Hearthstone Review - Is It Worth Playing In 2023?

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Hearthstone's been out for almost 10 years and you're just now thinking of getting into it?

Hearthstone was an instant hit since its release all the way back in March 2014. But after nearly a decade, does the game still hold up?

Well, that’s what I’ll be letting you know in this review. Just a heads-up, this is a completely unbiased review. And I’ll be judging the game fairly, with the experiences of different kinds of users in mind.

So, without further ado, let’s dive right in.

About Hearthstone

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Blizzard's hit digital card game offers a familiar but fresh experience to its players.

So, for those who may not know,Hearthstone is a digital card game that takes players into Blizzard’s Warcraft universe. Players can collect and play hundreds of cards featuring some of the most iconic spells and characters from Warcraft. 

If you’re a long-time fan of the franchise, get ready to go down memory lane when you play this game. It’s filled with amazing nostalgia, and is honestly pretty fun. So, it’s not a surprise that the game became an instant classic when it was first released. 

Fans were drawn to its simple yet interesting gameplay. And it helped that it was free to play too. This helped the game get over 10 million players in just its first month.

This number soared to about 20 million within its first year. So, the game’s popularity was nothing short of amazing back then.

But of course, 10 years is a LONG time. And while Hearthstone still manages to bring in a decent amount of players, it’s nowhere near the numbers it had during its prime. According to Activeplayer.io, the game currently has about 5.3 million active users each month. Don’t get me wrong, it's still a huge player-base for most games, but by Hearthstone’s own standards, it’s a small fraction of what the player base could be. 
 

Hearthstone Story

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Imagine a massive fiery elemental going head-to-head with an evil mind-controlled Lich and you get Hearthstone.

Now, since Hearthstone is a card game, it doesn’t really have a story to go through in the traditional sense.  

There are short PVE campaigns that players can do to unlock some extra cards and cosmetic items, but that’s not exactly the focus of the game.

But hey, they’re fun enough that you’re going to have a blast playing through them. Like I said, you’ll be seeing tons of iconic Warcraft heroes and villains in this. 

And Blizzard isn’t afraid to have fun with the IP either. Each of their expansions have a unique theme, and sometimes they really go crazy with it, adding Hearthstone’s very own flavor and style to each chosen theme.

Hearthstone Gameplay

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Simple yet engaging: Hearthstone’s combat is the foundation on which the entire game is built upon.

Hearthstone’s gameplay is the definition of easy to learn, hard to master. It’s the perfect stepping stone for people who may be new to card games. 

That’s because it offers a very curated starting experience to newbies, but gets progressively more complex and layered as you unlock new cards and strategies.

There are a total of 11 classes in Hearthstone currently. Some of which will be locked at first, but all of them are available to play for free. Players can make decks of 30 cards for each of these classes. And they all come equipped with their own unique minions, spells and weapons.

This adds a ton of variety in the gameplay, allowing you to try out different decks using each class’s unique set of tactics and available tools. The game also features neutral cards, which are spells and minions that can go into decks of all classes.

Because of these, you can still make a decent deck for a class you may not have a lot of class cards for. It also means that Hearthstone has near-endless replayability, because you will never really run out of decks to play and try out for each of these different classes.

That said, not all classes are always at their best. Sometimes, due to balance issues, a couple of them really become overpowered. So it becomes a matter of whether you want to play what’s “good” or what’s more “fun”. And that’s not always an easy choice to make. 

Hearthstone Combat

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Simple animations help to make the game's combat feel punchy but satisfying.

The main “combat” in Hearthstone happens between minions in the game. These are a type of cards that represent creatures that you control.

After paying a specific mana cost for them, you can place these on the battlefield. On your next turn, these minions will be ready to attack, and they can either attack your opponent’s face, or their minions.

Most of the time, heroes in Hearthstone will have 30 Health. And to win, you simply need to bring them down to 0 by attacking them with your minions enough times. Sounds easy enough, right?

Well, that’s where spells come in. These are another type of card that allows you to carry out instant effects. Take the Mage’s Blizzard spell for example, which freezes enemy minions and deals 2 damage to them.

These are a great way to remain in control during a game, while keeping your opponent’s board in check. Finally, some classes also have access to weapons. As you’d expect, these can be equipped and they let you swing to deal damage either to your opponent, or to their minions.

And some of them even come with unique effects, which make them a really cool addition to most decks.

Hearthstone Quest/Mission System

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Battle Passes in a card game? Yup, you read that right.

Like many other games nowadays, Hearthstone features a Battle Pass, as well as daily and weekly quests.

As you complete these quests, you’ll get XP that upgrades your BP level, unlocking gold, cosmetic upgrades and new cards.

The Battle Pass is divided into a paid and a free version, with the free one having fewer cosmetic rewards.

Generally, the quests are pretty easy to do. They usually involve playing games with a specific class, or winning some in a certain game mode.

But if you want to progress through your Battle Pass, you’ll need to make sure you log in every couple of days and knock out these quests.

Otherwise, you’ll stay behind and won’t be able to reach Level 100 before the season ends.

Hearthstone Graphics

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Flashy: Hearthstone’s colorful spell effects and unique art style help to make each encounter feel interesting.

As a card game, Hearthstone doesn’t really have the most-cutting edge graphics. But don’t worry, its unique art style will definitely keep you interested. Especially because it still holds up in 2023.

Each card in Hearthstone comes with its own unique art, sound effects and animations. There are also other cosmetic additions that help to keep the game visually appealing.

Like the “battlefield” or board that changes from game-to-game. Or the different portraits for your heroes. It’s not as extensive as I’d like to be, but hey, it’s still a decent way to customize the experience.

Hearthstone Developer

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Not really as big of a titan of the industry as they once used to be but they're hanging in there.

Hearthstone has been developed by Blizzard Entertainment. Yup, the same company behind other genre-defining games like Overwatch, Diablo, and World of Warcraft. 

While the company’s gone through a lot of controversy in recent years, the Hearthstone team is actually one of the better ones they have available.

They often listen to their community, and this can best be seen by how vocal they are on social media platforms like Twitter or Reddit. 

Whenever fans complain about overpowered or underpowered cards, they are usually quick to address everyone’s concerns with a balance patch or two.

That said, there are still issues that plague the game, most notably in the form of bugs. Hearthstone can be a mess to play on mobile devices, with frequent disconnects and glitches ruining an otherwise fun experience.

Hearthstone Price

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You're going to need a bucket of gold if you want to get all the best cards each expansion.

This is the biggest negative about the game. As fun as Hearthstone is to play, it’s extremely expensive. While yes, the base game is available for free, to unlock the newest, and often the best cards, you’ll have to spend quite a bit of money.

The game releases a new expansion every 4 months, and usually, the pre-order bundles cost around $50 to $80. And get this, they don’t even unlock all the cards.  

After getting one such bundle, you’ll roughly get half of the new set, which isn’t a lot, considering the cost is as much as a full triple-A game nowadays.

Many have even called the game out for being paid to win, but I’d say it’s more along the lines of being “pay to have fun”. If you grind hard enough, you can probably get a decent deck or two for free.

But if you really want to have fun and try out all the different decks and strategies, the game has to offer, you’re going to need to spend a pretty penny.

The game also offers cosmetic purchases, as well as an in-game Battle Pass system. And all purchases you make are kept on your account, whether you’re playing on PC or on mobile.

FINAL VERDICT

7.5/10

Overall, Hearthstone is still a great choice for those looking to dip their toes into the digital card game genre. It offers the excitement of slinging cards with epic effects, while offering the simplicity that others in the genre lack.

But starting out in 2023 can be tough for beginners, especially with the frequent expansion releases. If you’re a F2P player, you may need to limit your expectations based on what you can and can’t play.

Pros

• Simple to start playing.
• Offers a diverse set of classes with unique strategies.
• Great art style, sound effects and animations.
• Frequent balance updates that keep the meta interesting.
• Lots of unique modes that allow players to change their style of playing.
• Doesn’t require knowledge of card games.

• People who aren’t fans of the Warcraft universe may not find the setting as engaging.
• Suffers from glitches and bugs, especially on mobile.
• Not very F2P-friendly, especially for newer players who don’t already have a large collection.

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