Bloons Card Storm review - "Super fun and challenging CCG, could do with a few improvements"

• Bloons Card Storm combines fun and strategy seamlessly
• If you love collectible card games, this title is sure to put a smile on your face
• It is more than just another title in the franchise; with some polishing, I can see it going far

Now that it's finally here, Bloons Card Storm deserves a proper review. I've previously had the chance to try it out during the beta phase, which is when I wrote my Bloons Card Storm preview, but boy oh boy did things change in the meantime.

Since there's a brand new monkey to join the hero monkey lineup at launch, I am thrilled to give this game the proper review it needs to have. So buckle up, because we're about to take off - in a balloon, no less.

I will not go over what I said in my previous article again, but I will add to that. Quite a bit, too.

There are several game modes

With the official launch, there are some new game modes. There is the Duel, which is PvP online, the Adventure mode (single player) and the custom game modes. This makes me think there is an esports future for this game, since that is usually the case with CCGs (like Legends of Runeterra, Hearthstone, and Magic the Gathering). 

Yeah, I see that happening here. The gameplay is fantastic - it requires a lot of strategising, regardless if you go versus another player or AI, and that goes to show Ninja Kiwi doesn't play around when it comes to giving players a good challenge. 

Plenty of deck diversity to fit all tastes

If you're someone who likes to try out new cards or heroes, as well as new strategies and wacky combos, you have complete freedom to do that in Bloons Card Storm. The game allows you to create a deck exactly as you imagine it - no limitations. Of course, the only limit could be the number of Tokens you have (the currency used for crafting cards), but that's beside the point.

What I love about it is that you can go wild - use Obyn Greenfoot as your hero, pair him up with all kinds of insane card combos like Jungle's Bounty Druid and Banana Farm, and then go all out on shields and expensive cards. Just an idea - don't come at me! I am one of those who like insane decks that either put on a show or send me back to the drawing board.

I've had plenty of time to test that and get my hero whooped in the beta.

You have the means to acquire heroes and resources as a F2P player

The game has daily and weekly quests, which grant you 60 Monkey Money if you complete them all every day, as well as a bunch of random Tokens. As for the weekly quests, you can collect a total of 450 Monkey Money each week. That's how it is now, at least, with the release.

To me, this is more than enough to allow you to save and purchase the heroes you want, be it Obyn Greenfoot or Amelia the Amazing. While Obyn is 1000 Monkey Money, Amelia is a little bit more expensive at 2000. But with all these rewards tallied up every day and week, you will manage to get them all as a free-to-play player regardless.

You can complete Feats for extra Monkey Monkey and Tokens

Feats are something like the "Achievements" in other games - here, they give you Tokens and Monkey Money, and if you dedicate some time to playing the game for a while, you can even grind enough Monkey Money to buy Amelia on your first day. I am not even joking.

I give the game points for that because unlocking all the heroes should be something everyone has access to, and that's exactly how it is in this case.

Let's talk about the sound and graphics

I did not talk much about this aspect of the game in my preview, because I was not sure if anything would change. Apparently, it did not, so here I am giving Bloons Card Storm a big W from me, specifically for the BGM. 

The background music is so nice and soothing - if I could keep my tablet on for an entire day just to listen to it, I would. 

In terms of graphics, the cartoonish look could fool you into believing it's a simple game filled with fun and balloons, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Don't let the cutesy graphics fool you - consider yourself warned. Even the AI bots are unforgiving. 

What about the controls?

To me, the controls are more like an 8/10. I say that because whenever you try to attack an enemy Bloon with one of your Monkeys, the target is not always on point. There could be improvements in that area in my opinion, but that doesn't take away from how good everything else is.

I did have a few issues selecting a specific enemy Bloon with my Sniper Monkey, and that's probably because the hitbox was a few pixels away from how I saw the Bloon. This is an easy fix though, and with practice, it won't affect your gameplay at all.

Some features feel lacking

As someone who has spent years playing games for a living, I could tell right away that the game felt lacking in some regard. For one, there is no friends list or a leaderboard ranking. I love sharing great games with my friends and then playing together (or against each other), and here, I just can't do that. To me, the lack of a leaderboard ranking kind of takes some of that competitiveness away from it.

It could also do with a few more Adventure levels, where we can see some background on the heroes or learn strategies. 

I will let this pass, though, because the game has just been released, and I believe there will be a lot more added to it in the future. But for what it is now, this is where I stand.

If you do decide to try it, redeem some of the Bloons Card Storm codes as they will give you some nice rewards!