Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

 iOS
User Score
5.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 387 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 203 out of 387
  2. Mixed: 54 out of 387
  3. Negative: 130 out of 387
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  1. LD9000
    May 4, 2014
    5
    A virtual casino with Pay 2 Win elements.

    There are tons of P2W games out there, and in part I've accepted them as necessary evil. Then I saw Hearthstone. Beneath the pretty and polished exterior hides a machine designed for one purpose only - to squeeze money out of its players for years. Hearthstone ruthlessly exploits the "unfair" feeling within the player, as after half a dozen    A virtual casino with Pay 2 Win elements.

    There are tons of P2W games out there, and in part I've accepted them as necessary evil. Then I saw Hearthstone. Beneath the pretty and polished exterior hides a machine designed for one purpose only - to squeeze money out of its players for years.

    Hearthstone ruthlessly exploits the "unfair" feeling within the player, as after half a dozen tutorial games they are thrown to play against other players who either have beefy decks or are exploiting the "flavor of the month" rush deck. This causes newbies to seriously consider buying decks or arena runs.

    The most devious invention of Hearthstone, is the "Arena". Unlike premium account, each arena entry costs real money (or requires hours of grinding). An arena run is why I call this game gambling - you spend real money to get random cards and fight random opponents. Win and you want to win again. Lose and you want to win. It's an endless cycle that will cause people to spend real money just about every day they play the game.

    Unlike a traditional P2W game, like World of Tanks, where you buy premium account and in-game currency to spend on concrete purchases, everything within Hearthstone is completely random. You NEVER know what you get for your money. A pack contains random cards, arena runs are random. Draws within a match are random.

    Buying packs provides a number of random cards split among 9 classes. The "guaranteed rare" card can be for any class. This means that even if you buy dozens of packs, it's really hard to get the cards you really want. You are left with the choice of disenchanting dozens of rare cards to "craft" the cards you want, or keep drawing.

    The in-game "quests", offering a chance to win 1/5 to 1/3rd arena entry most frequently require winning a number of games with a random class. This means that you cannot just focus on one deck or class. Instead, you are tempted to play all classes, thus increasing the investment you need to play this game.

    Seeing the features like paid arena entry makes me seriously concerned about the future of P2W games. There are already dozens of WoW clones out there. What happens when Pay 2 Win companies get wind of the kinds of profits Blizzard will make with these new money making schemes?

    After playing Hearthstone, I started to believe that games like these should be regulated like gambling.    … Expand
  2. Kusaha
    Sep 9, 2014
    5
    It's an OK game, but far from a perfect card game. It's way to casual, and a lot of copy cats, for example now everybody play hunter before that you saw only warlocks. So the game not entertaining enough to play for longer. But it fun to watch on youtube/twitch, but still the game itself not that great there are more complex and more enjoyable card games with more cards.
  3. Killua
    May 2, 2014
    5
    Warning! This game crashes a lot on the IOS. I've lost 2 ranked and 2 arena games because of crashes. My full review is below but I'm giving this a low score until they fix this game-ruining bug.

    Hearthstone seems to have a case of the Dark Souls! You'll notice many reviews giving the game either a perfect score or a very low score. Let me reassure you that if your a casual gamer who    Warning! This game crashes a lot on the IOS. I've lost 2 ranked and 2 arena games because of crashes. My full review is below but I'm giving this a low score until they fix this game-ruining bug.

    Hearthstone seems to have a case of the Dark Souls! You'll notice many reviews giving the game either a perfect score or a very low score. Let me reassure you that if your a casual gamer who doesn't enjoy strategy, numbers, and a good challenge, Hearthstone may leave you frustrated.

    Hearthstone is a profound game that sets new bounds for online card games. The game will feel very nostalgic to mtg with the visuals and sounds of warcraft iii.

    The beauty of this game is that an average player can put in a good amount of time to build a sharp deck. More cards is more combinations and more fun for those who love to deck build.

    Many players will rage quit Hearthstone on a loss because they think that someone who invests money in cards has a giant advantage, but let me reassure you that these people can only see the shallow surface of the game. Most of the best cards in the game are common and can be easily crafted. Check out hearthpwn

    I dropped $200 on this game as a die-hard bliz/mtg fan and I dont regret a cent. I have had a blast crafting fun decks to play my friends with    … Expand
  4. Sivus
    Jun 5, 2014
    6
    I would have given this game a 7 or 8 however, first time players such as myself are put against "similar skilled" people with what seems like very over-powered (paid for decks). Some classes are way better than others with starting cards that nearly give you the win.
  5. Crovesh
    Sep 23, 2017
    5
    F2P: 4/10
    Buying cards: 6/10
    A simple game with excellent presentation jarred by exceedingly poor design choices. I play Hearthstone a whole lot. The game itself is very polarizing, In that at it's best it's a very random game with a lot of fun moments to those who understand it, while at worst it's a frustrating mess due to poor matchmaking and said random elements backfiring on    F2P: 4/10
    Buying cards: 6/10

    A simple game with excellent presentation jarred by exceedingly poor design choices.

    I play Hearthstone a whole lot. The game itself is very polarizing, In that at it's best it's a very random game with a lot of fun moments to those who understand it, while at worst it's a frustrating mess due to poor matchmaking and said random elements backfiring on you.

    As with all competitive games, the goal is to win these micro-matches of 7 minutes (which can technically go up to 20 minutes at worst) and people do this by crafting the most effective kind of deck. If you want to be creative with your decks, I hope you don't mind losing a lot. The small time frame makes this game excellent for simply going on a binge with several of these games in a row.

    Presentation is Blizzard's hallmark. Each card is decorated with beautiful, colorful artwork and voice-acted by a plethora of professional VA's. Part of this game's charm is that it's really fun to look at, and atleast part of the streaming charm. But to watch a game and to play a game are two different things, no?

    Now, the big debate going around is whether hearthstone is a good F2P game, or if it is a B2W game.
    Hearthstone is a game where you need to invest either a good amount or money or a good amount of time to be able to compete. I'm completely free to play. I've been playing this game for two years. I can't keep up with the current meta, but I can play most cheaper decks.

    With this said, the time / money commitment did recently take a jump to being an OBSCENE amount of time or money. I'd be glad to pay money for games I find fun, but I really don't want to gamble. And that's the main problem with hearthstone monetization.
    No matter if you spend time or money, you HAVE to play their roulette system. You can't pick what cards you want (unless you "dust" heaps of cards to craft certain single cards) so you're stuck with the lootbox system.

    And this is where the main gripe is. Due to a system that's basically gambling in nature, with you being able to open on average 1.4 packs a day, with a pack containing 5 random cards out of sets of 135 cards where you might actually want 10-20 of them, with 4 of those being of a quality where they only drop on average every 12th pack- disorientating, I know; You're effectively stuck in a skinnerbox if you're prone to that kind of thing. Lately, the game might've actually taken the leap to be truly P2W.

    I'll make no mistake. Part of why I'm here writing this review is because I'm bitter; you'll see many other people writing similar reviews who are. Doesn't that speak volumes, though? The game is very compelling, but at worst, I don't know anybody who'd in good faith want to play it.    … Expand
  6. Mortollo
    Oct 23, 2017
    7
    I have been giving this game a chance for years. It is labeled a free to play game but this is not entirely true. Most players use net decking and the game typically drops a new expansion with new cards that seem to make any previous cards obsolete or never used again. The RNG of this game is very frustrating as well and it often feels like it isn't truly random. In fact, sometimes youI have been giving this game a chance for years. It is labeled a free to play game but this is not entirely true. Most players use net decking and the game typically drops a new expansion with new cards that seem to make any previous cards obsolete or never used again. The RNG of this game is very frustrating as well and it often feels like it isn't truly random. In fact, sometimes you can actually predict what cards the game with throw at you. You WILL need to pay for packs to get useless cards over and over again just to destroy them for a small amount of dust. This dust then can be spent on "legendary" cards that will eventually become useless. The graphics and effects are really nice though. I find it also great that there is no option to chat with an opponent. It is a fun game to have if you are travelling and want something to play. Beyond that, I would refrain from getting to absorbed into the game itself.… Expand
  7. hallllloo
    May 28, 2018
    6
    Hearthstone ist sehr komplex und kann wenn man will auch sehr kompetetiv werden. Allerdings um dies zu erreichen und hoch in der Rangliste zu steigen muss man viele Kartenpackungen öffnen oder ein Naturtalent in dem Spiel sein. Die Singleplayer Adventure die gegen Ingame-Währung oder Geld zur Verfügung stehen machen Spaß und sind manchmal echt eine Herausforderung. Die Lust zumHearthstone ist sehr komplex und kann wenn man will auch sehr kompetetiv werden. Allerdings um dies zu erreichen und hoch in der Rangliste zu steigen muss man viele Kartenpackungen öffnen oder ein Naturtalent in dem Spiel sein. Die Singleplayer Adventure die gegen Ingame-Währung oder Geld zur Verfügung stehen machen Spaß und sind manchmal echt eine Herausforderung. Die Lust zum Experimentiern mit Decks und verschieden Karten wird einem jedoch sehr schwer gemacht, da oft Decks die nicht in der Meta sind so gut wie keine Chance haben.… Expand
  8. Adrijan123
    Jun 10, 2014
    7
    I'm going to keep this review short and straight to the point:
    -Graphics/Animation 8.5-Pretty good for a card game. The animations are smooth,nothing special or out of the ordinary, but ok,maybe even going to great.
    -Story / -I can't say anything about the story because I believe that in this particular card game, the story isn't even a main focus, so no score here. -Gameplay 7.5 -I    I'm going to keep this review short and straight to the point:
    -Graphics/Animation 8.5-Pretty good for a card game. The animations are smooth,nothing special or out of the ordinary, but ok,maybe even going to great.
    -Story / -I can't say anything about the story because I believe that in this particular card game, the story isn't even a main focus, so no score here.
    -Gameplay 7.5 -I don't have anything against the gameplay, in fact it seems to be pretty decent, however, the pay to win aspect has to be taken into consideration because a lot of people don't like it when games seem to be milking money from them, so the score has to go down. Apart from that, the gameplay seems to be decent, far from perfect, but decent.
    -Characters / -Again, this card game doesn't focus on any particular characters, so no score here.
    Music and Sound fx 6 -While the sound fx are ok,the music really isn't. It doesn't suit the genre, it's not utilized very well and I really have to take out a few points here.
    In the end, (8.5+7.5+6)/3 is somewhere around 7.1, and that's the score this game gets from me.    … Expand
  9. Jerot
    Jun 6, 2014
    7
    Hearthstone is a very simple game with great potential, but I worry the team in charge of development are making some critical errors. First of all they have a massive base of content already available to them from their previous game, the World of Warcraft TCG. They re-use some mechanics and tons of card art, which isn't a bad thing at all. But at the moment they aren't using any of it,Hearthstone is a very simple game with great potential, but I worry the team in charge of development are making some critical errors. First of all they have a massive base of content already available to them from their previous game, the World of Warcraft TCG. They re-use some mechanics and tons of card art, which isn't a bad thing at all. But at the moment they aren't using any of it, and the game quickly becomes stale for some experienced card gamers when most of the decks contain very similar all-class filler. The game also suffers from a lack of variety of win-conditions, it is very simply a "kill or be killed" play style with very simple by the numbers strategies.

    They also seem to shy away from balancing cards when they become a problem, which will lead to some serious headaches down the road when they start releasing more cards. On that topic, it isn't clear if they will be running a "standard" set for competitive play, banlists, or if they will attempt to keep all new releases balanced with old cards (Most would call this impossible without making the game super bland)

    All that being said, the game feels really good to play despite some minor visual bugs that have persisted since early beta. Class balance for competitive is fair relative to most games, many will say its imbalanced because the nature of the competitive scene is very driven by "flavor of the month" decks. The meta is still shifting and differs for different levels of play (20-10, 10-5, 5-1, Legends ranks have some really different "top decks") which is a good sign for the longevity of hearthstone. I look forward to the release of the Naxxramas adventure mode content, and from what has been spoiled so far it looks like a lot of the newer cards are class based which will hopefully help diversify decks between classes even more from a fairly "all-class" heavy standard these days.

    I'm happy they will release content like this for free with a little bit of playing. They have done a good job keeping the game fair between F2Players and Premiums, it can take awhile to build up a collection of cards without spending money but it is definitely possible. And the arena does a lot to keep matches fair although more RNG based, and RNG already has a ton to do with the outcome of many games. I understand the random nature of card games but it must be stated this is especially true of Hearthstone. You don't have a filler role type card like many other games (MTG and Land, Pokemon and Energy etc) in addition to being limited in the amount of the same card that can be put into a deck. (HS 2 vs YGO 3 and MTG/PKM 4). Your mulligan options are also limited with a small opening hand size, it makes building your deck with many viable openings super critical.    … Expand
  10. Raxumotra
    Jul 29, 2017
    7
    Great game a must play if you like Warcraft and card games, but is very anti consumer like any mobile game, money first, then you can really enjoy all this game has to offer, I cannot give a good score to a game that asks you for money and lots of it to enjoy the game. Please enjoy all video games.
  11. Szntax
    May 22, 2021
    7
    As a big Magic fan, I sure gotta try this one. No review needed for I guess everybody knows this one nowadays. I must admit, I lost interest after a long period of time and I actually don’t know why.

Awards & Rankings

3
#3 Best iOS Game of 2014
2
#2 Most Discussed iOS Game of 2014
6
#6 Most Shared iOS Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
93

Universal acclaim - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Game Revolution
    May 1, 2014
    80
    In the meantime, Hearthstone is definitely worth the entrance free of zero moneys. Now, your time investment may grow to be worth much more than that amount, as is the case with many games under the Blizzard banner. That part, once again, they definitely have gotten right.
    Read full review
  2. Slide to Play
    Apr 30, 2014
    100
    Blizzard has once again demonstrated their mastery of video games as a combination of competitive play and captivating artwork.
    Read full review
  3. Everyeye.it
    Apr 29, 2014
    90
    Hearthstone is one of the most intriguing TCD of the past years, and this iPad version clearly stands as an amazing porting.
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