With Valve coming out with their own version in Underlords and Riot releasing a version in Teamfight Tactics, I got the feeling that Auto-Chess originally developed by Drodo Studio had some legs. Right now there are three front runners in this new and popular game. Underlords and Auto-Chess I played on mobile and Teamfight on PC but each one has a lot in common so I figured I would review them all together in order to compare and give an idea of which ones shines through.
It did not take long for me to see what people were enjoying. If you haven't played this an auto-chess gem yet it's pretty easy to get into. Think of it as a deck-building game with units that will auto fight. Every round you are given money, a set of characters you can buy, and the option to buy experience. Each character has their own class and race and gathering minions of like class and race will add unique bonuses to the whole team. You also have a level that determines how many characters you can have with the max being 10. This game relies heavily on a balance of knowing when to buy characters, roll for a chance at seeing the characters you need, and building XP. There are also items in the game that drop in certain rounds that augment the pieces.
Its a little overwhelming at first but after a few iterations, it's not too difficult to get the hang of. You soon start to see how deep this game can get with strategy. Ideally, you want to build a set of three of one unit because then you can upgrade that unit. This can be a little obnoxious as you can benefit or pay for the RNG involved in the what is usually 5 troops you are able to recruit. There is also the important fact that everyone shares a pool of character so if you see a lot of people chasing one, you might want to change tactics to have a better chance at building stronger units
These are all the things the games have in common so now I am going to break down the differences.
Let's start with the original, Auto-Chess. Right now this version is the most fleshed out as far as content. There is already a battle pass, ranked, a lot of customization, and a pretty clean interface. That being said there is still a lot to be desired. The app is full of spelling errors, unclear sentences, and some of the descriptions of the characters don't align with what they actually do. There is also an issue when units are hoping squares they aren't getting hit.
Aside from the few issues, the interface is pretty intuitive. You can hold on characters and their classes to get a description of what they are. This helps you understand what you are picking and what sets they belong to. The DPS meter (which should be called the damage meter) isn't the most intuitive when finding what the enemies are doing.
There is also the fact that there are no English translations so you have no idea what people are saying.
These are all the things the games have in common so now I am going to break down the differences.
Auto-Chess (Mobile)
Aside from the few issues, the interface is pretty intuitive. You can hold on characters and their classes to get a description of what they are. This helps you understand what you are picking and what sets they belong to. The DPS meter (which should be called the damage meter) isn't the most intuitive when finding what the enemies are doing.
There is also the fact that there are no English translations so you have no idea what people are saying.
Underlords (Mobile)
If you have not played any of these games yet and want to learn the basic, I would highly recommend starting here. They not only have a full-on tutorial but a bot mode where you can do some practice runs.
Underlords does not have a battle pass or rank yet but it does have a pre-season pass, which is there test pilot for when they release it. It has daily challenges that allow you to work towards in-game items like emotes and level skins that don't have any impact on the game.
In most ways its almost exactly the game that auto chess with a few exceptions. Unlike Auto-Chess the loot is picked up by choosing between three possible items in NPC rounds. I personally like this a lot more as it takes some RNG out of a game that feels pretty RNG heavy. These items have similar stats and features to Auto-Chess with little differences. There is also only one item per character, which also allows you to swap items.
I think where this game stands out the most is the character selection screen. Like in the original Auto-Chess you are only able to choose from a small set of 5 but under the cards, you will be able to see you have the character yet, or if a given character will complement a set you are building. This for me makes the game much more player-friendly as you don't have to constantly close the menu to check what classes and race you have been working towards.
I think where this game stands out the most is the character selection screen. Like in the original Auto-Chess you are only able to choose from a small set of 5 but under the cards, you will be able to see you have the character yet, or if a given character will complement a set you are building. This for me makes the game much more player-friendly as you don't have to constantly close the menu to check what classes and race you have been working towards.
Teamfight (PC)
Out of the three versions of this game, Teamfight stands out for several reasons. First off is these characters are from the massive pool of characters in League of Legends. Since I played a lot of LoL I was familiar with the characters and had a pretty good idea of what races and classes each character belonged to. They also use items from the game, which once again makes it more easily recognized for people that have played in this universe.
The map is set on hexes rather than just a regular chessboard. It doesn't make that much of a difference but it at least is some visual uniqueness. Another really cool feature they added is at the beginning and after NPC rounds a circle of units becomes visible and you can try and get the ones you want. The first round is free for all but after you get to pick based off of where you are ranked. This is cool because it allows you to target units you need and helps with those getting left behind.
The main drawback is how much of a pain in the ass it is to move this to a screen that is not your main. I say this because it would be nice to have the game off to the side as you are doing something else as waiting between round can be boring. It's not a big complaint and easily resolved by using the offscreen for whatever. I would just like to watch a movie on my bigger monitor while playing and not the other way around without a real big effort. It also does not have a mobile version yet.
The best part is each of these games are worth playing and are fun to play. Right now, like any genre that has multiple choices, its all about finding your flavor.
The map is set on hexes rather than just a regular chessboard. It doesn't make that much of a difference but it at least is some visual uniqueness. Another really cool feature they added is at the beginning and after NPC rounds a circle of units becomes visible and you can try and get the ones you want. The first round is free for all but after you get to pick based off of where you are ranked. This is cool because it allows you to target units you need and helps with those getting left behind.The main drawback is how much of a pain in the ass it is to move this to a screen that is not your main. I say this because it would be nice to have the game off to the side as you are doing something else as waiting between round can be boring. It's not a big complaint and easily resolved by using the offscreen for whatever. I would just like to watch a movie on my bigger monitor while playing and not the other way around without a real big effort. It also does not have a mobile version yet.
Verdict
After playing all three I think the version that pulls it off the best was Underlords. The screen becomes intuitive after a few plays, the app is pretty fleshed out, and they have some of the best guides as well as of ways to guide you through the game. It would say the clashes are the most fleshed out as Auto-Chess does a pretty great job of balance but the overall experience was more fun. Teamfight was a close second and I might just prefer it when I am ready to open a game on my PC.The best part is each of these games are worth playing and are fun to play. Right now, like any genre that has multiple choices, its all about finding your flavor.
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