Clash Royale Review

"Mobile games are garbage", I say as I play match after match with no signs of stopping. "Who even plays these?" I ask while I buy my first microtransaction. I play these apparently, it's me. The game in question is the latest from "Clash of Clans" developer SUPERCELL: "Clash Royale". Just what is "Clash Royale"? It's fun, that's what it is.

"Clash Royale" is a two-player strategic tower defense-like game. Each player has their castle and two towers on either side of a field, and a deck full of minions and spells designed to ake down the opponent's defenses. Games last no longer than three minutes, making it fast-paced and simple. The card system feels like a watered-down Hearthstone. You build your deck out of only eight cards which are drawn at random and placed back into the deck after being used. Cards cost "elixir", which is essentially mana. A player's elixir recharges by the second, and more powerful cards cost more elixir (naturally). At the end of a game, the winner gets a chest full of gold (used to upgrade cards), cards, or experience points to level up your existing cards. Higher level cards have better stats.

The chests are where people start to describe the game as "pay to win". I disagree. The most common chest you get is a Silver Chest, which takes about three hours to open. Yes, chests open on timers. The worst offender I've found is a Magical Chest, which takes twelve hours! I paid a dollar to open it faster because I care about you and wanted to get some information about the game (definitely not because I'm lazy and impatient). Since these chests level up all your stats and sometimes include more powerful cards, of course people would call "pay to win" all over this game. I still haven't found that overpowered dragon card everyone keeps using against me! HOWEVER... This game isn't pay-to-win. It's what some people like to call Pay-To-Win-FASTER. You still get all the cool stuff without paying, you just have to wait a little. Like Hearthstone. Or Duelyst. Or any other digital card or strategy game similar to this. It's not pay-to-win, you can win just fine with the basic cards. Because strategy.

Even if this game feels a little bit like a glorified Zerg Rush there's a little more strategy involved in winning. You have to know when to play a tank vs a ranged minion or when and where to cast your AOE spells. If you just throw cards out and hope for the best there's not a high chance you're gonna win. My personal favorite thing to do is to drop a Giant and a Skeleton Army in front with a ranged unit in the back. While the enemy tower focuses your tank and swarmy group your units can take the tower's health down without being targeted.

A lot of people hate hearing the name "Clash of Clans" simply because it's popular and it's mobile. I'm sure that in the coming weeks, it's gonna be the same story for "Clash Royale". So let me just say, before you let somebody tell you that mobile games aren't worth your time, that this is some of the most fun I've ever had with a mobile game, ever. It's free. It's fast. It has a pretty cute art style. It's also casual, but it has room for you to improve your skills. You can't go wrong with this one, guys. "Clash Royale". Tell your friends.

-Justin

Graphics: GREAT
Sound: GOOD
Gameplay: GREAT
Value: AMAZING (it's free, after all)

OVERALL: GREAT