Stormbound 9+

A lil too much pay2win

This game is absolutely amazing, chess strategy game made perfectly. I enjoy every moment of playing this game, but I have recently started to notice how grindy it is if you don’t p2w, and if you do, it’s disgusting how much it can carry you.

BUG

La carta Gorrones Victimistas no causa daño a ancianos, únicamente a los no muertos

Developer Response ,

Thanks for reviewing Stormbound! We're so happy to hear that you're having a good time with it.
The first thing you've mentioned sounds indeed really cool so don't hesitate to post it on our Discord server. Let's see what other people think about it.
For the second one, we're actually working on something similar so stay tuned. It'll be worth waiting for 💪

Carried by art direction

Alternative recommendations: chess, go, gwent, hearthstone, legends of runeterra

I found this game randomly by seeing the thumbnail of a Youtube video with about 100 views. It was absolutely the style and presentation that captivated me enough to try it out myself.

Its vectorgraphic illustrations along with its low-poly abstract and isometric world reminded me in equal measure of the Monument Valley franchise and the many abstract depictions of chess pieces. Every legendary card is brimming with details and lush colours along with a unique 3d board token.

It’s the fact that the game is so pretty that really irks me, because nothing else holds a candle in comparison. Let’s take the gameplay loop. While it absolutely is softlocked grinding, I don’t mind the card leveling that much, as I *ought* to mostly play against people of my powerlevel. The main screen is downright hideous, filled with 4 different ticking fomo-timers and carrots-on-a-stick progress bars begging you to get back into the skinner box. The meta progression between the matches spoils all that it touches, dragging down the fun tactics gameplay.

It’s the undercurrent of mobile game drudgery that reeks throughout this entire game. The ads. Premium currency. To be honest, I’m surprised and relieved that there’s no stamina system.
Fighting a match against someone with a nearly identical deck, but they have higher numbers, feels like performing a pathetic ritual about futility, as you simply do less and lose no matter your actions. Think carefully or mindlessly, you lose. You do less for more mana. Maybe it’s so that you can go and buy your deck to be better for petty revenge?

Whilst none of my recommendations are free from sin, they all do the mobile game monetization tropes better, either with more restraint or more class.

That’s all there is to it. A fun premise worsened by how warping the shop is on the game design. There was no lore or story or character to sink my teeth into. The swarm could have been interesting, as it’s mostly undead soldiers and revelling satyrs that come from this plentiful land of grain and harvests. There’s something to say about how in the lands with the most life, there’s also the highest amount of potential and future deaths. They’re called the swarm because they swarm the board. It’s like the draft name of a real faction with actual writing behind it. At least the undead aren’t just the bad guys, so you gotta take what you can get.

Also don’t tell me this review is too long and nobody will read it. I know. I’m doing this for myself.