SolForge, Again.

Since my last post was a repeat, I thought I'd make a thing of it. SolForge is another game that I've kept on playing since I posted about it. That's where the similarities end.

My last post praised Smite for its updates and innovations, but I can't say the same for SolForge. Still, I will begin with the positives. SolForge has had two things going for it after their most recent update. First, they added a few new cards and changed both the art and abilities of a few existing ones. Stuff like that makes me feel like the game is getting worked on, getting polished, and getting ready for a full release. Second, Stoneblade Entertainment's latest e-mail blast informed me that the game has been released on iOS. I have an iPhone, so this was great news for me, but my brother (who plays the game with me) is not so lucky. I was pleased to find that the game is nearly identical on an iDevice, but that left everything feeling a little cramped. I'd think that on a bigger screen that wouldn't be much of a problem, and considering that I think it would be great to play on an iPad. Games can be played between iDevices and PCs which is convenient, as your ongoing games and saved decks are available anywhere.

But the game is stagnating. The new cards are few and the balancing they tried to do did not even touch Grimgaunt Predators, which is one of the strongest creatures in the game. Still, new art and new cards are what the game needs right now, and I'll take anything over nothing. I feel like I've run out of things to do in the game, and that's a huge no-no. Sure, I can play a few games every few days and earn a few chances for the rare new cards, but I have no reason to desire those cards. I can keep using the same deck I've been using for weeks now to win game after game, or try something new only to be faced with a variation on my last deck. In short, the game is not yet balanced. There isn't enough of a "come back and win" feel to most of the matches. They end up feeling tedious. Like reading short sentence after short sentence. There's too much punctuation--not enough flow. Nothing to excite me. Nothing to entice me.

Simply put, I wish there was more I could say about SolForge at this point. In the weeks since my first post on the game nothing has gotten me excited to keep playing. New cards, I feel, are something that the game needs and so the most recent update is a step in the right direction, but it's like giving a starving man a cracker. There has also been a "campaign" button grayed-out on the main menu since release that I would like to hear more about. There does seem to be some backstory to the game (some explanation of just what a "SolForge" is will be nice) and I would hope the campaign aims to explore that, but obviously at this point it is impossible to know. Maybe Stoneblade is planning to wait for an official release before bringing out the campaign mode, which would seem to make sense, but why sacrifice the opportunity to get feedback on it? Furthermore, as the game is starving for attention at the moment, it seems like it would be a better idea to make what they have available sooner than later.

I hope that SolForge will make some improvements and expansions soon, because my interest is waning. It's the kind of game I want to like, but I don't see the developers making the effort for me right now.

SolForge

I've been playing a bit of SolForge recently. It is free-to-play, and an open beta is available on Steam, so I can recommend it without any qualms.

When I first started playing, the interface was heart-breakingly slow. You would wait three times as long for the game to load as it took to assess and play your hand. It's better now, though still not exactly quick.

I say "heart-breakingly" because the game has been enjoyable since I started playing it. The gripe most new players seem to have is that a starter deck isn't very strong, leaving the player helpless against the CPU's much stronger cards. In my case, I've played enough to have one good deck and one mediocre deck, so the problem isn't one which can't be overcome. You'll need to collect a few stronger cards before taking on "hard" CPUs and online players, so it's not well suited for an immediate binge.

But that plays into the game's charm. It's the kind of game you can play for a few minutes to an hour (at most), and then you'll be more than ready to go do something else. You can come back tomorrow for a daily log in reward and a chance at strengthening your deck, play until you win three games for another daily reward, and then move on.

If you want to play multiple games at once (if you're going to play online, you do), you'll be back and forth between games and the main menu constantly. It would be better if you could have a window open up for each game so that you could keep an eye on all of them at once. I'd love to see that happen in the future.

New cards are coming out and surely some changes are coming to old cards (grimgaunt predators are way OP). The game is still in its early stages and all the problems are certainly not ironed out just yet, but it's free-to-play and games are quick enough that you won't have much trouble keeping the daily rewards coming. The game is easy enough to play that it can appeal to a casual gamer with enough strategy to appeal to old-school tabletoppers. I'd say this game is definitely worth a try, and if you like it you can recommend it to gamer and non-gamer friends alike.