Speedy pace keeps matches short and continuously𝕴 exciting
Smart
satisfying hero designs
Map variety is aꦓ welcome deviatio𒁃n from the three-lane blueprint
Some progression-based hurdles🎉 outside the matches thems🌠elves
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Heroes of the Storm outshines the likes of Dota 2 and League of Legends because it resp🃏ects the value of your time. Blizzard's 5v5 team brawler takes a familiar framework, where heroes🦩 battle back and forth alongside waves of AI-controlled minions, and shaves off all the bits you never knew were so unnecessary until they're gone. Its brilliantly streamlined design makes for a faster, leaner experience that maximizes your fun-per-minute ratio, making its predecessors feel stagnant by comparison.
This battle royale can't be canon: iconic heroes and villains from across Blizzard franchises (Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, and even The Lost Vikings for good measure) have all been warped into the Nexus to fight for... the heck of it. With lore swept aside ("You really shouldn't think so hard about these things" says your paladin tour guide, Uther), all that's left to do is select a hero, then team up with four allie🀅s to destroy the enemy's main structure before they can level yours. At a glance, the 🌜colorful, cartoonish aesthetic and suite of five abilities per hero seem to be mimicking LoL, not building on it.
But all it takes is one match to realize how drastically HotS changes its for𝐆ebears' formula, always for the better. There's no last-hitting (the game-prolonging practice of only attacking when you'll secure a minion kill) or denying (depriving your enemies by killing your own forces), so you won't get screamed at for proactively pushing the lan๊es that lead from your base into hostile territory. Items are nowhere to be found, eliminating the need to mindlessly farm gold for something that makes or breaks your effectiveness. There are no kills or assists, only shared Takedowns that count for all participants in a fight, meaning you're never angry at a teammate for stealing your glory. And your entire team shares a unified experience bar, so you won't have any one player lagging behind or carrying their inconsequential teammates on their back. If you're out of combat, you can mount up to gallop towards wherever you're needed most, getting you back into the action ASAP.
Beyond the constant push and pull of combat, the battlegrounds also stray far off the beaten three-lane path. The randomly selected maps (seven in total, as of writing) are practically characte💙rs themselves, each with its own distinct personality, distinct mechanics, and even lively voiceovers. Perhaps your team will be jockeying for control over Egyptian obelisks that fire lasers at the opposing base, or collecting seeds to summon a player-controlled plant monster that wreaks havoc on your enemies. No two maps look or play the same, but they all demonstrate the 🧜same smart design: constantly funneling players toward clear objectives, so that there's a perpetual stream of exciting clashes as both sides try to secure and maintain control.
Like any self-respecting F2P MOBA, money can't buy power in HotS - but it will help you level up and acquire heroes way, way faster. If you don't feel like paying cash, every hero can be unlocked with in-game gold, which you earn slowly but steadily by completing daily quests (much like in Hearthsto꧅ne). The inventive skins are all well-crafted and worth some real money, and are basically a three-for-one deal given the included color palettes. That said, the $20 unicorn mount microtransaction is almost ins𒀰ulting - but hey, you know some people are going to buy it.
| Genre | Strategy |
| Description | Characters from your favorite Blizzard games face off against each other in the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena game. |
| Platform | "PC","Mac" |
| US censor rating | "Teen","Teen" |
| UK censor rating | "","" |
| Release date | 1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK) |
Lucas Sullivan is the former US Managing Editor of GamesRadar+. Lucas spent seven years working for GR, starting as an Associate Editor in 2012 before climbing the ranks. He left us in 2019 to pursue a career path on the other side of the fence, joining 2K Games as a Global Content Manager. Lucas doesn't get to write about games like Borderlands and Mafia anymor👍e, but he does get to help make and market them.
