Turn based card game based on the lore from The Elder Scrolls
Name: The Elder Scrolls Legends
Developer: Dire Wolf Digital
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Released: 9, March 2017
Platforms: PC (Tablets and Mobile Phones coming soon)
Reviewed on: PC
Released versions:
PC – Released 9, March 2017
iPad – 23, March 2017
Android Tablets – April 2017
Mac OS – May 2017
Mobile Phones – Early summer 2017
There are a few CCG (Computer Card Game) games out in the wild now. Like the very familiar game from Blizzard Hearthstone, or even a more famous one Magic the Gathering..
So how can the Elder Scroll version of an CCG game stand out from the rest, and is it any good?
Story
The main story in Legends isn’t very good at all, it does serve it’s purpose to give us a entrance or tutorial to the game’s mechanics. The rewards giving in story mode by gaining different premade decks, learning different strategies and so on is worth your time in this mode. Just look aside the bad voice acting and script.
Gameplay
We can build our own card deck from 50 cards and up, recommended that we stay on 50 cards so we have a better chance of getting our favorite card drawn during battle. We also have an attribute system in our “deck making”, there is a few classes we can choose from including a colour system as well. Where Red is “Strength”, Blue is “Intelligence”, Purple is “Endurance”, Green is “Agility”, Yellow is “Willpower”, Grey / White cards are neutral. Each deck can only hold two attributes plus neutral, this means there can be tons of variations, combinations and so on that could affect the gameplay.
Same as in Hearthstone in each battle both players start off with 30 health points, but with a few things different. As the health points and magicka points are not capped as we say, that means the points won’t stop adding up on a certain point. Also there are two lanes of battling instead of one, this is something that sets Legends apart from the rest. A field lane on the left, and a cover lane on the right. When you play a card on the cover lane, that card stays cloaked during your opponent’s next turn. That means it cannot be attacked by any enemy creature on that turn.
I’ve played a lot of Hearthstone, but this lane system in Legends really gave me more to think about during my battle. I got to rethink my normal strategy.
We also got runes on our health bar, set on 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25. So if our health goes below on each five points a rune breaks and gives us a new card to our hand to give us a second chance of getting back in the game.
Gameplay Video
The effort done in detailing each card and its attribute / buffs are very well done in Legends. Speed, high attack power, much health is the key in Hearthstone to win a match. But here in Legends this isn’t the case, each card has it’s purpose just like in Hearthstone. But here that is way more complicated so we are forced to think before you act. So think twice while building your deck, so you can get that really powerful combo.
This is an free to play game, and like Hearthstone you can buy packs with cards with ingame coins or real money. Microtransactions is something I’m very much against and afraid off. But Legends is very generous when it comes to rewarding you by playing either in PVE (Player versus Environment or AI as we can say) or PVP (Player versus Player). I got a few legendaries to my custom made deck very fast by playing in either Arena or competitive. But then again there are a lot of cards, including legendaries. And like Hearthstone, each pack that we can buy ain’t cheap.
The Bad
What I really miss in Legends are better design of characters on the cards, menus or user interface as it is called. Hearthstone created their game based on the World of Warcraft universe, and that is being shown very well in their design. Legends isn’t even close to being even with the visuals or sound design. Fans of The Elder Scrolls might feel welcome here as the game is set true to it’s lore and characters.
The Verdict
What Legends lacks of visuals, graphics and story mode makes up in the gameplay experience. The new mechanics and a few familiar game modes are unique and fun to play. Even though it is a free to play game it gives me the feeling of getting righteously rewarded when it comes to rare or even legendaries cards. The design in attributes and buffs in each cards are for now fairplay for those who choose not to use a lot of money buying packs.
7/10
+ Card attributes / buffs
+ Gameplay mechanics
+ Fairplay when it comes to the issue of “Pay to Win”
– User Interface
– Visuals
– Sound Design
