If you like Might & Magic, you should definitely play Shades of Darkness. There are many games that will only appeal to “fans of the genre,” but this goes farther than that and becomes a game that appeals to “fans of the series.” It’s not really a terrible thing, but it’s not a great thing, either. If you really want to start playing Might & Magic Heroes, get the new complete pack for VI.
I don’t particularly care if the developers try and make it easier, but they are saying that this is the game to start with and I need to clearly express that it’s not. Even as someone who has played a fair amount of the series, I was still confused. The tutorial is still very basic, spells and abilities are poorly explained, and there is always a general feeling of not really understanding what the hell you’re actually doing in combat.
I know they are trying to sell it off as that, but it’s simply not true.
This isn’t a good place to start in the series.