You have probably heard of Auto Chess before, but if you don't know what it exactly is, it was originally a custom DOTA 2 game mode; and now it has gone to mobile without a lot of fanfares. We planned to write a review article of this mobile installment of the game a couple of weeks ago but then decided to stop because we weren't sure that it was genuine or not. At first from the look of it, we thought it was just another clone cash-grab out there. It was not the fault of the developer of the game - Dragonest. It was only because of the current reputation of mobile game on the app stores nowadays.
But this game is a real deal after all. Auto Chess has released itself from the shadow of Dota 2 and become its own game on iOS and Android. Technically, the game is still in beta. However, there is already a season ranking play, and battle pass system included. The game is ready for your attention.
Terrible first impression
Sadly for a newcomer such as myself, Auto Chess did not deliver a good initial impression. On my first load of the game, it was quite inviting and colorful, but I got trouble with the Log In button. I had to tap it four times to be able to get anywhere. Moreover, the button does not reply with any sound or haptic feedback and that makes the game feels more like just another cheap clone out there. The translation of this game is not exactly what you'd call the best either, which also does not contribute to the overall quality of the game.
Once I finally got in, I just opted in for the avatar that reflected my expression at that time - bored, tired, and not surprised anymore. Admittedly, that preemptive choice haunted me later on when I noticed that my avatar from the menu belonged to a goblin wearing only its underwear while playing air guitar.
The lacking tutorial
By the way, if you select the Auto Chess newcomer option, the game will take you to a tutorial, but unfortunately, the entire affair turns out to be pretty lackluster. It will teach about the absolute basic stuff, such as how to purchase units and how to arrange on the chessboard for the round. But then it skipped over fundamental stuff in a strategy game like unit roles, counters, types, and the benefits of the placement.
Until now, I am still asking the question of where is the "Chess" factor in this game. Sure, the layout is chessboard-like, but you could place units however you like, and they do not follow the movement rules of chess. I think Auto Battle would be a more appropriate name for it. If the unit placement means anything, then the game should have explained it.
Despite the confusing tutorial, Auto Chess is much more straightforward than I expected. You will have a limited amount of coins to buy units each round. After buying them, you deploy them wherever on the chessboard you like to. When the timer runs out, then the game will reveal the pieces of your opponent then they jump into the fight. The round ends when one side completely eliminate the other.
Team composition
This whole thing could continue for about 50 rounds with players keep on buying more from the unit shop and spend coins to increase their EXP so they could wield more units at once. The concept of this game is quite simple, but the tutorial does not help a lot with explaining it at all. Such a shame for something that takes on the name of the most fantastic strategy game.
Talking about the unit in this game, each has its own ability, race, and class which could synergize with a similar unit to create buffs. And you could also combine identical units to increase the stats.
When your units get defeated, they are not destroyed, so you can plan in advance which one to follow and buy for combination later in the match. From what I have experienced, I think that the strategy elements of this game lie with team composition, not unit placement. This could be OK if the game ever takes it time to teach us about all of that stuff.
With the huge amount of classes and races that rotate in the unit pool after each turn, you would find it quite difficult to learn about the different characters. Without really understand Auto Chess, I overpowered my seven opponents in my first real match. Yet the AI mods that appear on the 5th round brought me down consistently. I honestly did not know why or how to win against it.
They must improve the game
There is also that DPS meter that keeps track of damage output of each unit which helped me know who is the main damage dealer, but you really need to understand the game properly to use it - which is the one thing the tutorial left out. Also, in one game, I had 4 healers because of their unique buffs, but the counter showed only two. I'm not sure whether it was a bug or because of my mistake as there isn't really a way to test things out.
Left aside that deceptive gameplay, the game is not that bad of a PC-based game that comes to mobile platforms. It has pleasing graphics, interesting mechanic, and could be used as brain exercises by pro players. But as for the current state, I still don't feel that it is a proper game for mobile. My matches usually lasted about 40 minutes. That is too long for casual players. And for experienced players of the PC mod, I don't think they would switch over. I believe that they should shorten the match to improve this release.
In my opinion, the game is solid enough for non-PC players to try it out, but it would encounter difficulties if it wants to reach newcomers to the title. Hoping that all the current problem would get resolved in the beta of the game, I would try it again upon the official release. For the moment, you can check out the beta of Auto Chess on its official website.
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