Hero Realms

About

Hero Realms is a single player and multiplayer casual strategy game with fantasy, medieval and historical themes. It was developed by Wise Wizard Games, LLC and was released on June 6, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

The fun of deckbuilding games with the interactivity of trading-card combat!

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71%

Audience ScoreBased on 227 reviews

gameplay10 positive mentions

monetization3 negative mentions

Faithful and well-executed adaptation of the physical Hero Realms card game, preserving core mechanics and offering smooth online and offline play.
Engaging deck-building gameplay with unique hero classes, strategic card buying from a shared market, and varied play modes including PvP, co-op, and campaigns.
Cross-platform saves, active developer support, ongoing updates, and a positive, vibrant community contributing to the game's replayability.

The free version is limited to level 4 and only two character classes, functioning more as a demo; full content requires purchase, which some users find poorly communicated.
Balance issues exist with some hero classes and cards considered overpowered, leading to long or frustrating matches and perceived pay-to-win elements due to upgraded abilities.
User interface quirks, occasional bugs, cumbersome menus, and the lack of full matchmaking polish detract from the overall experience for some players.

gameplay
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
48%
12%
The gameplay offers a polished and fun deck-building experience with unique hero mechanics and multiple archetypes, providing variety and strategic depth. However, some users note balance issues, complicated leveling systems impacting fairness, and questionable design choices that detract from the overall experience compared to similar games like Star Realms.
- “I like the game, I like the deckbuilding mechanics, I like the cards.”
- “Excellent deck builder with lots of options for gameplay and interesting mechanics.”
- “Multiple archetypes plus added ancestry means almost unlimited combinations for your character with game mechanics.”
- “Some weird UI decisions and a number of unintended mechanic changes that I suspect have far more of an impact on the balance of the game than the devs realized.”
- “Well, except Star Realms already does much more than Hero Realms, is cheaper and does not suffer from poorly thought app/gameplay features, so I'd say stick to Star Realms until there is more content (at the very least).”
- “Gameplay-wise, it really sucks that you need to get to level 12 to be on an even level with other players, because you get stronger powers (imagine Hearthstone's character special abilities) and character buffs (more health, for example) as you level up.”
story
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
70%
15%
The story offers a blend of solo campaigns and multiplayer modes, providing a competitive experience with some engaging quest mechanics, but the campaign is criticized for unbalanced difficulty and a less engaging layout. Some missions feel rigged or overly punishing, and there are calls for better progression options like re-specing characters. Overall, the story mode is a decent but somewhat flawed addition to the gameplay.
- “You can level up your preferred heroes and play cooperative online battles or single player, story-based campaigns.”
- “For the (free) solo / campaign this is mostly a pleasant experience with the occasional annoying 'thread a galaxy through the eye of a needle at right angles' card draw needed on a few missions being the slight downside.”
- “Some of the campaign quests mechanics are laid out great with multiple beats and switch ups.”
- “Heck, you don't even unlock the other campaign/solo story missions.”
- “Capture the vampire mission in the new campaign is the definition of having the game rigged against the player. I have no idea how this mission was tested.”
- “- unbalanced campaign missions”
graphics
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
31%
23%
The graphics receive mixed feedback, with many praising the artwork, art style, and overall presentation as polished and visually appealing, especially within the fantasy theme. However, some users find the artwork poor and the UI childish, and suggest adjusting animation speeds to better appreciate the visuals. Overall, the game's graphics and audio are generally well-regarded but with occasional criticisms.
- “Artwork and audio look and sound great.”
- “Excellent artwork and execution as an app.”
- “Hero Realms is very polished in UI, sound, and graphics.”
- “Set the animation speeds to slow to get an inkling of what happened before the graphics hide the evidence.”
- “The artwork is poor, the UI is childish.”
- “The artstyle, voices and soundtrack is ok.”
monetization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
Monetization in the game is a mixed experience: while the base game offers good value with no aggressive microtransaction pressure, the introduction of paid content like character races and campaigns via in-game purchases can feel greedy and unbalanced. Some users appreciate the upfront purchase for full access, but others are frustrated by non-refundable payments and additional account requirements. Overall, monetization practices vary from fair to somewhat questionable as the game expands.
- “100% worth the free game, and worth purchasing the other characters and campaign via in-game purchase.”
- “No microtransactions or the corresponding pressures to spend money.”
- “A great system ruined by microtransactions and greed that prevent rerolling character abilities.”
- “However, it is when the game expands upon its base set that it starts to get a bit more questionable, with the introduction of unbalanced races and character types available as paid content via in-game currency purchases.”
- “While the app does suggest you buy some in-game things, it is far from the normal digital card game world where the game is just trying to milk you in microtransactions.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
33%
17%
The game offers high replayability through its action-packed gameplay, active community, and ongoing developer support. However, some key replayable features are locked behind a paywall. Overall, it remains a favored deck-builder with numerous opportunities for continual engagement.
- “The game has lots of action and replayability, the community is thriving, and the developer team is constantly making changes to balance the game.”
- “Easily my favorite deck-builder with a ton of replayability.”
- “The community is fantastic and there is tons of replayability with all the community tournaments.”
- “But many of the things that would make it replayable are behind a paywall.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
80%
Grinding is a core mechanic that enables free-to-play progression, offering a non-pay-to-win alternative to similar card games. While the game incorporates grinding through leaderboards that reward playtime rather than skill, overall it remains enjoyable with quick matches, forgiving gameplay, and streamlined mechanics.
- “All genuine free to play games allow you to play for free, with some kind of grinding mechanic involved so that you progress over time, adding more and more functionality or cards or whatever as you go.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Now the added leaderboards that are 'fake', in the sense they have no Elo, they are just 'grindboxes' that reward you for grinding.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music is generally well-received, with users appreciating the soundtrack as a strong part of the game's presentation alongside graphics and sound effects. However, some find the soundtrack and voices to be just okay rather than outstanding.
- “Presentation is great: music, graphics, sound effects.”
- “Nice soundtrack.”
- “The art style, voices, and soundtrack are okay.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from frequent stability issues, including freezing after matches and crashing during certain game modes, especially during extended playtimes like overtime. These bugs significantly disrupt the gameplay experience.
- “The game freezes after every match, before rewards are earned.”
- “During the double XP weekend event (26-06-2022), the game crashes with an error every time a match goes into overtime.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game lacks optimization for ultra-wide monitors, causing some interface elements like the progress button to be inaccessible outside the playable area.
- “It's not optimized for an ultra-wide monitor, so I can't click on the progress button that's outside the play area.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor is largely unintentional, stemming from the Thief character being excessively overpowered, which players find amusing.