Hello guys, today I explored a game called Hearthstone. Please do read this article because I will ensure to you that what I found out about the game is worth knowing.
A friend of mine has suggested me this game called Hearthstone. Its a card game made by Blizzard, the company responsible for Warcraft, StarCraft, Overwatch and other good games that you will find in their list.
I want to point out things that I really liked in the game, details of the game and some comparison to some other card games that I also play online. If you are a total know nothing about the game, do not worry because this post is totally directed for you. But if you're a pro or a veteran in the game, you can choose to read but not expect much about it but even so, please do upvote me.
Hearthstone, a Card Game for Everyone
Compatibility and Convenience
The first thing that I noticed about the game is the accessibility of the game. It requires no much specs and installing and setting it up for play is really easy and fast. The size of the initial installer for the Garena/Steam like platform is just 3.85 mb. After installing the installer it will require you to download some more contents of the game around 3Gb.
Download installer here:
https://playhearthstone.com/en-gb/
Compared to another card game called Pokemon Trading Card Game Online the comfort of downloading it is at the same level. But compared to Wizard of the Coast's Magic the Gathering Online games, Magic the Gathering is no match to Hearthstone.
The compatibility of the game isn't sensitive, to be honest here, in terms of compatibility Heartstone is way better than Pokemon Trading Card Game. Pokemon Trading Card Game is convenient too but sometimes when I install Pokemon Trading Card Game in one of my low spec PCs the game tends to have problems unlike Heartstone. I tried Heartstone in a new high spec PC and in an old low spec PC and the game worked with no problem in both computers.
Another plus in the convenience of Heartstone is that its free to play. Pokemon Trading Card game online is also free but some Magic the Gathering online games aren't. At this sense, Magic the gathering really sucks the most in the online card game industry.
The Skins and Appearance of the Game
Hearthstone's interface has a good appeal to it's players. The table itself has interactions where you can click the table randomly and do different things. Try clicking the waterfalls on the left side of your screen, you will hear splashes of water and the movements of the water will be intervened. Try clicking the fire wood on the right side of your screen, keep on clicking it till it lights up some flames. I find these details crafty and entertaining, it only shows the quality of the game and Blizzard developer's love in the game.
A little comparison to other online games like Pokemon Trading Card Game Online and Magic the Gathering Online, I think Hearthstone still defeats the two in this aspect. The animation of the interface and the originality is quite impressive, you will totally see that the game is based from another popular game which will make some players get be charmed by the game.
A thing that I keep on complaining about Hearthstone and probably the only thing that I will be complaining about it is the card format. I've been playing competitive card games for years such as Yugioh, Pokemon and again- Magic the Gathering, comparing the card format with these other games that I had played- I find Hearthstone's card format too simple for a sport card game.
The card format is like this: a picture, some random number, some texts in a large font and some overly detailed rocky card texture.
I am not completely hating the card format, I just find it weak compared to the other sport card games that I used to play over the years.
Game Mechanics and Competitive Potentials
Learning the game isn't hard since everything in the game is almost spoon feeding. I got the rules without even reading any rules, there will be little tutorial on the game but from there, you will learn everything easily even you haven't played any card games before.
This is a really important aspect that every game design should look into, the approach on how will you embed the rules of a game in a new player.
In my opinion, Magic the gathering kind of failed here because of how complicated Magic the gathering has been these past years. Its like being a new comer for the game gets harder every year.
Meanwhile, Pokemon on the other hand is perfect. I think Pokemon, Yugioh and Hearthstone in paper are quite equal here in terms of user friendly aspect.
How Hearthstone is played is actually derived from other existing card games already like Magic the gathering. Hearthstone also have that "generate mana to do shit like summoning monsters and casting spells" concept that Magic the Gathering, Duel Monsters and other card games had already used in their rules. But what makes Hearthstone interesting is that, the game isn't only limited to cards, they have heroes and weapons in the game.
Mana is generated through the use of mana shards(not cards), deck concepts are determined per hero (not cards) so it tends to give some limit to the game which is interesting and there are weapons that I think aren't also cards that you will understand once you tried the game.
As I said, the rules are really easy to follow and the concept of the rules aren't only limited to cards, I can see that the design of Hearthstone is more committed in making the game as an online game rather than just a card board game like those other games that I kept mentioning above.
For competitiveness of the game, Hearthstone has a ladder system. I think its worth trying out. I haven't played much of the game but so far as I can see it, transitioning a game that is well designed like this can be easily be brought to a competitive atmosphere.
I don't have any complains on the game other than the card format that I've been pouting since the start that I tried the game. The sounds are good, the drawings are good, the rules are good, everything is good, I cannot ask for more for a card game.
For Hearthstone I give it 8.5 out of 10, I didn't made it to 10 because of the card format but still, it is a recommended game to everyone. Try it!
Now that I finished writing this post, I will get back to playing some more Hearthstone, so see you later I guess.