Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm

 PC
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1640 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,240 out of 1640
  2. Mixed: 224 out of 1640
  3. Negative: 176 out of 1640
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  1. Nikolas_super
    Mar 5, 2022
    0
    Отличная игра, с хорошим сюжетом и графикой.
    Поставил плохую оценку, так как разработчики этой игры влезли в политику!
  2. Hannibaal
    Aug 3, 2018
    0
    Es la misma mediocridad que fue Wings of Liberty pero potenciada (negativamente). En la campaña sigue la historia absurda de amor entre Raynor y Kerrigan, pero la campaña es mas corta y mas aburrida ya que zerg es una raza peor diseñada en este juego, nuevamente solo manejas una facción. Mediocre.

    El modo multijugador mejoró ligeramente, pero a cambio metieron estupideces como el swarm    Es la misma mediocridad que fue Wings of Liberty pero potenciada (negativamente). En la campaña sigue la historia absurda de amor entre Raynor y Kerrigan, pero la campaña es mas corta y mas aburrida ya que zerg es una raza peor diseñada en este juego, nuevamente solo manejas una facción. Mediocre.

    El modo multijugador mejoró ligeramente, pero a cambio metieron estupideces como el swarm host, el nexo con la habilidad de atacar para ayudar a la defensa, el oracle que puede matar a toda una linea de minerales en pocos segundos, y otra unidad aérea protoss que es solo de A click y cuyo nombre ni siquiera recuerdo ,etc. Siguen los graves problemas de diseño, las deathballs, las partidas a solo dos o tres bases, el juego basado en el puro acoso a los trabajadores y las batallas que solo duran 2 segundos, y las partidas sin remontadas. Mediocre.

    Si a WOL le di un 1/10, HOTS se lleva un 0/10, hay que compensar lo injustamente sobrevalorado que está SC2.    … Expand
  3. fffortune
    Jan 8, 2018
    3
    Tried playing through Heart of the Swarm recently and actually completely forgot I was playing it mid-way through. Didn't come to me until a few weeks later.

    It's just so incredibly bland and without that flare of earlier Blizzard titles.
  4. hootis
    Sep 13, 2015
    0
    Campaign: WoL campaign was bad, but I think it was still overall a worth while experience. Hots campaign is awful, its a waste of time if you are older than 12. The dialog is painful and simple. There is no character, emotion, or purpose. Things simply happen and then you have to kill everything. Yay! The missions become very repetitive, especially the evolve missions. I know theyCampaign: WoL campaign was bad, but I think it was still overall a worth while experience. Hots campaign is awful, its a waste of time if you are older than 12. The dialog is painful and simple. There is no character, emotion, or purpose. Things simply happen and then you have to kill everything. Yay! The missions become very repetitive, especially the evolve missions. I know they are built to be simple but its really boring. Other missions are simple, revolve around one idea and are easily accomplished. There are no twists or turns in a mission that will make you think of any sort of strategy. Blizzard has introduced even more of their **** wow ideals as well. Everything has levels and all sort of **** maybe in an attempt to distract you from the poor quality of everything else.

    Multiplayer: I played a lot of WOL and really got sucked into the scene. I left after I realized that many of the players were smarter than blizzard and were aware that bliz was running a multi million dollar gaming industry into the ground. Simply from a business perspective they failed. 60$ for a game and 40$ for the expansion, is it any wonder why LOL and Dota took off? That compounded by the team nature of the games, even counter strike became successful with a 20$ fee which is really 5$ if you wait for a steam sale.

    Anyway blizzard really needed to do something amazing here if they wanted to survive, release the game for 20$ total and free multiplayer if you already have WOL. Then they would need to create a game mode that works with 4v4 or more players. Instead of barely putting effort into those maps, team games should have become much more of a focus.

    NOPE none of that. Lets add a few more units that don't contribute to the game in any meaningful way, then lets charge 40$ for it on top of the 60$ original. GREAT WAY TO EXPAND YOUR PLAYER BASE BLIZZARD!!!    … Expand
  5. kyriores
    Aug 4, 2015
    1
    Button mashing simulator. If you always dreamed of developing carpal tunnel syndrome, this game is for you ! In order to beat your opponent, you must be able to perform more actions per minute than they do. Oh and when you see x unit on the minimap, you have to produce y unit, that counters it. That's all the strategy there is to it. Another solid game by Blizzard.
  6. Absynce
    Feb 25, 2015
    0
    this game is trash, as Starcraft 2 has always been, its about who can hit the most keys per minute in a sim city world. it should be a combat game, try making something new that resembles Myth: The Fallen Lords and maybe we buy your garbage.
  7. empleat
    Jan 9, 2015
    0
    This game haven´t 4 core support yet, at the same time 4 core cpus are 8 years old. I have Intel i7 3770 and this game use one my core at max. on 45 percent and second max on. 93.
    I have Geforce 780 and usage is 50 percent at max.
    Ram i have 1600mhz cl9. And SSD Samsung 840 Evo 256GB. I have 144 hz monitor and every fps, which drops under 144 cause shutters, because tearing is biger    This game haven´t 4 core support yet, at the same time 4 core cpus are 8 years old. I have Intel i7 3770 and this game use one my core at max. on 45 percent and second max on. 93.
    I have Geforce 780 and usage is 50 percent at max.
    Ram i have 1600mhz cl9.
    And SSD Samsung 840 Evo 256GB.
    I have 144 hz monitor and every fps, which drops under 144 cause shutters, because tearing is biger and biger lag.
    In mid game i have barely 100 fps and in late game i don´t have even 60 fps.
    And nobody have, even Nathanias haven´t 60 fps+
    60 fps is same bad, 120 fps is ok, but 60 is not playable, input lag is so big and tearing is huge.
    Blizzad customer support affirms, that even 30 fps are playable lol.
    They should try it yourself.
    They said it, because they can´t do 4 core support.
    You can´t play on unstable fps, so you need lock, so if this game haven´t even 60 fps, ok try play on 45, or 50 fps for example, really, or bigg lagg and you gona lose whole army.
    No way.
    Totaly unplayable game from medieval age.
    Even starcraft 1 is more playable lol.
    That should be great game, but performance ruined all game.
    Also Protoss is imba and no balance, protoss need nerf and they still nerf terran ???
    I don´t understand how somebody can play this **** pro, on this performance.
    GSYNC, doesn´t work well with this game a lot of issues and Eizo 244 monitors have input lagg 40 ms...
    I hate this game and there is also no option for disable chat, i don´t want listen kids and cries, so at start every game i need put player to ignore and do this on every round and after clean ignore list because 50 players are maximum.    … Expand
  8. sam712
    Dec 5, 2014
    0
    Starcraft went from a somber military-science fiction RTS about cybernetically enhanced exiles struggling for survival in a hostile sector of the universe, to a painfully generic space western with extendi-penis dragonflies grabbing a highly advanced two-story tall colossus. Bask in the glory of real time strategy as two testicular masses of comically isometric units duke it out withStarcraft went from a somber military-science fiction RTS about cybernetically enhanced exiles struggling for survival in a hostile sector of the universe, to a painfully generic space western with extendi-penis dragonflies grabbing a highly advanced two-story tall colossus. Bask in the glory of real time strategy as two testicular masses of comically isometric units duke it out with lighter fluid filled RC cars, decoy **** inflatable eyeballs, and figure skaters with akimbo popsicles to smack you with!

    By the time Legacy rolls around, RTS will die. Good riddance and RIP in pieces to the RTS genre.    … Expand
  9. raporgi
    Nov 29, 2014
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. What an underwhelming piece of **** I got this only becuz its $10 Black Friday sale. The CGI is great but other than that its basically worthless. Blizz could have just easily added the new units as a patch along with the balance changes. You're basically paying for the cut-scenes and the stupid missions which feel like an extended tutorial. The narrative is extremely weak as it basically undoes everything the past games have done with Kerrigan. She basically gets a free pass on genocide just bec Raynor's got a bleeding hard on for her and her memory was wiped. The balance updates serve nothing more than to speed up the game turning it into a contest who can crank out more units faster. no new play mechanics are actually introduced. The firebat, darkswarm etc. are basically reintroduced in this game. Players could just as easily modded these units but since Blizz controls everything **** that. The Title of this game should have been my super galactic Tyrant ex-girlfriend the Revenge.… Expand
  10. Dynamite089
    Jan 17, 2014
    1
    Nothing like Starcraft: Brood War when it comes to Custom Games/Chat System/Friends... The entire Battle.net feel has changed. I had issues playing this without the internet. The only singleplayer you can do is Campaign mode, unless you make a Custom Game but make sure to right click the map and select "Host Offline Game". The A.I. is pretty neat, and the art style is still the same. SameNothing like Starcraft: Brood War when it comes to Custom Games/Chat System/Friends... The entire Battle.net feel has changed. I had issues playing this without the internet. The only singleplayer you can do is Campaign mode, unless you make a Custom Game but make sure to right click the map and select "Host Offline Game". The A.I. is pretty neat, and the art style is still the same. Same game, just more modern, but it was a turn for the worse. Hardly ANY players are on during the night, but you can find plenty of Arcade games being hosted during the day. No Custom Games, hardly ever. Matchmaking? If you like playing against computers, good luck trying to find a partner. It's either you play ranked, or you play alone. Or go to arcade and disappoint yourself with the horrible maps. I've tried just about every RPG/ORPG that is hosted, and it doesn't compare to any maps you may have played on wc3 or sc1. The mapmakers just we not digging SC2, or something. Some maps are neat, but they need so much more work done to them. A lot of maps that seemed fun were abandoned by the mapmaker, so its hard to find any versions that aren't in BETA. Just not the game for me... Nothing like WC3 or SC1 when it comes to the Custom Games.. That's what I loved.… Expand
  11. HUDWheels
    Dec 8, 2013
    0
    The online matchmaking is dreadful. I stopped playing for a few months, started again and was put into Silver league. My first 6 matches were against:-
    - Gold
    - Gold - Platinum - Diamond - Gold - Gold and guess what...I lost them all because I'm A SILVER PLAYER WHO SHOULD BE PLAYING SILVER PLAYERS NOT PLATINUM OR DIAMOND PLAYERS. Don't waste your time on the campaign either,    The online matchmaking is dreadful. I stopped playing for a few months, started again and was put into Silver league. My first 6 matches were against:-
    - Gold
    - Gold
    - Platinum
    - Diamond
    - Gold
    - Gold

    and guess what...I lost them all because I'm A SILVER PLAYER WHO SHOULD BE PLAYING SILVER PLAYERS NOT PLATINUM OR DIAMOND PLAYERS.

    Don't waste your time on the campaign either, it's pointless.    … Expand
  12. GDawgTUK
    Aug 28, 2013
    1
    The matchmaking is literally broken beyond repair. It is completely unreal how uneven matches will get. Every Tryhard on Battlenet will defend the matchmaking with by just blindly spraying off the term "MMR." "It's perfect, you don't even know about mmr do you?"

    This is not the perfect system people convince themselves it is. It does not take into consideration if you leave a game    The matchmaking is literally broken beyond repair. It is completely unreal how uneven matches will get. Every Tryhard on Battlenet will defend the matchmaking with by just blindly spraying off the term "MMR." "It's perfect, you don't even know about mmr do you?"

    This is not the perfect system people convince themselves it is. It does not take into consideration if you leave a game within, say, 90 seconds of it beginning, or if your starting building is destroyed by your own units. It can be manipulated to work in people's favor because it only counts win/losses. That's it. If you get good with one race, and try to play off-race, then without a doubt you will lose countless games before it evens back out. There is nothing that tracks your stats per individual race to know if you should have easier matches if you are playing a race you are not familiar with. It's a very broken system and needs immediate attention before this game's multiplayer can be considered anything other than a crying shame.    … Expand
  13. slic
    Jul 30, 2013
    0
    Remember when you could turtle in your base, build defenses, build a powerful upgraded army, advance tactically and slowly towards the enemy base while taking all the time you need? Well Blizzard doesn't! This horses**t of a campaign is nothing but timed missions, it's all rush rush rush. No more experimenting with awesome new units and playing around with them, no more playing at your ownRemember when you could turtle in your base, build defenses, build a powerful upgraded army, advance tactically and slowly towards the enemy base while taking all the time you need? Well Blizzard doesn't! This horses**t of a campaign is nothing but timed missions, it's all rush rush rush. No more experimenting with awesome new units and playing around with them, no more playing at your own pace and formulating attack and defense strategies, now you have FREE and UNLIMITED units and all you have to do to win a mission is select them and press "A" at the enemy base; and even if you don't want to do this, you have no choice since every mission is a race against the clock and is annoyingly scripted. I can't even remember building a single base defense in the entire campaign. "This is how you are supposed to play the zerg" Blizzard says, well in that case please don't call this piece of fecal matter an RTS game because it has absolutely no relation to classical RTS games (especially starcraft 1). It plays more like Call of Duty.

    And that's not even the worst part. The story looks like it was written by a ten year old. There are no more plot twists, everything is predictable and cliche, and the dialogue is cringe inducing (example: "My queen, your hatred is burning like a star"). The days when you would play a mission for hours and then near its end start to foam at the mouth while you await the awesome revelation in the story, they are gone. You feel more and more boredom as you click "next mission", and your only motivation to finish is a feeling that you just want to get this s**t over with. There is absolutely nothing to like about this story, it's all about the angry girlfriend on a quest for revenge. How the heck can anyone even relate to her? Who cares about some hysterical b*tch and her love driven rampages?
    And why the heck are zerg humanized? Why do they spare civilians? What happened to the mindless swarm that ravages human populations across the galaxies? Now they feel like nothing but a tool for some b*tch's personal vendettas.
    And speaking of the star of the show, do you remember when Kerrigan was a cynical badass "Queen b*tch of the Universe" who cared for nothing but power, expansion, and the glory of the swarm? Well now she's a sensitive Queen heroine who cares about saving humanity, and of course her paramour Jim Raynor. Here's a summary of the game's dialogue without giving away spoilers:
    "O Raynor, Raynor! wherefore art thou Raynor?"
    "But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?
    It is the east, where Char is burning."
    And even this incredibly simple story managed to have more plotholes than Swiss cheese. I can't even call them plotholes since they're absolutely nonsensical and serve nothing but to advance the story to the predictable and hurried ending.

    If you are a fan of the original series, then do yourself a favor and stay away from this game.    … Expand
  14. ACESsiggy
    Jun 28, 2013
    4
    To be honest, I think this game is nothing more than copy and paste of the Wings of Liberty campaign. However, this game has a horrible story along with it's cheesy lines from the queen of blades. Graphically nothing is new from starcraft 2. The new units introduced are alright but bland at best.

    Can't believe all the positive reviews.
  15. Ndi
    Jun 23, 2013
    2
    DOWNGRADED from a 9 to a 2 after Blizzard remotely killed my game. Updater stalls, installer stalls, everything stalls forever and I'm locked out. I don't WANT the next version, my old version works fine, buzz off.

    That's it. I'm buying the next SC2 installment through Reloaded.
  16. goodterling
    May 8, 2013
    3
    Heart of the Swarm is not so much a game as a guided tour. The game holds your hand and carefully walks you through every stage like your a 5 year old. It's actually pretty insulting--like one big extended tutorial for stupid people. How far have we fallen from the tense and frantic game play of Warcraft 3? Remember that? Apparently Blizzard thinks its customers have lost half theirHeart of the Swarm is not so much a game as a guided tour. The game holds your hand and carefully walks you through every stage like your a 5 year old. It's actually pretty insulting--like one big extended tutorial for stupid people. How far have we fallen from the tense and frantic game play of Warcraft 3? Remember that? Apparently Blizzard thinks its customers have lost half their IQ points in the past 11 years.… Expand
  17. kazannova
    Apr 30, 2013
    4
    i dont know why people like this game, compare to other game it doesnt have that much to offer its the same old game but different pant. i think this game is just for the fans of the old one
  18. Scritty
    Apr 27, 2013
    1
    Dumbed down. Dumbed down and dumbed down. Tank rush? MUCH!! What is it with developers? Or does every gamer want a "lowest common denominator" experience these days? Starcraft 3 will likely be a 2 button cover based shooter as that seems to be all the brain dead dolts who buy games these days are capable of enjoying. Thank god for Indie games where gameplay, depth and longevity are stillDumbed down. Dumbed down and dumbed down. Tank rush? MUCH!! What is it with developers? Or does every gamer want a "lowest common denominator" experience these days? Starcraft 3 will likely be a 2 button cover based shooter as that seems to be all the brain dead dolts who buy games these days are capable of enjoying. Thank god for Indie games where gameplay, depth and longevity are still valued by most. This is garbage. Blizzard along with Bioware 2 of the best developers 10 years ago, now both churning out "assemble by numbers" thoughtless dumbed down drivvel like this.… Expand
  19. dargv
    Apr 13, 2013
    1
    I agree with some of the other comments about "beating the clock" This is a miserable sequel [like wings of liberty was because of the race the clock missions] to the original Starcraft.

    The original was about tactics. This one is basically Blizzard breathing down your neck, dictating to you how you must EXACTLY play the map they designed. They do this by having 90% of the    I agree with some of the other comments about "beating the clock" This is a miserable sequel [like wings of liberty was because of the race the clock missions] to the original Starcraft.

    The original was about tactics. This one is basically Blizzard breathing down your neck, dictating to you how you must EXACTLY play the map they designed. They do this by having 90% of the missions force you to race against some arbitray timer, taking away all the fun of base building, defense, rushing, tactics, ya know, what actually made Starcraft, well, Starcraft.

    Don't waste your 40 bucks on a bunch of missions that grab you by the neck and scream "GO GO GO RUSH, BEAT THE CLOCK, GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, WE DEMAND YOU PLAY THIS OUR WAY"

    This is a pathetic sequel to Starcraft. I hope Blizzard sacks the entire console-loving devs who made this garbage when they get around to Starcraft 3 and turn the game back into a true RTS, instead of a mad rush to beat a clock.    … Expand
  20. THE-Wind
    Apr 2, 2013
    2
    A two because:
    This is still Starcraft (original) with turd-polish.
    You already paid $60 for this game. (now they want $60 more... and what of chapter 3? $60 more I think) I hate time limits...I play to relax. Time limits mean lazy game-making. The meta-game blows chunks. Leads to mono-tactics. The graphics still lag modern computers. Enough of all this negativity...I thinks I'll    A two because:
    This is still Starcraft (original) with turd-polish.
    You already paid $60 for this game. (now they want $60 more... and what of chapter 3? $60 more I think)
    I hate time limits...I play to relax. Time limits mean lazy game-making.
    The meta-game blows chunks. Leads to mono-tactics.
    The graphics still lag modern computers.

    Enough of all this negativity...I thinks I'll go try Duke Nukem Forever now. After all these years, surely they have had the time to make a spectacular sequel...right?     … Expand
  21. valero
    Mar 31, 2013
    2
    you are paying 10$ per new unit they added
  22. Malandrin
    Mar 25, 2013
    2
    At first I wanted to be kind and remind me that's a beautiful game anyway, and probably really good except for the solo campaign. And then I remember that Blizzard created for this game a silly, inconsistent, shallow story that bored me from the beginning to the end. Nice shot. It wouldn't be THAT terrible if that wasn't the sequel of Starcraft "let's make a great story for a great game"At first I wanted to be kind and remind me that's a beautiful game anyway, and probably really good except for the solo campaign. And then I remember that Blizzard created for this game a silly, inconsistent, shallow story that bored me from the beginning to the end. Nice shot. It wouldn't be THAT terrible if that wasn't the sequel of Starcraft "let's make a great story for a great game" Broodwar. Unfortunately it is.
    To put it in a nutshell: unworthy.    … Expand
  23. fukery3
    Mar 24, 2013
    3
    This game just made me miss brood war even more. What the happened to blizzard's writers? Why the are there boss battles? Why do the primal zergs look like naga from warcraft 3? What happened to the factions battling for survival? Now they just fight over who is a bigger jerkface and who kills more and there is some sort of wuv story. The gameplay is still a gimick fest. Who's deathballThis game just made me miss brood war even more. What the happened to blizzard's writers? Why the are there boss battles? Why do the primal zergs look like naga from warcraft 3? What happened to the factions battling for survival? Now they just fight over who is a bigger jerkface and who kills more and there is some sort of wuv story. The gameplay is still a gimick fest. Who's deathball can kill the opposing deathball first. Who's unit can puke some gimicky ability to pull some nonsensical to exploit an otherwise sensical situation. Why can a flying zerg act like some sort of frog on a massive unit like a colluses. I know its a game but that is just taking it too far. At least be in the realm of believable. WoL was mediocre, but this is just terrible. Points for polished cinematics i guess... Luckily I borrowed a friends account to play so jokes on you blizzard. I enjoyed the fact that I got to enjoy your labor for a minor enjoyment out of your product… Expand
  24. PCforever
    Mar 23, 2013
    1
    Rather than actually base Starcraft II upon Starcraft I, which is, a game about Strategry and Military Tactics, they decided to base Heart of the Swarm upon timed console gaming garbage like Legend of Zelda. Most of the missions are more "Race against the clock" to win trash.

    Avoid this garbage like the plage, it's about console style beat the clock and is nothing like the original Starcraft
  25. patyomkin
    Mar 22, 2013
    0
    As usual, unbalanced game play. Funnily easy campaign in brutal mode, but the ai is shamelessly cheater in versus mode. Constant server side lagg in my region, f.ing annoying...
  26. GraffPirate
    Mar 21, 2013
    4
    Honestly I was bored, the addition of new units and story really didn't keep me interested. I fear this is the new trend for blizzard resting their lack of New gameplay and compelling story on its laurels.
  27. Zarl451
    Mar 20, 2013
    4
    An uninspiring continuation to the SC saga; the campaign is formulaic and short (any solid RTS player will probably take less than 8 hours to complete), and the plot is without great vision or scope. Probably a requirement for online play since the majority of players will migrate over to HotS, but not worth the price as a single player experience.
  28. Dev69
    Mar 19, 2013
    0
    It is a poorly paced game, seems like most games are failing this time around like sim city. It is a total waste of money, this game is not even worth getting second hand
  29. Rentner65
    Mar 19, 2013
    4
    As the story is a major aspect for me, I unfortunately have to give the game a bad rating: the story is boring, illogical and without unexpected turns. A total disappointment! Why did it take so long to produce this? Also there are fewer missions than in Wings of Liberty I don't count the evolution mission... They are 5 min each and I don't get their point. Just small videos like in WoLAs the story is a major aspect for me, I unfortunately have to give the game a bad rating: the story is boring, illogical and without unexpected turns. A total disappointment! Why did it take so long to produce this? Also there are fewer missions than in Wings of Liberty I don't count the evolution mission... They are 5 min each and I don't get their point. Just small videos like in WoL would have been better to show the results of an upgrade. At least you can hear Abathor talk... Multiplayer is OK I haven't played it a lot and so far ti seems it is as good as in WoL. Another reason not to buy this game.… Expand
  30. Ccx55
    Mar 18, 2013
    0
    This expansion does nothing to improve on the fundamental flaws of Starcraft, it only adds a few gimmicky units. I would not recommend this expansion to anyone it's as much a waste of money as the original game.
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Awards & Rankings

17
#17 Best PC Game of 2013
33
#33 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
52
#52 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 68 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 66 out of 68
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 68
  3. Negative: 1 out of 68
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Jun 10, 2013
    90
    The tutorials and the A.I have been improved, giving newcomers the chance to calmly try new tactics… before playing against experienced players that will go straight to their jugular. [April 2013]
  2. Games Master UK
    May 9, 2013
    85
    Accomplished, if not exactly groundbreaking. [June 2013, p.80]
  3. Hyper Magazine
    May 9, 2013
    90
    Heart of the Swarm is ScarCraft made better. Welcoming to newcomers, but never dumbed-down, the franchise at its best. [June 2013, p.66]
See all critic reviews »