Five things you need to know about Heroes of the Storm

Features
By
published

Heroes of the storm video header

Blizzard's new MOBA-aRTS-lane-pusher-thing is still in closed beta and has some kinks to work out, but I've been enjoying my time with it so far. I've noticed a lot of people have the misconception that the game's simpler presentation and gameplay means it must lack in strategy, which simply isn't true. Watch the video above to see what I think are some of the biggest differences between Heroes and some of the other games in its genre, and why I think removing items and farming doesn't necessarily mean Blizzard has removed depth.

Tom Marks
Tom Marks
Tom is PC Gamer’s Associate Editor. He enjoys platformers, puzzles and puzzle-platformers. He also enjoys talking about PC games, which he now no longer does alone. Tune in every Wednesday at 1pm Pacific on Twitch.tv/pcgamer to see Tom host The PC Gamer Show.
Latest in MOBA
League of Legends promo image - huge dude in a huge suit of armor holding a huge axe
Riot walks back unpopular League of Legends changes: Hextech Chests are coming back, and the Blue Essence cost for new champions will be cut in half
A triptych of views from Deadlock's improved map, showing a suspension bridge backlit by a setting sun, a triumphal arch with buildings in the background, and a leafy park overlooked by distant skyscrapers.
Deadlock gets a massive map overhaul that shrinks its map from four lanes to three: 'This has a large range of accompanying map-wide changes'
Three monsters holding clubs in Dota 2.
As a lapsed 4,500 hour veteran of Dota 2, the big new Wandering Waters update has lured me back—but despite the changes, the game still feels stuck in its ways
Sahn-Uzal Mordekaiser revealed in silhouette against a white moon and a blood-red sky.
League of Legends is getting a hotly anticipated skin for its lich necromancer Mordekaiser, but fans' joy has been 'obliterated' because it's 'stuck in a $200 fomo gacha store'
Smite 2 art
Hi-Rez will only be giving 'minor updates' to Smite and Paladins now it's laying off around 70 employees, but don't worry, Smite 2 is the 'primary focus of the newly streamlined operations'
LoL summoner art
It's high time League of Legends got full voice chat
Latest in Features
Farland Story, a PC-98 RPG from 1993
When PC RPGs were at their crunchiest and most hardcore in the 1990s, Farland Story set itself apart by… being cute?
Olivia scowls in Monster Hunter Wilds.
Monster Hunter Wilds feels easy at launch—but after a decade of fighting post-release elder dragons and Master Rank monsters, I'm not worried about the light warmup
Civilization 7 leader
The unofficial Civilization 7 manual: everything Civ 7 doesn't tell you about its rules and systems
Civilization 7 leader
Civilization 7 needs some big expansions to feel complete, and I'd start with one that adds the years after 1950
An angry dwarf and a sword-wielding elf with various villains in the background in Absolum.
This mash-up of side-scrolling beat-'em-up and fantasy roguelike feels like it could be the future of a classic genre
Dry Devil holds a torch and grins.
Kingdom Come 2 and Avowed have revealed to me the grand unified theory of game design: A good game is when you can steal back the money you just spent at a shop, a bad game is when you can't
More about moba
League of Legends promo image - huge dude in a huge suit of armor holding a huge axe

Riot walks back unpopular League of Legends changes: Hextech Chests are coming back, and the Blue Essence cost for new champions will be cut in half
A triptych of views from Deadlock's improved map, showing a suspension bridge backlit by a setting sun, a triumphal arch with buildings in the background, and a leafy park overlooked by distant skyscrapers.

Deadlock gets a massive map overhaul that shrinks its map from four lanes to three: 'This has a large range of accompanying map-wide changes'
Wordle today puzzle on a smartphone

Today's Wordle answer for Wednesday, March 5
See more latest
Most Popular
Farland Story, a PC-98 RPG from 1993
When PC RPGs were at their crunchiest and most hardcore in the 1990s, Farland Story set itself apart by… being cute?
Civilization 7 leader
The unofficial Civilization 7 manual: everything Civ 7 doesn't tell you about its rules and systems
Olivia scowls in Monster Hunter Wilds.
Monster Hunter Wilds feels easy at launch—but after a decade of fighting post-release elder dragons and Master Rank monsters, I'm not worried about the light warmup
Civilization 7 leader
Civilization 7 needs some big expansions to feel complete, and I'd start with one that adds the years after 1950
Dry Devil holds a torch and grins.
Kingdom Come 2 and Avowed have revealed to me the grand unified theory of game design: A good game is when you can steal back the money you just spent at a shop, a bad game is when you can't
An angry dwarf and a sword-wielding elf with various villains in the background in Absolum.
This mash-up of side-scrolling beat-'em-up and fantasy roguelike feels like it could be the future of a classic genre
A digitally generated image of abstract AI chat speech bubbles overlaying a blue digital surface.
We need a better name for AI, or we risk talking past each other until actually intelligent AGI comes home mooing
Yu-Gi-Oh! EARLY DAYS COLLECTION screenshot showing a character complaining about losing a battle
This Yu-Gi-Oh! retro collection transported me to a simpler time in TCGs, before Pot of Greed was banned and the Avengers were in Magic: The Gathering
Inzoi - A Zoi stands in a neon yellow and pink room wearing polkadot pajamas looking shocked
The PC game releases we're most excited about in March
A plethora of RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT graphics cards at an angle on a dark gradient background
I'm as excited as the next guy for AMD's 9070-series launch but the lack of reference cards has me worried about how real its MSRP will be