Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond (WB) is a sequel/remake to Shadowverse, an anime-art style card game developed by Cygames. Initially released in 2016, Cygames looked to the success of Hearthstone, took their existing IP, Rage of Bahamut, and mashed it together to create Shadowverse.
While the game didn’t click with the Western audience, it had and still has an active and dedicated Japanese playerbase.
Shadowverse Worlds: Beyond was meant to be a simple sequel to Shadowverse, but it has grown into much more.
The game has garnered a lot of attention in the Western audience and card game space as a whole. Content creators from many other spaces are covering the game and enjoying it.
Card games, both physical and digital, have grown a lot in the last 5 years, and WB is taking full advantage of the growing popularity.
The game recently released its second set, “Infinity Evolved,” and the player base appears to be growing even further.
But how does the game stack up to its competitors? As someone who has played many card games, I hope to provide a somewhat objective review of Shadowverse, why you may or may not enjoy it, the highs, the lows, and what I expect for the future of this franchise.
Our review for Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond was conducted with the PC version on Steam.
Gameplay Basics
Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond follows a traditional mostly creature-based card game system. Players gain 1 mana per turn that they can use to cast spells or summon creatures. Combat uses an Attack and Health stat, and players can choose their creature’s attack target.
By default, creatures have “summoning sickness” unless otherwise stated on the card. This means they cannot attack the turn they are played.
There exist many keywords to spice up gameplay, such as Ward (Taunt from Hearthstone), Bane, Barrier, Aura, Storm, etc.
Lastly, the defining gameplay mechanic of Shadowverse is Evolving. Players gain 2 Evolve points and 2 Super-Evolve points upon starting the game. Evolve will grant a creature +2/+2 and Rush (can attack an enemy creature on the same turn it was played). Super Evolve will grant +3/+3, Rush, and invincibility on your own turn.
These points greatly turn the tide of the battle, and using them at the correct time is extremely important. Many creatures also have special abilities that activate when they Evolve or Super-Evolve.
This gives the devs a lot of angles to approach when designing a card, and as a result, the gameplay can have a lot of variety and depth, even in the game’s first set.
The Highs
Gameplay: Archetype Variety & Depth
While the game is still fairly new, I would claim that the gameplay is familiar but thought-provoking. If you’ve played Hearthstone, the original Shadowverse, or just about any popular card game, it won’t take long to pick up Worlds Beyond.
However, mastering the game is another story. You have to balance using your cards and resources, evaluating your own play lines, playing around what your opponent might have, understanding how to approach certain matchups, and more. You can say this about any card game, but the variety of viable strategies/decks is what sets WB apart from other new card games.
In Set 1, the meta evolved week after week, and ultimately ended up in a place where every class was somewhat playable. While some stood out more than others, every class having some viable archetypes is quite impressive for a launch meta.
“Fresh” entry to the Digital Space
The digital card game space has definitely had new entries in recent years such as Marvel Snap and Pokemon TCG Pocket. However, Shadowverse: WB takes the traditional creature-based combat system with a more modern client, interface, and engine.
For a while, many digital card games were released as companions to the physical game. Magic Arena, Master Duel for Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokémon TCG Live, etc.
Outside of Legends of Runeterra, there hasn’t been too much released in the digital space. It is because of this reason I believe Shadowverse appealed to many card gamers. It’s something fresh in digital form, providing digital convenience in a time where physical card games are building up large audiences in the West.
While I say the game is fresh, if you’ve played Shadowverse in the past, the game technically isn’t too much different. There are some fundamental rule changes to the game that make it different, but it won’t feel as novel if you’ve played the original a lot.
Social Features: Shadowverse Park
One of the best parts about Worlds Beyond is, surprisingly, the social features they added to the game. Shadowverse Park is an area you can enter to see other players, watch people play on TV screens, set up games at tables, change your avatar's clothes, and more.
When first teased, many players didn’t think too much of this feature. However, after experiencing it, it truly does add so much. These features give the game that little extra spark that makes it all the more memorable.
For example, if you want to play a game with a friend, you have to “physically” meet up with them in the park or in your guild lobby and sit down at a table. While this can be tedious, it really does bring some joy seeing your friend’s avatar and interacting outside a digital menu.
Is this feature the reason you should play Worlds Beyond? Probably not. But it may be a reason you continue to play.
The Lows
Balance & Power Creep
While I just praised Shadowverse WB for the variety of strategies and layers, the game is also showing small signs of worry.
Set 1 came out and introduced a wide variety of archetypes, and Set 2 looks to improve those archetypes. It’s natural that some decks get better support, and a new best deck will emerge from the release.
Set 2 released a lot of very powerful Legendary cards, and the meta will naturally form around these cards. However, as the power level of cards increases, so does the amount of games where the difference between winning and losing isn’t skill, but rather who drew/played their most powerful cards.
The point of this section isn’t to say that something is overly broken and unbeatable. But rather, the variety of archetypes and layers of gameplay become lost when the game devolves to, did Player A draw X card.
There will be many games that you lose just because of draws. That is simply the nature of card games. However, as more polarizing and powerful cards come out, this feeling may only get worse, and skill may matter less and less.
Non-Games
If you’ve played Magic, you know of the term “mana screw.” This happens when you simply don't draw the lands (mana) you need to play your cards, leading to a quick game loss.
In Shadowverse, your mana ticks up by 1 every turn, so this can’t happen. However, it’s very easy to have non-games where you lose very quickly.
Some games you might get unlucky and draw no 2-drop or 3-drop and lose to an aggro deck. Your opponent might have the perfect turn 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and blow you out.
While this is bound to happen in a card game, streaks of unlucky games can happen and take a mental toll on you. If you prefer gameplay that is more balanced or low-variance, Shadowverse might not be for you.
Even still, the best players find an edge across many games, rather than focusing on a specific game or streak of games.
Monetization / Card Acquisition
Monetization was a big concern for players and led to the game being negatively review-bombed on release.
Firstly, you’re not allowed to “disenchant” cards for resources until you have a complete playset. If you pull a Legendary you have no intention of playing, tough luck. This decision was made to incentivize players to build their collection and try out more decks.
While the cause may be noble, this left a bad taste in players’ mouths as their freedom of choice was taken away. If someone wants to disenchant everything except for their Dragon cards, they should be able to.
Weirdly enough, this decision may have actually improved player retention, as you can’t “brick” your account from bad decisions. Regardless of your stance, this decision did impact the game’s review score on releas,e and it’s slowly recovering from then.
If you’re a completely F2P player, you might expect to build a complete 1 competitive deck after a week or so of playing and grinding for resources.
However, as time passes, new players will only have a harder and harder time to compete due to Legendary power creep.
As time passes, the need for higher rarity cards only increases. Furthermore, the card packs that contain said Legendary cards will be different.
If you started playing Day 1 and continued to do your daily quests, play events, tournaments, etc, you no doubt will be able to keep up your collection as a F2P player.
However, a new player 3 months from now will have a very different experience. Cygames may introduce more methods to improve new player onboarding, but it likely will only get worse as time passes.
Overall, this is a critique of a card game model as a whole. Many players experienced with card games will understand/accept this system, but for those coming from different genres, it can be daunting/unacceptable to grind for what is essentially loot boxes.
Our Score
7/10 (Surprisingly Solid With Room to Grow)
All in all, I would still give Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond a 7. While the game isn’t groundbreaking, it takes a proven formula and executes very well.
The social features are a breath of fresh air and the game has shown a lot of promise on the competitive aspect.
While the meta and balance can be worrying, every card game has had its fair share of overpowered decks and over-tuned cards.
As more time passes and more sets are released, we can begin to see if a pattern emerges, whether there truly is a balance issue, or if Cygames delivers on an enjoyable and diverse meta.
With a competitive circuit about to begin, and a draft game mode in the works, Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond has a lot to look forward to.
