Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

 PC
User Score
5.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 2373 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,045 out of 2373
  2. Mixed: 527 out of 2373
  3. Negative: 801 out of 2373

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  1. MikeMaximus
    Apr 24, 2014
    7
    Hearthstone is a fun card game to play every few days, complete any daily quests you have built up and earn a few new cards. If you want something hardcore to spend thousands of hours on i'd look elsewhere, unless of course you wanna spend a ton of money buying card packs.

    I'd call it Magic: The Gathering lite, it has enough depth to keep it interesting and strategic but also simple    Hearthstone is a fun card game to play every few days, complete any daily quests you have built up and earn a few new cards. If you want something hardcore to spend thousands of hours on i'd look elsewhere, unless of course you wanna spend a ton of money buying card packs.

    I'd call it Magic: The Gathering lite, it has enough depth to keep it interesting and strategic but also simple enough to keep the rounds quick and easy to play. It's actually quite a feat and they should be proud of it. The lack of a standard chat interface during matches is also genius, you can communicate via simple emotes and that's all. This keeps matches quick and clean with a lack of what would likely be useless or offensive chatter that is standard in most competitive online games.

    Understandably it has issues with balance as ALL these types of games do, but Blizzard has never really been good with balance. That alone for me doesn't make it viable to spend a dime on it or compete in ranked matches.    … Expand
  2. Not_Disclosed
    Mar 18, 2014
    7
    The game is very deceptive. First of all, do not expect to be competitive in ranked play for a long time, unless you want to spend real money. If you do spend money, you will not be truly competitive anyway, but you will manage to get some wins just because you have better cards.

    For a long time, I thought that cards are everything, but actually there is quite a lot of strategy    The game is very deceptive. First of all, do not expect to be competitive in ranked play for a long time, unless you want to spend real money. If you do spend money, you will not be truly competitive anyway, but you will manage to get some wins just because you have better cards.

    For a long time, I thought that cards are everything, but actually there is quite a lot of strategy involved. As a new player, you will need to do daily quests. I do not recommend playing any more than for dailies, as when you play against much better decks, you will feel that it is unfair and pay - for - win. As such, I recommend not buying the decks straight away, but spend the gold in arena. Yes, you will be losing a lot at the beginning - but also you will learn to play and to choose cards. Make a spreadsheet of your arena wins so you can see your progress in time. Initially you will think that 'it is all luck' and that 'opponents were lucky at draw and play' but after some time (a couple of months for me) you will realise that actually how you play and way you choose cards affect your performance in Arena immensely, and that having few very good cards in a badly chosen deck does not make wonders. To play constructed competitively, as long as you do not want to pay, expect 3-6 months of doing dailies and spending your gold on Arena runs.

    Constructed has many issues currently, but the game is getting better, and even though maybe at the moment is not as good as competition, given Blizzard determination (and pushing it as an e-sport) it is very likely to be the best in maybe a year time.

    However, building your skill to be competitive in the game (and Arena) will take time. You can buy your way to be competitive early, but with all the cards you can imagine, you will still not achieve top ranks without skill.    … Expand
  3. Kosma
    Jul 14, 2014
    7
    Great little card game, needs way more frequent updates and new cards from Blizzard though because as is you will get burned out fast seeing the same cards and decks over and over.
  4. aza113
    May 27, 2014
    7
    Lets get the Pay2Win out of the way first. is it? well yes? is that a problem? not really, this game is different to other f2p. this is a card game, and well like traditional card games, it is pay to win, the more cards you draw the better, that's just how they work, nothing wrong with that, although id preferred a trading system (hard to abuse -proof it though), plus if you want, youLets get the Pay2Win out of the way first. is it? well yes? is that a problem? not really, this game is different to other f2p. this is a card game, and well like traditional card games, it is pay to win, the more cards you draw the better, that's just how they work, nothing wrong with that, although id preferred a trading system (hard to abuse -proof it though), plus if you want, you don't need to spend a single cent on it, you ll eventually earn enough points to buy all the cards. eventually.......

    The reason I didn't give this game a higher score is because the lack of depth, only (really, ranked and casual is one mode) 2 modes and not much is gained from ranking up, I do believe they are adding stuff in so, that's ok. But because it is only 30cards per deck, luck of the draw plays way too much in the games for it to be taken seriously, yes you can build a deck strategically but you cant really get away from luck, luck just has too much of a percentage in the games. So many times I have drawn 5 spell cards in a row with no minions to play even though I only have 8 spell cards in total. im not sure how luck's influence can be reduced, but it needs to be looked at, maybe a 50card deck can help smooth it out? not sure    … Expand
  5. Steve101
    Jun 9, 2014
    7
    Hearthstone is a decent CCG, and the game can be a good pickup if you are willing to put large amounts of time into it. For all the people claiming the game is pay to win, it is and it isn't You can do decently in both constructed and ranked with decks using only basic cards. And some of the strongest cards, like the chill wind yeti, a free and accessible from the beginning of the game.Hearthstone is a decent CCG, and the game can be a good pickup if you are willing to put large amounts of time into it. For all the people claiming the game is pay to win, it is and it isn't You can do decently in both constructed and ranked with decks using only basic cards. And some of the strongest cards, like the chill wind yeti, a free and accessible from the beginning of the game. Though the Epic and Legendary cards you can get from spending lots of money are quite strong, i'd argue its more grind to win than pay to win
    However, if you intend to play this game more than causally, you may and up frustrated. The biggest issue hearthstone has is that 90% of the game is based on RNG. You can have all the best cards in you deck and still lose flat out because of a bad draw. Due to this, most of the stronger cards are merely based on card draw. Most of the time, the game will come down to who can draw the better card first, making the game frustrating, especially in situations where it appears you would have won.
    TLDR; Hearthstone isn't Pay to win, its flip a coin and hope you win. While a couple of games or arena runs here and there can be entertaining, but becoming dedicated to it will likely leave you frustrated    … Expand
  6. blubberguts
    Mar 19, 2014
    7
    At lot of fun ..at first. Especially against the computer players.

    Then you reach PVP and it's pay to win. I remember I had cards that cost 2 mana and did 1 damage .. others had cards that cost 1 mana and did 3 damage. No matter what you do, unless you pay, you aren't going to win. It's a shame. Graphically, I really like the game, it has loads of style. The cards look good, the    At lot of fun ..at first. Especially against the computer players.

    Then you reach PVP and it's pay to win. I remember I had cards that cost 2 mana and did 1 damage .. others had cards that cost 1 mana and did 3 damage. No matter what you do, unless you pay, you aren't going to win.

    It's a shame. Graphically, I really like the game, it has loads of style. The cards look good, the colours are clear and bright, the animations are great. The voices and sounds are good too. As you'd expect, coming from the creators of WOW, it's a work of quality. I really enjoyed playing ..until I got to PVP.

    I have a suggestion for Blizzard. TWO sets of leagues. One league for "skill" players only. There are no cards or advantages you can buy, the winner is determined by sheer skill (And luck in the draw, of course, but that averages out the more games you play.) This will draw in a huge number of people and generate buzz.

    The other league for players who bought cards.

    Both sets of gamers could be happy!

    If you do this, I will go back to playing again. Until then, no more for me.

    7/10 for this. Would have been 9 or 10, except for the pay-to-win. Apart from that, it's an excellent game. I recommend people try it anyway; until you get to pvp, it's the best card battle game I ever played.    … Expand
  7. Violett
    Nov 8, 2014
    7
    "Time is money, friend!" Or even better: "You play, you pay".
    It saddens me the way game developing is going today. From major titles like WoW or StarCraft to casual games you can play on your iPad. Where are our Arcanum, Morrowind or vanilla WoW? Nevermind me, probably I'm just too old for this things.
  8. Gloin
    Jul 16, 2014
    7
    Good Game. But it as the limit of a pay to win with to optimized deck. Really strategic and fun just need a little adjustment on some deck that change the game flow and kill hero in one turn with 3 card. Arena mode that prevent the player to have a far too optimized deck is really fun. The game is really focused on draw control not being a bad thing but can really be a pain when on a totalGood Game. But it as the limit of a pay to win with to optimized deck. Really strategic and fun just need a little adjustment on some deck that change the game flow and kill hero in one turn with 3 card. Arena mode that prevent the player to have a far too optimized deck is really fun. The game is really focused on draw control not being a bad thing but can really be a pain when on a total unlucky game.… Expand
  9. Blackdragon666
    Mar 19, 2014
    7
    Wonderful concept held down by the pay to win nature of the game.

    The only enjoyable the thing about this game is the Arena, which is pretty well balanced, and loads of fun.
  10. EclipseEx
    Mar 12, 2014
    7
    I usually play Hearthstone while waiting for other things to load or just when I want to play something short. The game is fairly casual there's no real pressure to win other than you can accumulate gold. I find it relaxing to just play without stressing out. One of the negative things is the fact that you can pay to dominate. Buying the $50 card pack will make your decks ridiculouslyI usually play Hearthstone while waiting for other things to load or just when I want to play something short. The game is fairly casual there's no real pressure to win other than you can accumulate gold. I find it relaxing to just play without stressing out. One of the negative things is the fact that you can pay to dominate. Buying the $50 card pack will make your decks ridiculously good. Also, like any card game luck has to do with how well you do which can get annoying or make you laugh hysterically when you get just the right cards to wreck your opponent. All in all worth checking out as it costs you nothing.… Expand
  11. 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
  12. Isten
    Mar 18, 2014
    7
    I played they WOW TCG for the game, not the unlocks...and that makes me a minority as best I can tell.

    In either case, Hearthstone is a faithful if dumbed down version of the TCG.

    A Fun way to burn time (and money). It will never be competitive like MtG and that is okay. It fills a good niche.
  13. Mrandom
    Mar 13, 2014
    7
    Hearhstone is pretty fun and has the potential to be one of the most popular multi-player games like Dota2 or LOL. Of course it is a CCG, but its professional art design and well-balanced gameplay really shows it is a Blizzard game, like the classic WOW, Starcraft and Warcraft 3.
    However, like what they said in the ads, the game is "deceptively" simple. Yeah, it looks simple, but it is    Hearhstone is pretty fun and has the potential to be one of the most popular multi-player games like Dota2 or LOL. Of course it is a CCG, but its professional art design and well-balanced gameplay really shows it is a Blizzard game, like the classic WOW, Starcraft and Warcraft 3.
    However, like what they said in the ads, the game is "deceptively" simple. Yeah, it looks simple, but it is not. It is extremely hard for new players who just enter the game. I started playing the game around closed Beta, even back then I lost 9 of my first 10 games. Now it is even worse. More and more players have large card collections, the newbies are gonna suffer for a long time. Of course it is possible to play extremely well with limited card collection like what Trump did, but you'll need to spend a huge amount of time in the Arena before being able to do so. For a new player, it is impossible to play well without spending money on overpriced cards. This is what they call "pay to win".
    The game is also pretty time consuming. Yeah each game is short indeed, but you'll need to spend hundreds of hours to master it.
    All of these above sounds pretty much like Dota, right? Unlike LOL or WOW, both Hearthstone and Dota has steep learning curves. However, unlike Dota, Hearthstone is too luck-based. Sometimes your just can't draw the right cards in the first few rounds, and can only watch your opponent plays all his/her combo. Sometimes you just keeps getting duplicated cards from opening decks. Too much time is wasted on bad luck. Players can rarely feel they deserve the bad draw/lose game. Even worse, some of these unlucky situations happened because of the bugs in game mechanic. e.g. Nat Pagle used to only have 25% chance to draw a card.
    All in all, do not think this is a simple and not-time-consuming game. It can be casual and pretty fun, but be prepared to spend time and money if you want to play well or try those legendary cards.    … Expand
  14. Iluvatar21
    May 20, 2014
    7
    HOW I RATE: 10-9 score: perfect or near-perfect don't exist; 8 score: one of the best games ever. Top score; 7-6 score: great but not one of the best; 5-below score: serious flaws.
    ===========
    An awesome card game. Warcraft universe. Gets boring eventually.
  15. frest
    Apr 2, 2014
    7
    Without a doubt this is one of the better implementations of the CCG in computer game form. It has the to-be-expected Blizzard interface polish, and looks to be designed for eventual deployment on mobile platforms as well. My criticisms are that it is socially sterile and a little claustrophobic at times. Playing with anonymous people is easy, fast, and painless. It is one of theWithout a doubt this is one of the better implementations of the CCG in computer game form. It has the to-be-expected Blizzard interface polish, and looks to be designed for eventual deployment on mobile platforms as well. My criticisms are that it is socially sterile and a little claustrophobic at times. Playing with anonymous people is easy, fast, and painless. It is one of the friendliest games I've ever played for deckbuilding, test-dueling random people without anxiety or judgment. Playing with friends (and sidestepping the matchmaking and arena) felt almost discouraged. Community feels non-existent ingame, probably due to aforementioned "mobile platform development," and communication is similarly clumsy (IM messages appear as popups and if used, the chat window actively obscures the playing area).… Expand
  16. pancakegaming
    Jul 28, 2014
    7
    on the surface hearthstone looks like another card game like yu-gi-oh but it is very different . unlike blizzards other games hearthstone is free to play , the user is given the option to pay money to buy and open packs to get more cards but you get the currency by completing challenges and every time you level up one of the playable characters you get some card too . hearthstone is in noon the surface hearthstone looks like another card game like yu-gi-oh but it is very different . unlike blizzards other games hearthstone is free to play , the user is given the option to pay money to buy and open packs to get more cards but you get the currency by completing challenges and every time you level up one of the playable characters you get some card too . hearthstone is in no way pay to win , though people who do pay might have a slight advantage if you use a good enough strategy you can beat just about anybody.… Expand
  17. Ailenoire
    Apr 24, 2014
    7
    Hearthstone's graphics and voice acting are great, the pace is quick, and the effects are satisfying. It has its fair share of flaws, though, most of which are inherent to card games. Good cards take time/money to acquire, and even with great cards and a high skill level, your wins and losses are determined almost entirely by luck alone. However, it's a lot of fun and has many differentHearthstone's graphics and voice acting are great, the pace is quick, and the effects are satisfying. It has its fair share of flaws, though, most of which are inherent to card games. Good cards take time/money to acquire, and even with great cards and a high skill level, your wins and losses are determined almost entirely by luck alone. However, it's a lot of fun and has many different ways to play, with several different classes and different kinds of decks that can be built. Hearthstone is a great game for Warcraft enthusiasts, and even for people just interested in a fun card game.… Expand
  18. Lancious
    May 17, 2014
    7
    It is a good game, but there are flaws. For example, the beginning is to easy! Of course it shows you the basics but it just wasnt fun. But the online is challenging and fun!
  19. IceeInChrg
    May 21, 2014
    7
    It's fun for a week or two but it's mostly just tedious like it's WoW predecessor. Strategy is limited and it's reasonably predictable what cards your opponents use due to class restrictions. A dumbed down version of the MTG computer/console games.
  20. MrBrioche
    Jul 7, 2014
    7
    Cant say that I hate it, cant say that I crave to play either. But hey it's free so give it a try and see it for your self, personally I enjoyed it for 2-3 hours.
  21. sapuramura
    May 29, 2014
    7
    Must play type of game. Very addictive and fun.
    But it has a problem, sometimes lucky players win and not smart and skilled ones, that downgrades the need of a sharp mind and actual skill.
  22. AlphaNapster
    Jun 4, 2014
    7
    At first the game is great, gets you hooked with very addicting gameplay.

    As you climb the ladder of ranked games with the very meager amount of coins allocated per day. It becomes more and more frustrating playing against the top tier decks with multiple legendary creatures. They are a company that is driven on money yes but it kind of makes the game unplayable unless you invest    At first the game is great, gets you hooked with very addicting gameplay.

    As you climb the ladder of ranked games with the very meager amount of coins allocated per day.
    It becomes more and more frustrating playing against the top tier decks with multiple legendary creatures.

    They are a company that is driven on money yes but it kind of makes the game unplayable unless you invest either massive amounts of time per day to get the 100 gold cap per day plus daily quest.

    Or massive amounts of money and test your luck on booster packs.

    Overall great gameplay but not for the casual gamer    … Expand
  23. QContinuum
    Jun 9, 2014
    7
    A pretty fun little card game. The various classes can make for wildly varying experiences and there are many different decks that can be successful, at least on the entry level where I play. The limited chat (really just emotes) means you don't have to watch people talk nonsense in the chat, and most players seem to act somewhat civil.

    I would have liked to see some form of single    A pretty fun little card game. The various classes can make for wildly varying experiences and there are many different decks that can be successful, at least on the entry level where I play. The limited chat (really just emotes) means you don't have to watch people talk nonsense in the chat, and most players seem to act somewhat civil.

    I would have liked to see some form of single player adventure mode, like in the Magic game that Microprose made around the late 90s, but Hearthstone is pretty good the way it is.    … Expand
  24. HBTB
    Jun 9, 2014
    7
    While a bit repetitive and annoyed me with some bugs during game play, the game certainly has a Warcraft tone to it, from making me rage since I lost a match or just making me laugh out loud, It was worth the play. It could have been better by adding more of a story, but overall, I'm glad I installed it onto my PC.
  25. deeman010
    Jul 29, 2014
    7
    Lol at all these 0 reviews....

    I'll address some of these points first. One, HS is a pay to win game (because you need cards to play well; but they do give you some free cards) because its a card game. All card games are pay to play MTG, Yu-gi-oh, etc... etc... You buy cards for all of them. I can't actually think of a better way to say it though, since its not p2w and its not really    Lol at all these 0 reviews....

    I'll address some of these points first. One, HS is a pay to win game (because you need cards to play well; but they do give you some free cards) because its a card game. All card games are pay to play MTG, Yu-gi-oh, etc... etc... You buy cards for all of them. I can't actually think of a better way to say it though, since its not p2w and its not really pay to play either.....

    Two, I agree with those who dislike the power that legendaries and epic cards have. If any HS person here can name me a card that can efficiently trade with the dragons then I'll concede this point. However, at the time of writing, there are no vanilla cards that are as powerful as the above. While people who do have the above are at an advantage, HS is in no way a p2w game as evidenced by one of, if not, the strongest decks in game being free.

    Three, RNG sucks but HS is a game of percentages. Its not about how many individual games you win but how high your win ratio is. So, yeah, RNGesus sucks.

    I gave HS a 6 because the music and design (not game design) is pretty good. I believe that there's plenty of room for growth and that the devs really need to capitalize on this.

    Arena is fun as hell to play. and those saying that ~50 gold a day is hard to get are treating the game way to seriously. Its something you play in between LoL or DotA matches.. Hell I've got 4k saved up right now and I only play 2x a week.    … Expand
  26. GowenGeter
    Sep 2, 2014
    7
    Hearthstone is my first card collecting game, and I have to say it's been a pleasant experience. Grinding quests to get gold can be tedious at times but overall it's a solid game.
  27. Kankerswek
    Nov 18, 2015
    7
    Worsed game out there sooo bad! purely luck drawn **** game, really only way to win more is to just spend all your money to these asses. srsly this is the worsed game in years from the most selfish **** company in the fackin world.
    Kanker is better than this game 4 real
  28. Ogie
    Aug 7, 2016
    7
    Hearthstone is quite good online card game. It has really good graphics, but the game system is quite simple I would say. What I hate most about HS is RNG, there are really a lot of cards which are based on random and that is not what is good for gameplay. I have not too much problem with buying stuff and I am not gonna cry like other that "HS is P2W", anyway the thing is that blizzard isHearthstone is quite good online card game. It has really good graphics, but the game system is quite simple I would say. What I hate most about HS is RNG, there are really a lot of cards which are based on random and that is not what is good for gameplay. I have not too much problem with buying stuff and I am not gonna cry like other that "HS is P2W", anyway the thing is that blizzard is recently making really many new expansions / adventures and the split up of competitive playing into 2 sections is just bad. Of course both are currently ranked, but the main focus will be now of course on the mode with just recent expansions / adventures so the older mode is going to be just background and people are forced to buy new stuff. I think HS has many pros and cos and as a result it is game that stands somewhere a bit beyond average.

    Graphic - 9
    Gameplay - 6
    Lasting Appeal - 7
    Execution - 6

    Overall - 7    … Expand
  29. ThecriticGoD
    Mar 7, 2016
    7
    The game is ok, it's kinda fun at once, specially if you haven't played any card game before, visually it's quite rich and it's great that you can find game in just 5 seconds. However, if you've played other card games before, this adds nothing new and if you didn't start playing at the very beginning it kinda becomes a "pay to win" as you need good cards to be able to rank up and decksThe game is ok, it's kinda fun at once, specially if you haven't played any card game before, visually it's quite rich and it's great that you can find game in just 5 seconds. However, if you've played other card games before, this adds nothing new and if you didn't start playing at the very beginning it kinda becomes a "pay to win" as you need good cards to be able to rank up and decks are too expensive for the cards they give (5 random cards where most of the time 4 of them are basic)… Expand
  30. aditya1101
    Oct 5, 2017
    7
    Super great game that is balanced really well. It's easily my favorite card game experience in recent years. The only problem (and it's a pretty major one) is the fact that it's basically pay to win.
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Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Best PC Game of 2014
7
#7 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
41
#41 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 42 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 42 out of 42
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 42
  3. Negative: 0 out of 42
  1. Hardcore Gamer
    Jul 6, 2014
    90
    When Blizzard announced they were making a digital CCG, we all expected it to look and sound beautiful, and there was little doubt that it would be well-balanced, but I don’t think anyone anticipated this level of sophistication and subtle brilliance.
    Read full review
  2. CD-Action
    Jun 28, 2014
    85
    Simple rules, high production values, low system requirements and huge tactical freedom make Hearthstone one of the best card games available. And if you take into account the free-to-play model – it’s the best one. [05/2014, p.62]
  3. GameOver.gr
    Jun 7, 2014
    85
    A fine example of a great free-to-play game. Hearthstone is not only an addictive and well designed card game, but absolutely fair with gamers that do not wish to spend money on it.
    Read full review
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