Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen

New World Computing

Industry	Video game development
Founded	1983
Founder	Jon Van Caneghem
Headquarters	United States
Products	Might and Magic series

Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen (initially titled Might and Magic: Darkside of Xeen) is a science fantasy role-playing video game developed and released by New World Computing in 1993. Built upon the Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra engine, it represents the fifth entry in the Might and Magic franchise and serves as a direct continuation of Might and Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen, bringing to a close the overarching storyline that began with Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum.

The title received acclaim for its vast game environment, visual presentation, and pioneering use of animated sequences alongside PCM sound-driven speech. A notable innovation was its capability to link with Clouds of Xeen, merging both titles into the unified "World of Xeen," a novel approach during that era.

Gameplay

Utilizing the engine from Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra, Might and Magic V offers gameplay mechanics consistent with its predecessor. It is intended to be experienced in conjunction with Might and Magic IV, presuming that player characters have already advanced, which results in a heightened difficulty level for newcomers.

Plot

Darkside of Xeen wraps up the narrative arc started in Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum, focusing on the pursuit of Sheltem, an errant creation of the Ancients. Picking up where Might and Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen left off, players track Prince Roland’s journey to face Guardian Alamar, who has seized control over the Darkside domain.

The Dragon Pharaoh, protector of the Darkside, attempts to enlist support but discovers potential allies either imprisoned or converted by Sheltem. He sends forth a dragon hatchling bearing a command orb; despite an assault, this hatchling survives and is found by the adventurers. Under the guidance of elven mage Ellinger Hofenhager, they work to restore Castle Kalindra—which had been displaced out of phase by Alamar—and free Sandcaster from Alamar’s henchmen Morgana and Xenoc while gathering energy discs necessary to activate the restoration spell.

Following the defeat of Count Blackfang—who transformed Queen Kalindra into a vampire—the group uses her crown's power to revive her. With Queen Kalindra’s assistance, they reach the Ancients' pyramid where the Dragon Pharaoh reveals that Alamar wields the Cube of Power, granting dominion over XEEN’s dual-world nacelle. Alamar intends to exploit this artifact to invade his origin world, Terra.

The party locates Corak—Sheltem’s adversary—imprisoned within a volcanic area. Utilizing a Soul Box acquired from Olympus, they teleport Corak into Castle Alamar. After overcoming Sheltem’s forces, Corak confronts Sheltem himself but falls in battle; nonetheless, he sacrifices his life to annihilate both Guardians along with Castle Alamar in a massive explosion, thereby ending Sheltem’s menace.

World of Xeen

Installing both Might and Magic IV and V on a system combines them into World of Xeen, a single game environment permitting travel across both sides of Xeen. This integrated edition encompasses all content from each individual game plus extra quests that deepen player involvement. In 1994, New World Computing issued an enhanced CD version of World of Xeen featuring expanded digital voice acting. The Macintosh adaptation was developed by Presage Software.

The additional quests act as an epilogue to both Might and Magic IV and V. Following Sheltem’s defeat, players are called upon to fulfill Prince Roland's objective: uniting the two halves of Xeen into one seamless world. The narrative concludes with the marriage of Roland and Queen Kalindra, symbolizing this unification.

MacUser honored World of Xeen as one of 1995’s top 50 CD-ROM titles, awarding it a rating of 3.5 out of 5.

Swords of Xeen

Released as an extra feature within the 1995 Might and Magic Trilogy collection—which includes Might and Magic III, IV, and V—Swords of Xeen was created by Catware and subsequently appeared in multiple series compilations. It was never distributed as an independent product.

Initially developed as a modification for the Might and Magic V engine by Catware team members, with narrative contributions from Ellen Beeman, the project advanced through cooperation with New World Computing, securing publishing backing. The game made inventive use of engine peculiarities, such as merging animations to produce distinctive monster visuals, although it contained scripting errors that enabled players to skip certain battles.

The storyline unfolds on a fresh world imperiled by 'The Source', an entity claiming responsibility for Alamar’s fate in Might and Magic V. While it preserved the outdated visual and audio elements of its predecessor, Swords of Xeen received acclaim for its gameplay quality, achieving a 4 out of 5 rating in evaluations.

Reception

In 1993, Computer Gaming World correspondent Scorpia described Darkside as featuring puzzles that were "almost trivially easy," some of which she labeled "pointless and boring," yet she ultimately regarded it as "a satisfactory conclusion to the current Might & Magic saga." She advised playing both Darkside and Clouds together for the best experience and deemed the game essential for longtime series followers. In June 1994, Darkside of Xeen was a finalist for the Role-Playing Game of the Year award by Computer Gaming World, narrowly losing to Betrayal at Krondor. Editors lauded it as "the most impressive linking of two CRPGs in computer game history" and considered it "a significant advancement in virtual world creation."

The 1994 evaluation of Might & Magic: The World of Xeen, which merges Clouds of Xeen and Dark Side of Xeen, appeared in issue #201 of Dragon, where reviewer Sandy Petersen assigned it a rating of 3 stars out of 5. In April 1994, Computer Gaming World emphasized that the CD edition’s improvements made it the preferred version. Neil Randall from CD-ROM Today commended the compilation as "enjoyable, consistent, and addictive," awarding it 4 stars out of 5.