ELDER SCROLLS: LEGENDS FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE BETA

So, let's be honest, this The Elder Scrolls: Legends is basically a combination of Magic the Gathering and Hearthstone, with some elements of Infinity Wars thrown in for good measure. I don't think it's a bad game by anymeans, I'll probably spend a lot of time playing it. I just don't know if it will take over my Hearthstone addiction. As to why that is, I would say first and foremost that I already know Hearthstone and I don't know if this game is giving me anymore more than what I already have. Secondly, I can play Hearthstone on my cellphone whereas I cannot with ES: Legends.

I wonder how many games like this the market can support. Take the MOBA genre for example. We all know the two big ones, DOTA and League of Legends, with Heroes of the Storm making some significant headway in the market. But, at the same time, we also have Smite, Paragon, and I don't know how many others. Sure, those other games get some traction, but the market is dominated by just three games. Looking at the TCG/CCG market, however, there are really only two major players: Hearthstone and M:TG. Granted, these are two giant companies that have been around for decades, so it's all but certain that they'll take over their respective markets, but can ES: Legends do the same? We have another strong and beloved franchise from a strong and mostly loved company, Bethesda, but I don't know if another game in this genre will get much attention.

If we take a look at all three games, we get something like this:

Magic the Gathering has been around for a looooooooooooong time. I started playing during my sophomore year in high school, so we're talking like 14 years and the game was around long before that. My mom was one of those that thought that the game was evil and wouldn't let me play it. She changed her mind once she actually saw the cards - I'll never forget the card one of my friends gave me so that I could show it to her, it was a Merfolk of the Pearl Trident. So, there's that. There's also the fact that Magic is generally considered to be a more complex and competitive game than Hearthstone. That attracts a lot more of the mature and serious crowd - not to say that there aren't any players like that in Hearthstone, of course. People like the deeper strategy, they like that they can play the game using physical cards and that they can actually play with someone without a digital device getting in the way. There's something beautiful about seeing the look on your opponent's face when they know they're screwed.

Hearthstone, on the other hand, is much, MUCH simpler by design. That doesn't make it a bad game or less valuable, it's just different. There are people that like the simplicity of the mechanics and the limited number of cards (as compared to the who knows how many thousands of Magic cards there are now - 13,651 as of 2015 according to http://mtgsalvation.gamepedia.com/Magic:_The_Gathering_statistics_and_trivia). Hearthstone is easy to learn, easy to play, and can be played anywhere on your cellphone (much more convenient than dragging around a couple of Magic decks with you). It is also based on the very popular Warcraft franchise, which makes the characters easy to recognize and understand. Personally, I play a lot of Hearthstone. I don't pretend to be good at the game, the highest I ever managed to rank in a season was 13, but it's fun and I feel like I have at least a chance of winning each match.

Then there's Elder Scrolls Legends. They've tried to combine the two games (with features from some other games like I mentioned before) and create what they deem to be the super game. You have the complexity of decks like you see in Magic, but many of the same simple mechanics of Hearthstone. Magika instead of Mana, for example. The game is a hybrid, based on yet another popular franchise - The Elder Scrolls. The problem is, though, I don't know if people are really looking for a hybrid. The majority of players that I've spoken with are either adamantly opposed to the simplicity of Hearthstone or terrified of the complexity of Magic. I hesitate to get back into Magic for that very reason, much like I didn't like DOTA, but enjoy LoL and HotS (League of Legends would be like Elder Scrolls: Legends in this comparison, only instead of being a combination of HotS and DOTA, it was the HotS for a while until HotS showed us that the gameplay could be even simpler).

So, take my opinion for what it's worth - not a lot. These are just my observations from the game. Again, I don't think it's a bad game, but I don't know if the audience that it's targeting really exists. I'd love to know your thoughts, whether you agree or disagree. That's one of the things that I really like about games - there are very few wrong answers since a game's value is based on your personal enjoyment.

If you want to check out Infinity Wars, which is another game that I would put into this same category of Hearthstone/Magic babies, you can see our first impressions here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ermtxRD7DCg