This article is meant to give a little insight into my experience with various play-to-earn videogames, as well as some general information about them. I genuinely enjoyed each one, and I'm hoping to highlight some of the main talking points for each. Hope you enjoy!
Axie Infinity: Perhaps one of the best known play-to-earn ( #p2e ) games on the market, Axie Infinity is a card-based game where each player utilizes a team of 3 Axies to fight.
There are a few important things to know before I get into my personal experience:
- It's on the Ethereum blockchain, on the Ronin sidechain.
- It's a P2E card game centered around NFTs called Axies (cute, but fierce, creatures that "love to battle, build, and hunt for treasure!" -Axie FAQ
- It currently has PvP, PvE, and breeding.
- You need a team of 3 Axies to begin playing and earning.
The art is polished, the mechanics are clean, and (most importantly) Axie genuinely is fun. Unfortunately, there was and still is an entry barrier. Though Axies range in price, few would consider Axie Infinity a cheap entry point to P2E. It is confirmed that a F2P demo option is in the works, though.
It's fun, but it's not always easy. PvE isn't too hard, and that's where a lot of scholars start earning their Smooth Love Potion ($SLP). However, the further you progress and the more you play PvP, the more that difficulty increases.
There are set meta builds, and they're not easy to beat. Card draw and crits allow for anything to happen, but the meta builds are meta for a reason. A good player can make an average team work, but buying cheap axies just to get in could cost you.
Despite that, I still play at least several times a week, enjoying the solid gameplay and competitive atmosphere. I'm most excited to see how they execute the roadmap they've laid out.
Gods Unchained: The second game on my list is Gods Unchained, another card-based game, but one notably different from Axie.
A few key points:
- It's on the Ethereum blockchain, utilizing Immutable X.
- It's free to get into (free starter decks).
- Regular tournaments reward players with new packs of cards and $GODS.
Gods Unchained is all about strategy (and luck of the draw). Building a deck of your own is one of the first major steps a player takes. It's not that the starter decks are bad, but they're limited so that new players can get used to the various mechanics more easily.
Because it is free to play from the start, the only barriers in Gods Unchained are skill-based. It has a solid tutorial that is easy to understand, and there are several modes of play, including casual matches and direct challenges.
I can't say I'm all that great at card games like Gods Unchained, but I had fun all the same. If this sounds like your kind of thing, you can learn more on their FAQ page.
Lost Relics: My last game for today is perhaps not as well known, but it's an impressive take on dungeon-delving role-playing games (RPG).
A couple quick things about the game:
- It is an Enjin powered ARPG (Action-adventure role playing game)
- The community is a big part of it, so I suggest checking out the Discord.
- It has a relatively high skill floor, so be ready.
Lost Relics is a game I immediately fell in love with. It is brutal, tense, and requires real skill to profit. I think I died 2 or 3 times before I even got through my first dungeon. Nothing is scarier than being on 5 hp and running through hoards of enemies in a desperate attempt to reach the exit portal.
Lost Relics, like Gods Unchained, is completely free to get into, and you can start earning from your first run. There is a pool of items that is available at any given point, with a list made available for reference, and those items have a chance to drop in the dungeon. Drops DO appear to be linked to certain chests, enemies or resource nodes, so you'll need to full-clear each floor to avoid missing something.
Lost Relics has a roadmap that details their future plans if you're interested. I've joined a few of their events (the Easter event from 2021 being a personal favorite), and they're a great chance for F2P players to earn some gold and potentially purchase power pendants (think membership) without spending cash.
Thanks for reading!
Git Gud!
Good places to start: Axie twitter, Gods Unchained twitter, Lost Relics twitter