• Publisher: NCSOFT
  • Release Date: Oct 23, 2015
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 981 Ratings

User score distribution:
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  1. Oct 28, 2015
    8
    HoT is a really great expansion. The story is much more engaging and interesting than the vanilla personal story and so far am enjoying it a lot. A lot of the events and meta events on the new maps are unique and bring in some interesting new mechanics to game. The maps are beautiful and i am always finding new secrets to explore. The gliding and new action camera are also really fun.HoT is a really great expansion. The story is much more engaging and interesting than the vanilla personal story and so far am enjoying it a lot. A lot of the events and meta events on the new maps are unique and bring in some interesting new mechanics to game. The maps are beautiful and i am always finding new secrets to explore. The gliding and new action camera are also really fun.
    Unfortunately there was a lot of QQ in the community on release since people were complaining that they could not unlock everything on day one, which is ridiculous. A lot of the 1 and 0 star reviews are a result of a forum post brigading everyone to write negative reviews to get the devs to respond. This was a real low point for the usually great community. Sadly the devs have actually reduced the amount of hero points needed and have nerfed some of the hero point challenges to make them easier. I am hoping that the devs do not continue to nerf the content due to the vocal minority as i have enjoyed having to form small groups to clear content as it is an mmorpg after all.
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  2. Nov 1, 2015
    8
    It's a nice touch to the original, they surley refined what did wrong in the past but thgere ar estill some issues, at least ANet looks forward to solving them and with our help this might be yet another MMO of the Year for Guild Wars 2
  3. Nov 1, 2015
    10
    A perfect expansion for one of the best mmo atm, if not the best.
    The jungle is full of life and dangers, mastery are long term achievements to complete that help to have always something to do in game.
    Graphics and sound are beautifull and immersive. elite specs are nice addition to help player play in a different role. I would give 9 ,but since most haters, and other mmo players (who
    A perfect expansion for one of the best mmo atm, if not the best.
    The jungle is full of life and dangers, mastery are long term achievements to complete that help to have always something to do in game.
    Graphics and sound are beautifull and immersive.
    elite specs are nice addition to help player play in a different role.
    I would give 9 ,but since most haters, and other mmo players (who rosik) gave 0 ...
    I'll give it 10 !
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  4. Nov 2, 2015
    10
    No subcripiton fee, great graphic, animation and sound, WvsW, awesome story improved even more in this expansion.. make this game and expansion a real jewe !
  5. Nov 6, 2015
    10
    I've played Guild Wars 2 since release and the game has never failed to keep me captivated and immersed. The story, the characters, the combat system, the crafting system, everything. HoT only expands on all of these and enhances many of the core games strengths while introducing new systems like the mastery system. Mastery is in my opinion one of the best post level cap progressionI've played Guild Wars 2 since release and the game has never failed to keep me captivated and immersed. The story, the characters, the combat system, the crafting system, everything. HoT only expands on all of these and enhances many of the core games strengths while introducing new systems like the mastery system. Mastery is in my opinion one of the best post level cap progression systems in an MMO to date and it can be expanded indefinitely. The Revenant is an extremely interesting class and as far as balance issues go, it is to be expected but is otherwise minimal compared to other MMO expansion launches. I think GW2 can only go up from here, HoT has captured my heart like Guild Wars Prophecies did in 2005 and GW2 in 2012. Expand
  6. Oct 27, 2015
    10
    Need some time to get into, but the jungle is a simply awesome place to discover and where to play, full of life and tons of dangers.
    Sometimes i forget i'm in GW2 and looks like a Tomb Rider place.
    Maxed Graphic and sound are very well made , use Sweetfx to improve even more. I really don't know how is possible to give 0/10 to this game. Maybe they're others mmo fanboy who rosik...
    Need some time to get into, but the jungle is a simply awesome place to discover and where to play, full of life and tons of dangers.
    Sometimes i forget i'm in GW2 and looks like a Tomb Rider place.
    Maxed Graphic and sound are very well made , use Sweetfx to improve even more.
    I really don't know how is possible to give 0/10 to this game.
    Maybe they're others mmo fanboy who rosik... but it's not a GW2 fault if your MMOs are dying.
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  7. Oct 27, 2015
    10
    Forget all about GW2 core game, this jungle is hard to master, ma very very beautifull place to level.
    This is not the classic (crap wow) expansion where you cap all in 1 day, you'll need to play and to play right to unlock all the elite spec.
    This is what most of the player base wanted: a game where you need to use your brain and smart tactics to fight the enemy. This is war, this is
    Forget all about GW2 core game, this jungle is hard to master, ma very very beautifull place to level.
    This is not the classic (crap wow) expansion where you cap all in 1 day, you'll need to play and to play right to unlock all the elite spec.
    This is what most of the player base wanted: a game where you need to use your brain and smart tactics to fight the enemy.
    This is war, this is Heart of Thorns !
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  8. Oct 27, 2015
    10
    I have had a lot of fun with Heart of Thorns. Most players complaining simply don't understand that ArenaNet is trying to simulate the feeling of progression that is in many other MMOs, but they are delivered through vertical progression. (Leveling up) Since the level cap is not being raids, they are using a two-fold horizontal approach:

    Masteries provide the feeling of progressing
    I have had a lot of fun with Heart of Thorns. Most players complaining simply don't understand that ArenaNet is trying to simulate the feeling of progression that is in many other MMOs, but they are delivered through vertical progression. (Leveling up) Since the level cap is not being raids, they are using a two-fold horizontal approach:

    Masteries provide the feeling of progressing through zones without the need to make enemies level up. Instead, you traverse terrain more efficiently or gain access to new areas. You can't just rush to the final zone because traversing it would be a nightmare without the unlocking things like Gliding.

    Elite Specializations give the feeling of unlocking new power, just like how leveling up in other MMOs will grant new skills. Players who are complaining about these systems simply don't understand what they were trying to accomplish, and I like the groundwork that's been laid out. Where were all these riots when players logged on a level 1 Mage in World of Warcraft and did not instantly have access to all 30 of their abilities they would have at maximum level?

    It's not perfect, but it's a great addition to Guild Wars 2.
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  9. Oct 27, 2015
    4
    Grindy content designed to hide the fact that here is not enough content in the expansion to justify the high price tag (equal highest for any mmo expansion). The story is good, the map looks fantastic but is painful to get around and as I said the mechanics of the content are grindy to stretch out the time. The elite specs are also quite cool on the whole but are bug ridden, the expensionGrindy content designed to hide the fact that here is not enough content in the expansion to justify the high price tag (equal highest for any mmo expansion). The story is good, the map looks fantastic but is painful to get around and as I said the mechanics of the content are grindy to stretch out the time. The elite specs are also quite cool on the whole but are bug ridden, the expension was released far too early in this regard. Expand
  10. Oct 26, 2015
    8
    Story 10/10 Amazing - Specially the final boss fight. Little buggy now but if those are fixed , amazing fight
    open world 9/10 - Challenging mobs, amazing beautiful map design , feels like a maze sometimes
    Content 9/10 - Amazing meta events - challenging and fun
    Elite spec - 7/10 Requires a lot of work to unlock the complete elite spec but the specs itself are amazing.
  11. Nov 18, 2015
    10
    Awesome expansion, for one of the best, if not the best MMO today.
    Great graphics, immersive sound, strong gameplay with a pve quite difficult.
    Sorry Wow, but GW2 is my new home.
  12. Nov 23, 2015
    10
    Really great expansion full of stuff to do.
    Since Wow is dying, and it's dying pretty bad, GW2 is the new king of MMO...these is why so many 0 (zero).
    Please rosik more, can't stop laughing.
  13. Oct 30, 2015
    10
    This is an amazing expansion. I feel like a new player all over again with the excitement and confusion. The people crying now just wanted to unlock everything the instant the expansion went live.
  14. Nov 3, 2015
    10
    I created an account just to give this expansion a score of 10. I'm a staunch supporter of this game and this expansion for a long time, and it's become abundantly clear that this expansion (and the update to the base game that came with it) is well coded, and the developers don't need to fix it. The game is incredibly stable and never crashes often enough to make getting anythingI created an account just to give this expansion a score of 10. I'm a staunch supporter of this game and this expansion for a long time, and it's become abundantly clear that this expansion (and the update to the base game that came with it) is well coded, and the developers don't need to fix it. The game is incredibly stable and never crashes often enough to make getting anything meaningful done impossible. The entire mid-to-end game revolves around competing map-wide events and long instances, both of which you will never lose all progress within when you never crash. This. Game. Will. Not. Never. Crash. It is widespread and is not a hardware issue; I'm running with an i7 4790k, 16GB RAM and GTX 970 SLI. It is a user issue and the user is broken. It's been almost a month now, and progress has been made or hinted towards with this massive game. This game can be played. It deserves a ten. Expand
  15. Oct 26, 2015
    10
    Really loving the story and the new maps are fantastic, guild halls are a really cool concept and the masteries system actually offers some useful skills which kinda surprised me.

    My biggest problem with the game was the mastery gating in the personal story, but Anet recently announced that they're removing this so you can complete the story with only a very basic set of mastery skills
    Really loving the story and the new maps are fantastic, guild halls are a really cool concept and the masteries system actually offers some useful skills which kinda surprised me.

    My biggest problem with the game was the mastery gating in the personal story, but Anet recently announced that they're removing this so you can complete the story with only a very basic set of mastery skills so that settles it for me, it's a really great game.

    I'd recommend this to anyone who's enjoyed the original game and wants some more, or anyone who's looking for a fun MMO that they can dip in and out of without feeling they're being left behind. Really good fun.
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  16. Oct 26, 2015
    10
    Simply masterful. Every aspect of the game improved while keeping the importance of the rest of their content. Each class made to feel fresh and new with specializations, making them hard to get to feel like a true reward.
  17. Oct 26, 2015
    10
    Many of these reviews completely astound me by saying things like how there's "no content" or that ArenaNet advertised falsely. ArenaNet was very transparent about what would be released with their expansion, and there's plenty of content to consider this a large expansion. I think what most of these reviews are complaining about is the time investment required to get to the new eliteMany of these reviews completely astound me by saying things like how there's "no content" or that ArenaNet advertised falsely. ArenaNet was very transparent about what would be released with their expansion, and there's plenty of content to consider this a large expansion. I think what most of these reviews are complaining about is the time investment required to get to the new elite specializations. This is confusing to me, because when playing an MMO I think it's understood that there will be a time investment.

    The new areas are massive (once you unlock enough masteries) and the content is challenging but not too much so. I sunk many hours into it over the weekend and I'm very pleased with it.
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  18. Oct 26, 2015
    9
    Story: 10/10 (This is what should have been in the core game! A reason to love characters and a can't wait to do the next chapter feeling)

    Music: 10/10 (Absolutely Phenomenal!) Environment: 10/10 (Soo much to explore, the maps are super non linear and just when you think you explored it all, you find a hidden mastery point to acquire) Replay: 10/10 (Mastery Points are account
    Story: 10/10 (This is what should have been in the core game! A reason to love characters and a can't wait to do the next chapter feeling)

    Music: 10/10 (Absolutely Phenomenal!)

    Environment: 10/10 (Soo much to explore, the maps are super non linear and just when you think you explored it all, you find a hidden mastery point to acquire)

    Replay: 10/10 (Mastery Points are account bound but hero challenges that you need for Elite Spec are not, each hero challenge is unique in strategy that it does not feel boring like world completion in core)

    Other Content: 9/10 (Fractals mob rewards being removed and moved into RNG boxes which you have to pay for leaves a bad taste in my mouth...due to this, I'm avoiding them in the hopes that they will be tweaked. Raids not being ready even though they are listed as a reason to buy the expansion too leaves a bad taste. HOWEVER, there is PLENTY to do that it does not bother me as much as it did initially, there still is the fact its there and happened though.)

    To the players: You don't hop into a game expecting a max level off the bat, why should we expect the same for an ELITE spec. It should show that you took the time and challenge to get that spec completed. The name is ELITE for a reason.

    These aren’t just new builds to try out. They are completely different play styles added onto your class…practically a new class! There are new icons to represent this for Pete’s sake!
    I think if people would slow down and think about it this way they would realize how much it makes sense that you shouldn’t expect instant gratification for something coming out of an expansion designed purely for lvl 80s. It is going to be challenging and it is going to require time.

    TY Anet for giving me something to do other than logging on, doing my dailies and dungeon run or two with my guildies then signing off. This brought back tons of goals and challenges for me to aim for and it brought back a huge social experience for me and many of my guildies! The fact that a lot of the maps are aimed for group experiences has been enjoyable. Its so fun to see/meet others that are willing to lend a helping hand.
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  19. Nov 15, 2015
    10
    Guild Wars 2 continues to innovate after all these years.
    It is truly the only MMO on the market who actively seeks to please it's playerbase not by spoonfeeding them and hand holding them but with true innovation and challenge.
    Heart of Thorns is the striking proof that an expansion doesn't have to be half assed and dumb down a game.

    I recommend this expansion, it's all worth the money!
  20. Oct 27, 2015
    9
    As an avid Guild Wars 2 player, I had mixed feelings about the direction they company was taking HoT. Mostly I was concerned about the grind factor and the difficulty of the new zone. I started playing as a skeptic, but HoT has won me over.

    The zone design is brilliant, the zones are beautiful and I finally feel like I have to fight my way through a war zone. I haven't felt like that
    As an avid Guild Wars 2 player, I had mixed feelings about the direction they company was taking HoT. Mostly I was concerned about the grind factor and the difficulty of the new zone. I started playing as a skeptic, but HoT has won me over.

    The zone design is brilliant, the zones are beautiful and I finally feel like I have to fight my way through a war zone. I haven't felt like that since they nerfed Orr, another end game zone.

    Admittedly there are plenty of things to work (grind for), but I'm having so much fun just playing I don't really notice it. I love the dynamic event chains at different outposts. I love the story. And I love the idea that if I'm not paying attention, I'm likely going to end up dead.

    And I really love the gliding. This is very very well done. I'm having a blast. The only real downside I can see to the expansion is it's not very large...but what it misses on in size it makes up for in detail and quality. Well worth the price.
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  21. Oct 28, 2015
    0
    This is an example of an expansion done wrong. A business model that is displeasing to the customers and provides the players with the type of content that we want. It would have been nice if it included build templates but they said that will come soon.
  22. Oct 27, 2015
    6
    Some beautifully, lovingly crafted maps - but gated by 'future fun' progression. In order to create a sense of character progression, ANet has decided to coin a different type of leveling in the form of mastery. This may make you feel you're working towards something, at the cost of the resulting grind. Make no mistake, in order to gain full access to your elite specialization (on mostSome beautifully, lovingly crafted maps - but gated by 'future fun' progression. In order to create a sense of character progression, ANet has decided to coin a different type of leveling in the form of mastery. This may make you feel you're working towards something, at the cost of the resulting grind. Make no mistake, in order to gain full access to your elite specialization (on most characters without 100% world completion) you will have to grind, whether it be PvE mastery lines or WvW ranks. As a community built around casual friendly design, this has resulted in appropriate out-roar. The introduction of this progression, and a 'soft trinity' have made for a somewhat confusing experience when compared to the initial design decisions of vanilla GW2. Events are poorly balanced, as are certain hero challenges, resulting in a distinct feeling of artificial difficulty (many mobs will instantly kill you).Exploration is a blast (if you're into that) and gliding adds a new dimension to traversing the jungle. Do you want more of the same? You'll probably dig this expansion. Were you hoping for something new and refreshing? You're likely to feel conflicted. Expand
  23. Nov 2, 2015
    10
    Finally a good excuse to return. Story started off strong but ended kinda weak but not enough to take away from all the improvements made. Having a blast and have put in around 30+ hours so far,
  24. Nov 4, 2015
    8
    It's a good expansion. The world stays relevant, people who do not buy it can still play (they arguably get a somewhat short end of the stick due to dungeon reward nerf, but definitely not hit as hard as players of many other MMOs, who can only play irrelevant content after an expansion hits). Mastery may be a bit grindy but opens up layer by layer and I kinda like this design. I neverIt's a good expansion. The world stays relevant, people who do not buy it can still play (they arguably get a somewhat short end of the stick due to dungeon reward nerf, but definitely not hit as hard as players of many other MMOs, who can only play irrelevant content after an expansion hits). Mastery may be a bit grindy but opens up layer by layer and I kinda like this design. I never expected much story from MMOs, but HoT's story is not a bad one, certainly much better than Kormir or Trahearne's story.

    Overall, a lot of good content and good designs. It's not perfect but still a good one.

    Still, a bit unhappy that WvW gets a pretty short end of the stick.
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  25. Oct 28, 2015
    10
    Totally blown away. Not only has this been the smoothest go-live I've seen, but the amount and quality of content in the expansion is brutal.

    Comparing this to the base game, one of the key things you will see is that the new areas don't have renown hearts, instead they have outpost which trigger some pretty awesome dynamic events. These events can even branch in different stories and
    Totally blown away. Not only has this been the smoothest go-live I've seen, but the amount and quality of content in the expansion is brutal.

    Comparing this to the base game, one of the key things you will see is that the new areas don't have renown hearts, instead they have outpost which trigger some pretty awesome dynamic events. These events can even branch in different stories and they tell you specific stories of some of the survivors (not going to do any spoilers here). Just stop for a second, and stand there listening to the NPC's.

    The main story, which I have not finished yet, is really intense. Way better than what we had so far. I don't want to spoil this either, so I'll simply say that what I've seen so far is on par with some single player rpg's.

    Content wise, there are "only" 4 new areas, but they are huge, not only horizontally but also vertically, you really have to experience it to feel the size of the jungle. It also has a metric ton of events, collections, achievements, adventures (a type of repeatable activities with world rankings in the type of GW1 challenges), the new specializations, masteries, pre-cursor scavenger hunts, new legendaries (not only weapons, but also backpacks and armor), a new wvw map.

    And the best of all... there is still more to come, namely the so awaited Raids, pvp leagues, and the new living world seasons.

    I may update this review later, since I haven't stopped in World vs World or pvp yet
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  26. Oct 27, 2015
    9
    Heart of Thornes falls just short of a perfect expansion and launch. There actually only three things that bothered people, and those three combined probably account for 80% of the negative reviews that the expansion received so far. And there are also three things that players really love about the expansion. Both aspects are strongly linked actually.

    1) The expansion brings elite
    Heart of Thornes falls just short of a perfect expansion and launch. There actually only three things that bothered people, and those three combined probably account for 80% of the negative reviews that the expansion received so far. And there are also three things that players really love about the expansion. Both aspects are strongly linked actually.

    1) The expansion brings elite specialization. Instead of a new gear tier or level cap, Arenanet provided us with horizontal progression. The elite specialization doesn't make use stronger, it gives more options. A new weapon you can use, new skills, new traits. The design philosophy was that this had to be unlocked/earned by playing through the expansion map. Meaning that players only got their full elite specialization after they had played trough most parts of the expansion maps. However, a lot of players wanted to play through the expansion with a new build. This will be changed so player can access the elite specialization a lot sooner. The technical detail is that the number of hero points required to unlock the elite specialization is going to be reduced from 400 to 250.

    2) The expansion maps are vastly different then most game maps. There are at least three different layers. Just like in a real jungle, you have the ground, the undergrowth and the canopy. So getting around on the maps is a lot harder at first. This is until you unlock masteries. These account bound extra 'skills' allow you for example to use a glider, jump on certain mushrooms, take short cut tunnels. When the expansion launched a lot of people didn't understand that you only need the early masteries to get around quickly in the maps. Those early masteriesare actually easy to unlock.

    3) Bugs. There was a bug that spread out the player base over to many instances of the megaserver. This resulted in a lot of half (or worse) empty maps, who then couldn't do the meta events. This is getting addressed today, with the same build as the changes to the elite specialization. There were also several progress blocking bugs in the personal story missions. Most are already addressed.

    And there are also three things that players really like in the game:

    1) The story is amazing. Both the stories being told on the maps through the events, and the personal story are the best the game has ever had. There's comedy and tragedy, decisions to be made, and even slight variations between certain races. At one point you have to make a choice on how to compose your party for the end fight. Like what you see in Mass Effect and Dragon Age. It was the hardest decision for me in any game, ever. This expansion actually feels like 1/3 of Dragon Age Inquisition.

    2) The mobs and the combat is very good. A lot of new mobs came with the new maps and they each have distinct mechanics that you have to adapt your tactics to. AFk attacking, just pressing one skill, ignoring mobs, that isn't possible hear. A lot of players asked for a higher difficulty, and Arenanet delivered. And it's not difficulty trough stats on the mobs but through mechanics. This again overwhelmed a lot of players at launch date who then cut down the content before actually learning it.

    3) The maps. As overpowering they are when you first try to move through them, they are awesome once you get used to them. As I said before, you need masteries to get around. And the more you have, the easier the maps become to transverse. The players also had to get used to the fact that the entire maps change a lot. There's a day and night cycle and both have several stages . The events and objectives change according to the stage the map is in. And this is off course also influence by on what level of the map you are playing. If you count everything together the new maps have three times the amount of content then the older maps, in what's now called 'Core Tyria'.

    Conclusion: a lot of players were really negative in the first two to three days because they didn't expect the how the expansion would challenge them. From the legitimate criticism of the expansion, most things have already been addressed. So the expansion deserves a 9, it really does.
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  27. Nov 23, 2015
    10
    I've bought this game after 3 year, for only 49.90 i got 2 games for the price of one.
    And what a game!
    Never thought it may be so beautifull !!!
    Finally i've found my definite MMO to play for months to go.
    Really happy !
  28. Oct 28, 2015
    8
    Honestly the best expansion of a mmo I've experienced. I personally love it, but I do enjoy base gw2 so take that into consideration. It was also a really smooth launch, and pretty much all the bugs that did exist (and there were a few quite annoying ones for some people) have now been dealt to (which has been pretty damn fast).

    Good story updates, good content and general updates for
    Honestly the best expansion of a mmo I've experienced. I personally love it, but I do enjoy base gw2 so take that into consideration. It was also a really smooth launch, and pretty much all the bugs that did exist (and there were a few quite annoying ones for some people) have now been dealt to (which has been pretty damn fast).

    Good story updates, good content and general updates for both pve in general, pvp and wvw, new specializations for each existing class and a new class. New content is satisfyingly more difficult, and raids are on there way very soon (we had a taste in the beta's).

    Basically if you enjoyed GW2 (you can try it for free now if you haven't) and can afford to spend a little money (non subscription - just a upfront cost) its totally worth it. If you hate mmo's, or GW2 I wouldn't recommend it though.

    Don't see a reason not to get it if you are already enjoying GW2 and the asking price isn't outside of your budget.

    PS the so called grindy unlocks people have been complaining about have also been reduced in a way that you could barely justify calling them grindy now.
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  29. Oct 27, 2015
    9
    The expansion improves upon everything that was already great in this action packed, fast paced MMO. Gliding, pretty environments, engaging content, I'm having such a blast.
  30. Oct 27, 2015
    10
    Perhaps the most enjoyable MMO expansion I've played and well worth the price. There is a large amount of new content as well as many great game improvements.
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 22
  2. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. CD-Action
    Jan 12, 2016
    85
    Heart of Thorns is so good I forgot the flaws that made me lose interest in the original game after my initial delight with it. [13/2015, p.64]
  2. Games Master UK
    Jan 3, 2016
    85
    Not the biggest expansion, but it enhances the best parts of an already magnificent MMO. [Christmas 2015, p.75]
  3. Edge Magazine
    Jan 3, 2016
    80
    In spite of the odd stumble, it's a wonderful journey. [Jan 2016, p.120]