While it was once considered an entirely niche market, online card games have now become a staple on PC and mobile devices. What was once a genre almost completely dominated byMagic: the Gathering Onlinehas blossomed into an attractive revenue stream for major video game companies, and developers have begun to take notice. Blizzard’sHearthstone: Heroes of Warcrafttotally changed the game by capitalizing on the elements of card games that could only be done in a video game medium, relying on RNG-based effects and smooth, crisp card animations rather than overly-complicated mechanics that reduce the amount of luck involved in a given game.
The results forHearthstonehave been incredible, and since then, new competitors have sprung up in an effort to cash in on the online card playing craze. Dire Wolf Digital, a studio that also did theEternalonline card game, was recently entrusted with turning Bethesda’sThe Elder Scrollsfranchise into the next big online card game.The Elder Scrolls: Legendshas been a popular card game since its release, and although the game may not have as much clout, Bethesda and Dire Wolf have carved out a place forLegendsall the same.
The Elder Scrolls: Legendshas been successful enough to warrant a major expansion, at least, and that’s what gamers got whenHeroes of Skyrimreleasedlate last month. The world of Skyrim was seen by fans as the most obvious inclusion for an expansion down the road, and Bethesda delivered early - but was it the right time, and has the game improved as a result?
It’s safe to say thatHeroes of Skyrimhas shaken up theLegendsonline metagame, and has enticed a significant number of new players to give the game a look thanks to the iconic status ofSkyrim. But it’s mostly just more of the same - which is fine, for already entrenched players, but will do little to make dedicated players ofHearthstoneor other titles consider jumping ship.
For those unfamiliar,The Elder Scrolls: Legendsis a game that has staked its reputation on being a hybrid of sorts - the same flash and nostalgia that fuels some ofHearthstone’s biggest moments withgameplay that is more closely aligned withMagic: the Gathering’s complicated, chess-like matches. That’s beenLegends' selling point since day one, and it has definitely lived up to the billing, as its gameplay offers refreshing depth while still delivering an epic feeling.
Luckily for fans of the game, Bethesda and Dire Wolf are still very much aware of the spaceThe Elder Scrolls: Legendsoccupies within the card playing community. Previously, RNG primarily existed in the form of Prophecy cards, which could trigger upon an opponent dealing an increment of five damage to a player’s hero and could swing a lost battle back closer to even. It’s a nice mechanic, though - one that makes the game a little more friendly to newer players while helping mitigate the skill gap betweenLegends' best and the tier below them. It makes for some good storytelling, too, when recounting how a match hinged on the flip of a single card.
Now,Heroes of Skyrimhas introduced a few more cards with the word “random” on them, mostly centered around the introduction of the Shout mechanic. Shout cards level up whenever they are played (or whenever another card says to level them up), and they get increasingly more powerful to mimic the way that the Dragonborn learned and refined shouts over the course ofThe Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. The Shouts never really feel game-breaking until they’ve been played a few times, and even then they’re just powerful but not broken.
The ability of Dire Wolf to capture the feel ofSkyrimin its new set is definitely the biggest draw toward the expansion as a whole. Werewolves have innocuous abilities - or none at all - until an enemy is damaged enough that they lose a rune, and then they become powerful creatures with aggressively slanted keywords. Dragons are, quite suitably, some of the biggest, baddest cards in the entire game, and can often win on the spot unless they’re answered quickly, which is how a dragonshouldfeel.
One of the best examples of this marriage ofSkyrimlore and cardplaying mechanics is the Grisly Gourmet, which transforms a weak enemy creature into a Sweet Roll once it’s summoned. It’s that dark gallows humor that madeSkyrimso captivating at times, andHeroes of Skyrimreally gets it when it comes to honoring the title it shares its name with.
While the set definitely makes for some entertaining callbacks toSkyrim, it also doesn’t really do much to pushLegendsforward, either. None of the mechanics feel as though they are a significantly different playing experience than ones that existed previously.
Still, lapsedLegendsplayers and hardcore fans will view this as a can’t miss that freshens up the online meta and allows for more deckbuilding variation.The Elder Scrolls: Legends Heroes of Skyrimis an enjoyable expansion that will sate fans of the game until the next set releases and provide some memorable, lore-infused moments along the way, but it does little to attract a new player who wasn’t already interested to check the game out.
The Elder Scrolls: LegendsHeroes of Skyrimis available now for PC, Mac, and mobile devices. Game Rant was provided withHeroes of Skyrimcard packs for this review.
