Heroes of the Storm (PC) Review

By Ian Soltes 11.06.2015

Review for Heroes of the Storm on PC

When looking out at the plethora of MOBAs around today, it is quite easy to see just how stale and uninventive the genre has become. While many have held their own gimmick, most have stuck close to the default formula, or strayed so far from it to be basically unrecognisable. That few titles are known outside of the iconic League of Legends and/or DOTA 2 is an indication of their varied success. However, a new challenger has arisen from the original masters themselves, and it might finally cause the duo to become a trio. Heroes of the Storm takes the same basic gameplay, and, instead of trying to parrot other games or deviate drastically, refined and modified it enough to make it a wildly different game with many similarities to its original.

The set-up seems so simple at first compared to other MOBAs. Take a hero from a select group of heroes, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, and send them out onto the map in a group of five, so that they can battle another group of five to destroy the enemy core. It is almost identical to the standard MOBA set-up, so what does Heroes of the Storm, developed and published by Blizzard, do differently? It does it right. From the start, things are fairly straightforward. The player is provided with a tutorial, and then set out upon a map with three lanes, trying to push their own lines deep into enemy territory, as minions constantly spawn.

However, that is where things start to change drastically. The game features four distinct playstyles in the form of warrior (big bruisers who can stay in a lane for a prolonged period of time; A.K.A. tanks), assassin (people with relatively low HP and high damage bursts; A.K.A. DPS), and support (people who offer aid to other champions, but aren't that strong on their own; A.K.A. healers). Then there is the forth class known as specialists, which are heroes that tend to excel at one or two things, but are weak at others. Those one or two things tend to be… unique… in how they function. Some can spawn hordes of minions to fight in their place, some excel at destroying enemy minions and formations, and it's clear right from the word 'start' that Heroes of the Storm is not just another League of Legends rip-off.

Screenshot for Heroes of the Storm on PC

individual levels. Instead, each and every kill helps the entire team as a whole level-up from a universal experience pool. No character will ever be left behind to wallow away as their beefy companions do the real fighting, but all are invited. Additionally, as each hero levels up, they will unlock a series of 'talents' that directly modify an ability and how it functions. For example, at a certain point, the hero Nova, who is a sniper, is provided a choice between Railgun (which allows her potent sniping ability to strike multiple targets in a row), Crippling Shot (which causes one of her other abilities to cause a target to take even more damage from other abilities than they normally would), Double-Fake (which causes one of her abilities that spawns a decoy minion to spawn a second minion, as well), and Overdrive (which grants her the ability to jump her damage up at the cost of more mana for several seconds). All directly modify abilities and playstyles instead of simply taking on more power, but only one can be chosen, and, once selected, cannot be taken back. Which is the best, then? It's up to the player to decide.

To add to this, Heroes of the Storm boasts a variety of maps, each with their own unique design and mechanics that can easily make or break a game. For example, in the Cursed Hollow, while it boasts the same three-lane structure as other MOBAs, a series of 'tributes' will spawn over the map as the match progresses, and, once three are collected by one team, the enemy team will have their defences rendered useless, as their minions drop down to 1 HP for a sizable chunk of time. To make it better, these tributes spawn early on, so delaying a battle until one or two characters can get built doesn't work as well as being able to dedicate several players to fighting over the tribute. Ignoring it is foolish, after all. Each map has other unique aspects, be it being able to pay a pirate to unleash volleys of cannon fire on the enemy base, making it so that a team never has to push past the midway point so long as they can afford to keep hunting the gold to keep him firing, or harvesting swarms of minions to create a giant plant terror that can pillage enemy defences, but is quite weak against enemy players. Each map is varied and requires a different approach. However, no map can be specifically selected outside of custom games, making it so that no one map will end up being overly favoured.

Screenshot for Heroes of the Storm on PC

The end result of this is actually quite astounding. While the game plays similar to other MOBAs, since defending a lane is important and the basic playstyle has remained the same, players must constantly mix-up their strategies and playstyles to deal with an ever-changing situation. A hero who did great on one map because it focused heavily on farming minions would be drastically weaker on a map that focuses more on direct player combat and fighting, while the converse could be just as equally true. Even something as simple as making it so that players cannot see their allies or enemy's heroes until the game has started, instead selecting the hero before the match is found, serves to drastically diminish the old habits of picking champions as counters to enemy champions in other games.

Because of this, Heroes of the Storm ends up being highly varied, with a vast amount of unique match-ups. There cannot be one set strategy, as change-ups must be made. The simple choice between sticking to a lane and roaming about in the jungle is not confined to one distinct 'jungler,' but, rather, a viable (if sometimes foolish) choice for all heroes. The battles end up being very intense, since they can easily happen without being planned, or because a team battle can be forced early on in the game, as opposed to a defined push later on.

Screenshot for Heroes of the Storm on PC

This isn't to say that the game is somehow without flaws. Some of these flaws should be apparent right away in its basic design. While the ability to directly alter a skill is certainly a great way to approach the concept of levelling up, the inability to take the decision back should it prove to be bad for any reason can be a major hamper on the gameplay, as well as how, at certain level-ups, there are multiple abilities that are very good that will be locked out simply because one other talent was essential to a character. Removing items, while allowing for freedom of choice and focusing on unique upgrades for each character, also makes it so that it's difficult to switch it up should something not be working out. The lack of a defined map and team can also make it frustrating for players more focused on a specific set-up or wanting to play on a certain map.

These decisions, while they ultimately work in the game's favour, clearly have their downsides, as well, and will drive people away towards other games. Finally, plenty of people have noted the high prices required to outright by a champion, instead of earning them through in-game gold. It would be unfair to condemn Heroes of the Storm for its prices when other games often offer roughly similar prices. League of Legends, for example, requires the player to buy points instead of paying directly, resulting in waste, and Heroes of the Storm offers the chance to try a champion out beforehand to help make sure the champion fits well; but that doesn't change that its prices are on the steep side, and, even if the game doesn't have a paywall, acquiring new champions can become a quickly daunting task without paying.

Screenshot for Heroes of the Storm on PC

Cubed3 Rating

8/10
Rated 8 out of 10

Great - Silver Award

Rated 8 out of 10

Heroes of the Storm is a well-made game all around. While it has its downsides, the upsides most certainly outweigh them, and make it a stunning game regardless. Its faults lie mainly in how it can often be a bit too fluid, making it hard to form set strategies, as things can be shaken up a bit too much. However, it does manage to remain true to the basic MOBA formula, while finding its own very distinct, new ways of approaching it.

Developer

Blizzard

Publisher

Blizzard

Genre

Action

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  8/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  8/10 (1 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date None   Australian release date Out now   

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