While the game is still in early access, I really don't think early access means anything anymore so I am going to do this review. I will still add another tag to this review type to at least give the devs the benefit of the doubt. Take this review as it is and once its leaves early access I can harken back to this post if I feel compelled. None the less here we go.
Minion Masters is a tower brawler game brought to use by BetaDwarf, the devs who brought us Forced. This is one of the first dedicated titles to this genre brought to the PC. With tower brawlers being so dominant in the mobile game market it has to answer two important questions. Does this game work on PC? Does it do enough to pull people away from the phone? From what I see, yes to the first question, kinda to the second.
The Game:
Minion Masters is a tower brawler, which means you will be pit against another player and the goal is to destroy the other's towers. There is only one in this game. You will be able to create a deck of cards with units or spells all costing a certain number of resources. These resources are slowly gained throughout time. Both you and your opponent are on the same resource clock.
Unlike other tower brawlers, Minion Masters does a few things differently. First off and most importantly there are no card levels. The cards you have are the same strength and level as everyone else playing. Granted you have to unlock cards but when you do they will be no different than what anyone else has. Your towers are heroes that you can pick, all with unique abilities. There are two free heroes a week but are unlocked permanently through Rubies which are the real money currency and shards that come from salvaging cards you do not want. You are also rewarded with both these currencies quite frequently for completing achievements and daily quests. In combat, your heroes level up through the game and additional XP can be gained from controlling the two bridges that connect each side of the arena. This will allow you to use hero spells which can be cast for resources.
After each match, the player will gain coins based on their results and XP that goes to the player's level. Higher player levels allow for more things like additional deck slots.
The game offers a single player mode, a two player mode, a draft mode, and a challenge mode. The one and two player mode are your standard brawls but the draft mode can be accessed for free (during the event) once a day or entrance can be bought. In draft mode, your deck is made from selecting between three cards presented to you until you have a full deck. The challenge mode is more of a tutorial and I would highly recommend that new players try these out. There is also a deck building screen and card crafting screen to customize your deck. They also have their own annoying set of emojis to help add salt on to the wounds of defeat or to maliciously spam during combat. Granted these ones are cute.
My Thoughts:
The most redeeming quality about this game is that it saves you from the pay to win hurdle that other head to head tower games now falls into. If you have ever played Crash Royale or Force Arena there is a point, no matter how good you are where you will play someone that has dropped a fat coin into the game and will beat you through sheer power. Unless this was you, skill be damned. Instead, the dev's entice you with extra heroes and custom arena skins that can be bought.
This game is fun but I am not going to lie this genre frustrates me a little when starting out. You will be doing what seems like all the right things and then the next thing you know all your units are gone, you are out of resources, the enemies giant wave is on the way, and the other player is sending you pictures of them sticking their tongue down the mouth of the one you love. All you can do is wait for the sweet, sweet, relief of defeat so you can quickly join the next match in the false sense things will be better. Then again if you play enough, things do get better.
The game does have a player base. It's not an instant pop like some games but I haven't had to wait more than a few minutes on off peak hours to play. The heroes all seem pretty balanced and there are enough combos to try out that, at least at the lower end of play, meta doesn't feel static. There are some legendary cards though that I have yet to unlock that feel like they are just a little too powerful.
I do really like the draft mode because it gives you a chance to try everything out although sometimes it can lead to the luck of the draw scenarios. The battle ranking system in single player is super fluid so don't be surprised if your score flies around like a tech stock near Christmas. I honestly don't know if techs stocks are volatile during Christmas but it sounds like a thing. The two v two is hit or miss because you don't know if you are going to end up with a bad ally or one that can't carry you.
Now let's go back to the original two questions. First off it showed that this can be done on PC. The cartoony like graphics work well with the animations of the game. The controls are easy enough and I find that using a mouse for troop placement puts me more at ease than a touch screen. Regarding the second question, I am still torn. I like this game, I do but I still seem to pick up my phone for a quick round or two of Crash Royale. The pressure of being in a guild helps. A positive would be Minion Masters doesn't drain the battery but at the same time its hard to get past the mobility of its competitors. It does a lot it's just hard to say it does enough to pull people away from the other tower brawlers available. I keep this game on my PC but it never feels like a destination game. This game needs that draw because a solid player base is the only way it will keep going. Only time will tell and I will be interested if more people are willing to jump the boat from mobile to PC.
TL;DR:
While I do think it is one of the better tower brawlers in the market it seems like its facing the greatest hurdle by attempting to pull players off their phones. If you want something fresh past Crash Royale this game will do it for you but I can't say that it is a substitute at this time. You can always judge this game for yourself because there is usually someone streaming it on twitch. Do keep in mind though, this game is in early-access.
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