The world of Azeroth comes to life in the acclaimed digital card game, Hearthstone. This game has held the attention of players worldwide with its addictive gameplay, impressive graphics, and cards that have stories to tell. I’m evaluating all aspects of this game, from its graphics and gameplay, down to the price and updates to deliver you with the data that you need to make your decision. I will remain unbiased throughout, and provide the most insight that I can! 

About Hearthstone 

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft Cinematic

Hearthstone is a turn based digital card game that is easy for beginners to learn, but offers more strategic gameplay for experienced players. Strategy is the name of the game, as players slide into the role of a powerful hero, they use their deck of cards to cast spells, summon creatures, and wield mighty weapons in an attempt to strike down their opponent.

Hearthstone is not a spin off of anything, it is its own game. However, there is some shared lore with World of Warcraft, and there's some sharing of iconic characters! Who doesn’t love a classic, right?

Hearthstone’s Story

The newest Hearthstone expansion brings new lore with it. 

Hearthstone is set in the Warcraft Universe, but the lore is tied up in the cards that are brought to each expansion. For the adventurer that loves a story, Hearthstone offers a Solo Adventure mode that is single player and allows you to play through various adventures, but again, there is no concrete storyline here.

The iconic characters that appear on the cards occasionally have stories that follow them, and expansions generally release a new adventure mode that will have a short story that you can play through. However, the true beauty lies in not being required to do this, not everybody loves dredging through a story mode.   

Hearthstone Gameplay 

 Cards in Action! March of the Lich King Gameplay Trailer

There is no character creation in Hearthstone.  Depending on the mode that you are playing  you will either play a premade character that is selected for you, choose a premade character from a random character pool, or choose your character from 11 unique character classes. 

Hearthstone Battlegrounds pits you against seven other players, will your strategic gameplay and good fortune bring you to the top? 

Hearthstone offers many different game modes from competitive ranked matches that have rules requiring standard decks that are built with cards from the last two expansions, to wild matches that are not ranked but can use any Hearthstone cards ever released. Hearthstone offers a PVP Battleground mode where you can square off with 7 other players, and a unique deck system where you gain coins each round, and use your coins to purchase creatures to summon, or spells to cast. There is the Solo Adventure mode if you’re seeking story driven content, as well as Mercenaries mode which is more RPG style. There are Duels and Arenas which are competitive modes of play that offer rewards based on how many wins you receive before being eliminated. There are Tavern Brawls that change weekly, offering players a new challenge each week. Hearthstone has a lot to offer!

Hearthstone also offers quests and a reward tracking system where you can gain experience when completing specific tasks. As you level up along the reward track you will receive card packs, gold, hero skins, and more! This is one of the many ways Hearthstone maintains its Free to Play status.

The level of replayability for Hearthstone is high, as it’s ever changing. There are weekly updates and patches, keeping the game both entertaining and operational. As well as providing players with new content regularly.

Hearthstone’s Combat

As the game progresses, your board grows stronger. Look for cards that synergize well, to build impressive decks that hit hard.

Hearthstone is a turn based card game. Player’s can open card packs or craft cards to build their own decks or premade decks. The players gain mana each turn, and mana is used to play your cards. The amount of mana that you receive increases each turn so that as the game progresses players are able to play more powerful spells and minions. You can use your minions to kill your opponents minions or to attack your opponent directly.

The character classes can reach level 60, but this has nothing to do with your character's power. This is more of a brag right, because experience is gained as games are played. Your power depends on the cards that you use to build your deck with, and the level of synergy that your deck maintains. Each card has a sound effect, and some cards are animated, keeping the game lively. There are sound effects when heroes are attacked as well as preset chat options that players can utilize. The game has a good range of sound effects and animations. 

Hearthstone’s Quest/Mission System

Complete daily and weekly quests to earn gold and experience. 

There are daily quests and weekly quests that players can complete to earn experience on the reward track. These quests are generally easy and just require you to play the game and sometimes quests will specify a game mode or task for you to complete.

Hearthstone hosts events during different times of the year, generally around Holidays, and there are special quests during these times. The quests are fun and some require you to win a certain number of games while playing a specific class, this is a great way to encourage players to get out of their comfort zone, as they target the quest's completion.

In Hearthstone, players can earn achievements by reaching certain milestones, such as playing a certain amount of matches or reaching a high rank in competitive modes. These achievements are displayed on a player’s profile as badges of honor.

Hearthstone’s Graphics

 O, Shiny!

The visual and sound effects make this game exciting and immersive. Hearthstone’s graphics are unique. Every single card comes with its own art and sound effects, and some cards are animated. Hearthstone’s cards have a hand-drawn style that is nostalgic and the cards are rich in color and detail which makes them visually appealing. The flashy effects that are displayed when you attack a minion or a hero are unique to the cards. In Battlegrounds, these flashy effects are cosmetics that can be earned or purchased. 

New Content Updates

Content updates can be found on the Hearthstone official website, all updates will be listed in detail there. 

In February, Hearthstone started a new year, Year of the Pegasus, and with it comes three major expansions. The beginning of each Hearthstone year will release one of the major expansions, and you can enjoy that while anticipating the others. New expansions are released about every four months. With the major expansions comes all new cards, new styles of game play, and sometimes new modes.

Hearthstone has weekly patch updates that ensure that the game is running smoothly, and makes changes to cards that may be overpowered or not quite strong enough, maintaining a nice balance.This keeps the game fresh and enjoyable. As well as lowering that frustration level a little bit, if you’re playing competitively. Nobody enjoys seeing a specific card and immediately knowing that they’re screwed.

Hearthstone’s Year of the Pegasus is starting off with a bang! Specifically, Whizbang’s Workshop expansion. This expansion brought with it some wild new cards, and a lot of explosives. I am here for the explosives! The expansion appears to have a bit of a wild mad scientist meets the carnival? It’s interesting, and incredibly colorful. Which is fun. However, the new expansion has received some negative feedback, as with all things, you have to make your own decision here. I enjoyed it. 

Hearthstone’s Developer

A big name in the gaming industry, Blizzard Entertainment, is the developer of Hearthstone. 

Hearthstone was developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard Entertainment is a big name, as they are known for World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Starcraft.

If there are bugs that need fixed, Hearthstone has support that listens and responds well. Blizzard keeps a forum for bugs and issues that contain information on updates and fixes. If you’re not using the forum or you can’t find the bug that you experienced being addressed, then you submit a ticket.  Bugs are patched a fixed weekly. 

Hearthstone’s Price

This is my favorite part!  FREE! Hearthstone is free to download and play. However, as with all good things that are free to play, there are in game purchases. There are cosmetic purchases and card packs that can be purchased. You have to have cards to build your decks. Hearthstone provides new players with many ways to earn cards and packs, but if you’re playing at a competitive level, the game can be expensive.

Hearthstone is available to play on PC and Mobile. Yes, that’s right, Hearthstone is Mobile and it’s comparable to Hearthstone on PC. All of the same game modes are available to you and play very smoothly. The only real difference between PC Hearthstone and Mobile, is the ability to have Add-ons to help you on PC.

FINAL VERDICT

7/10

Pros

• Free to play
• Easy to get started
• Available on Mobile and PC 
• Replayable
• Regular updates and new content

Cons

• Not available on console
• Competitive modes may seem more “Pay to win” as good cards may be difficult to obtain unless you purchase card packs. 

You may also be interested in: 

• [Top 12] Hearthstone Best Standard Decks

• [Top 12] Hearthstone Best Wild Decks

• [Top 5] Hearthstone Best Loaner Decks