Heroes Of The Shire: Light & Shadow Preview

This is a preview copy sent to us for our early opinions. No money exchanged hands. Some art, rules or components will change in the final game. Find out more here

There’s a special kind of confidence that comes from sticking the landing on something so big, then immediately deciding to go bigger. Damian did exactly that with Heroes of the Shire and now he’s back with Light & Shadow, the final instalment in the series, heading to Gamefound on March 3rd. I sat down with him for a chat about what he’s been up to, what’s changed in the game, who it’s built for, and what might be lurking beyond the Shire once this chapter closes.

Hello Damian, Heroes Of The Shire was an ambitious project, but it went down a storm, and now you’re back for more. Before we get into the new game, what have the last few years looked like for you?

Since the release of Heroes of the Shire, we’ve been full steam ahead developing the final instalment of the series, Light & Shadow, which launches on Gamefound on March 3rd.

My partner and I also welcomed a baby last year, which, as you can imagine, has taken up much of our time. That said, it has also been incredibly motivating, he’s my biggest inspiration and a constant reminder of why we’re so passionate about creating something lasting and meaningful.

Thats amazing! Congratulations. So sleepless nights and another huge game project! Let’s talk Light & Shadow. When you say this is the final instalment, what’s actually new here? How has the game evolved since the earlier HOTS titles?

Combat Maps! In previous Heroes of the Shire games, heroes explored scenario hexes. When a battle started, enemies were summoned and combat happened without a map, taking turns to cast spells. In Light & Shadow, every scenario hex now has its own combat map, stored inside the spiral binders. The hexes still act as a world map, but when a battle begins, you now zoom into that hex. Heroes and enemies are placed directly onto the combat map. Each combat map is unique and matches the theme and artwork of the scenario.

The Movement Phase has also changed. Because battles now take place on tactical combat maps, heroes need a way to move. A new Movement Phase has been added. During this phase, players draw three movement cards and choose one. That card determines how much the hero can move during their turn.

Another new feature in Light & Shadow is the Roaming Mini-Boss. This enemy moves around the scenario hexes during the game. Its direction is decided by rolling the Boss Die when instructed. As it moves, the mini-boss leaves Encounter Tokens on each hex it travels through.

Encounter Tokens. Encounter Tokens are placed on hexes by the roaming mini-boss. When heroes collect one, it triggers an Encounter Card. There are six possible encounters, chosen randomly by rolling a D6.

Also, previous games only used cardboard standees, as there was no tactical combat map.

With the addition of combat maps, heroes and bosses now move around the battlefield. For this reason, we have introduced premium acrylic standees for heroes and bosses, giving them both a visual and functional upgrade.

Heroes are also now rewarded more for levelling up. At Level four, a hero unlocks an additional spell mastery (skill tree). At Level eight, they unlock a powerful master ability.

These unlocks give players long-term goals and make progression feel meaningful over many hours of play.

Awesome! That’s a lot of new stuff, and it sounds like you’ve leaned harder into tactics and progression. So who is Light & Shadow really for? What kind of gamer do you see falling in love with it?

The game is designed with two distinct modes, each intended to appeal to different types of gaming groups.

The Arena Mode is ideal for players who enjoy interactive player-versus-player experiences. It will particularly appeal to fans of games such as Dice Throne, King of Tokyo, Unmatched, and trading card games, with a strong focus on direct interaction and fast-paced play.

The Scenario Mode offers a campaign-driven experience designed to be played across multiple sessions. This mode is aimed at players who enjoy deeper, long form games and meaningful progression. Players are rewarded with a robust levelling system that unlocks new spells and abilities, as well as additional level four and level eight hero content introduced in Light & Shadow. With its added depth and complexity, Scenario Mode is very much a game for dedicated gamers.

Having both game modes in a single box allows the game to appeal to a wider range of players without compromise.

I would agree! I love the Scenario mode myself. If people are reading this and thinking “Right, I’m in” what’s the timeline? When can they back it, and when can they realistically expect to get it to the table?

Our crowdfunding campaign will go live on Gamefound on March 3rd, with an estimated fulfilment date of May 2027 and a global retail release planned for summer 2027.

Good luck! Last one from me. Once Light & Shadow launches, what happens next? Is this the end of HOTS for a while, or have you already got the next adventure lined up?

There is one more instalment planned for the Heroes of the Shire universe. Details are under wraps for now, but a very 'small' hint might already say enough.

In addition, we are developing a new 4X game, which will be our first title outside the Heroes of the Shire universe. While it explores a new setting, it will retain some familiar elements, including shared mechanics such as our cooldown dice system. We look forward to sharing more details in the future.

And there you have it: Light & Shadow is shaping up to be a proper “final chapter” kind of project, with tactical combat maps, roaming troublemakers, and progression that sounds like it’s finally been given room to breathe. The campaign hits Gamefound on March 3rd, so if you’ve been following the series, now’s the moment to circle the date, sharpen your spells, and clear some table space. Just remember: if Damian’s “small hint” is already saying enough, the next instalment might not be the only thing creeping up on us.

But what do we think of the game?

Light & Shadow sounds like the sort of game that doesn’t just give you a setting, it gives you a world. Not in a vague “there’s some flavour text” way either, but in that deep, rich, lived-in sense where the lore feels baked into the systems and the moments at the table. It’s the final instalment in the Heroes of the Shire series, and it reads like a designer going: right, if we’re closing this chapter, let’s make it sing. The big headline is the shift to tactical combat maps, one for every scenario hex, so battles no longer happen in the abstract. You explore on the world map, then when a fight kicks off you zoom in and play it out on a proper battlefield. That alone screams “more cinematic moments,” the kind you remember afterwards because something went wrong, then very right, then gloriously sideways.

Where it really gets juicy, though, is the fighting and spellcraft, because this sounds like a game that understands the joy of throwing magic around but refuses to let it become mindless spam. Spells are gated in a clever way: the more powerful the spell, the less frequently you can use it, and the game tracks that with cooldown dice. You are literally watching your best magic tick back toward availability, which is such a satisfying physical reminder of “not yet… not yet… YES.”

Even better, it’s not just waiting around. There are ways to manipulate those cooldown dice, to squeeze them, nudge them, and occasionally pull off that delicious trick of getting a big spell back earlier than you should. Add in a stack of buffs and character boosts, and it starts to feel like a proper buildy playground. Levelling up, Gaining new spells. Stronger, faster, nastier, more efficient, more dangerous, more everything, with choices that actually show up in the next fight rather than disappearing into a spreadsheet.

If you like games where combat is about timing and momentum rather than just damage numbers, this sounds like it’ll be your thing. Turn order being driven by agility, and then being something you can mess with mid-game, is a massive deal. Speed yourself up, slow enemies down, engineer a two-turn swing, and suddenly you’re not just reacting, you’re controlling the shape of the fight. That kind of tempo control always creates great table stories, because everyone feels it when you pull it off.

And then there are the combos, which sound like the real heart of it. One spell setting up another, which triggers a third effect, which lets you do another thing entirely. That interconnected design is the good stuff, the “I can’t believe that worked” moments that only happen when systems are built to talk to each other. The fact it’s interconnected both in levelling and in the moment-to-moment fighting is exactly what makes a campaign game feel rich rather than repetitive.

Pros

• Spell cooldown dice are a brilliant way to balance power while keeping big moments exciting.

• Deep combo potential and buff stacking makes builds and battles feel connected and personal.

• Agility-driven turn order you can manipulate adds real tactical drama and huge swings.

  
  

Cons

• With lots of buffs, cooldown manipulation, and combo chains, it could get thinky for some groups.

• Players who prefer simple “I hit it” turns may bounce off the layered spell interactions.

• Tactical maps and movement choices may slow pacing too much for some.

  
  

Light & Shadow is shaping up like a proper capstone: bigger, more tactical, and packed with those wonderful moments where a plan comes together because you built your hero to do exactly this one disgusting thing at exactly the right time. If the lore and campaign structure land the way the combat systems suggest they might, this could be the kind of game where your group talks about specific battles like they were episodes of a show. It looks ready to deliver drama, power spikes, and those glorious chain-reaction turns that make everyone lean in to watch. Just be careful once you start manipulating turn order, because after you’ve had two turns in a row, you’ll want seconds. It’s a dangerous game, but hey, that’s the magic of it.