing single player only action RPGs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saQDC9S87rw

Games Freaking Cool, its a Nice Spin on Dungeon Crawler I recommend this too any one who wants bit of diffrence in there Action Rpg's. Enjoy all.