Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft Reviews
As someone who hasn't touched collectible card games since the mid-1990s — and hasn't played Warcraft since it was still a real-time strategy game — I'm amazed at not only how quickly I picked up Hearthstone but also how much I've played it. It's easy to learn, easy to get into matches and play, and it's fun. It's led me to check out other digital card games — and I'm again surprised at how much I enjoy these.
Overall Hearthstone is a lot of fun to play, and has potential to be a game that stays around for a long time. While it may not be as complicated as an actual collectible card game, or have the appeal of showing off your collection to your friends, it is a great videogame that has minimal issues and is in a neat package, so it would be foolish to try to compare it to something it's not trying to be.
And that's why I love Hearthstone, but hate recommending Hearthstone. I think it's an incredible game. It's pervasive: I love that I can spend a few hours slumped in front of my PC playing, then transfer to an ipad to play casually while watching bad telly. I love being part of the community – browsing new deck ideas and ranting with friends about how overpowered Grim Patron really is.
If Hearthstone looks too static and boring or even too simplified and limited, you'll be hard pressed after playing the game to not want to spend more time in this wonderful off-shoot of the Warcraft universe.
Hearthstone might not fully scratch the strategy itch of the most advanced CCG/TCG players, but it makes an impressive attempt. The rules are simple, so anybody can get the hang of it, but there are enough deck variations available that only skilled deck builders and players will make it high in the ranks.
Don't sleep on Hearthstone - it gets almost everything right. It's fun, flashy, and totally playable for free.
In fact, Hearthstone is unlike a lot of games. It's a card strategy game that is bright and accessible. It's a free-to-play game with generosity of spirit. Heck, it may not have all the features its fans are demanding just yet, but it's even a Blizzard game where "coming soon" actually means coming soon. It's overflowing with character and imagination, feeds off and fuels a vibrant community of players and performers, and it only stands to improve as Blizzard introduces new features, an iPad version and expansions. And now it's finally finished! I can't wait to see where it goes next. Job's done.
Addictive and entertaining for free-to-play players, competitors, and collectors, the game brings the often-daunting digital card game genre into the spotlight
This type of call-and-response has always been the lifeblood of card games but Hearthstone's position as one of the first potentially mass-market CCGs with an excellent online infrastructure makes things exciting. As for the 'free-to-play' tag, this is one of the few games that will make Western players love the business model. It's as simple as that.