One of 2015’s best games was HeatPot’s Hero Emblems ($2.99), a match-3 RPG with strong gameplay mechanics, a fantastic cast of characters, and a charming story. Oh, and unlike most its siblings in the genre, this one was a totally paid, premium title. Even two and a half years ago it was hard getting into a new matching game due to the over-saturation of the genre, but Hero Emblems was a bright spot that brought its own fresh perspective. I freaking love that game. Anyway, in September of last year we learned that HeatPot Games were working on a sequel that looked to improve on its predecessor in pretty much every way. Our own Shaun Musgrave was able to go hands-on with an in-progress version of Hero Emblems 2 during Tokyo Games Show just a few days later, and it was shaping up to be one of the best releases of 2017. Well, today HeatPot announced that the game needs more time than they anticipated to get it where they want, and so it won’t be releasing in 2017 as they planned. To ease the blow of that delay, however, they’ve released a new trailer for the game and it is looking absolutely spectacular.

While it’s a bummer whenever a highly-anticipated game gets delayed, I’d always rather have to wait longer and play a fully baked game than play something that was rushed out to make a deadline. Also, there are some very interesting new details revealed in this new trailer. There’s a really slick new overworld map that uses a 2.5D visual style, and there’s also a totally revamped equipment and inventory system. Probably most exciting of all though is the ability to have more than 4 heroes in your party and swap them in and out during battle. And finally, I can’t not mention just how beautiful and polished the visuals look compared to the already attractive first game. All of this just makes me even more excited for Hero Emblems 2, which should be arriving at some point in 2018, so be sure to head over to the game’s forum thread to keep up on its progress and we’ll post more news on the game as it becomes available. Oh, and if you somehow missed out on the original Hero Emblems, give our review a read and pick up this modern classic, you won’t regret it.