5 Blockchain Games: What Works and What Doesn’t

Crypto
as
a
whole
is,
I
think,
at
something
of
an
inflection
point.
With
the
recent
“bull
run”
either
on
hold
or
cut
short
with
prices
below
2021
highs,
the
mounting
crypto-speculative
mania
of
the
past
decade
seems
to
have
settled
down.
That
puts
a
premium
on
products
that
deliver,
instead
of
just
making
big
promises.

That
includes
blockchain-backed
gaming,
which
has
been
on
the
horizon
since
the

announcement
of
Ethereum,
and
which
I’m
happy
to
report
is
actually
becoming
a
Real
Thing.
In
the
past,
“blockchain
games”
have
often
been

hasty
cash-ins
designed
to
entice
speculators
rather
than
players.
But,
as
an
embarrassingly
experienced
gamer
who
spent
my
childhood
loading
Doom
from
a
DOS
command
line,
I’m
happy
to
report
that
blockchain
games
are
now
emerging
fully-cooked:
that
is,
many
are
at
least
as
enjoyable
as
games
that
have
nothing
to
do
with
crypto.

What
follows
is
a
lightning-round
of
quick
reviews
of
a
selection
of
blockchain
games.
Each
game
is
judged
on
standard
metrics
of
gameplay
and
graphics.
But
unlike
more
conventional
games,
blockchain
games
should
also
be
evaluated
for
their
onboarding
experience
and
tokenomics.

Onboarding
is
significant
because
games
are
great
ways
to
attract
people
without
crypto
experience,
and
hitting
them
with
a
laundry
list
of
complicated
tasks
before
they
can
play
is
a
great
way
to
lose
their
interest
immediately.
And
tokenomics
matter
because
they’re
hard
to
get
right,
and
the
temptation
for
developers
to
be
shortsighted
and
self-interested
is
strong.

Also
worth
noting:
The
reviews
below
are
mostly
based
on
fairly
short
play
time
(and
few
if
any
of
these
games
are
deep
enough
to
demand
more.)
The
reviews
are
also
based
on
the

current
state
of
these
games:
Roadmaps
and
projections
are
all
well
and
good,
given
the
financial
stakes,
this
is
a
“verify,
don’t
trust”
situation.

Note:
I
had
also
planned
on
reviewing
Nifty
Island
and
My
Pet
Hooligan.
But
Nifty
Island
was
offline
for
maintenance
when
I
tried
to
log
in.
While
My
Pet
Hooligan
(which
is
in
Early
Access)
looks
and
feels
great
offline,
it’s
a
PVP
shooter,
and
the
game’s
few
servers
weren’t
cooperating
when
I
tried
to
play.

Onboarding:
A

Gameplay:
D

Graphics:
A

Tokenomics:
D

It’s
new,
it’s
hot,
it’s
incredibly
effective
at
what
it
was
designed
for
–
but

Hamster
Kombat
isn’t
really
“a
game.”
At
present,
the
only
‘gameplay’
proper
is
clicking
one
object
for
points,
then
spending
those
points
to
earn
more
points.
If
there’s
any
actual
“Kombat,”
it’s
completely
opaque
to
me
as
a
new
player.
Instead,
Hamster
Kombat,
where
you
play
the
role
of
a
growth-minded
CEO
of
a
crypto
exchange,
gamifies
social
engagement,
offering
in-game
“gold”
for
things
like
following
and
promoting
the
game’s
X/Twitter
account,
or
recruiting
friends.

The
scammy
vibes
of
this
pyramid-built-on-nothing
element
are
impossible
to
ignore,
but
one
thing
can’t
be
denied
–
it’s
working,
driving
the
“game”
to
huge
popularity
(see
Jeff
Wilser’s

recent
feature
on
the
growth
of
Hamster
Kombat
and
other
TON-based
games.
The
tiny
bit
of
gameplay
is
impressively
addictive
(I’m
clicking
right
now
…).
And,
in
most
other
respects,
Hamster
Kombat
is
top-tier,
with
a
flawlessly
smooth
interface
and,
most
impressive
of
all,
a
truly
effortless
onboarding
experience
that’s
integrated
directly
into
Telegram.
That
both
mutes
the
impression
of
scamminess,
and
leads
one
to
believe
promises
that
a
real
game
will
emerge
from
beneath
this
perpetual
self-promotion
machine.

Unfortunately,
though,
gameplay
evolution
seems
to
be
a
low
priority
for
the
devs
for
the
moment.
The
Hamster
Kombat
roadmap
includes
gameplay
upgrades
like
“Squad
Kombat,”
but
by
far
the
most
focus
is
on
an
upcoming
airdrop,
with
a
token
that
is
promised
to
be
integrated
into
gameplay.
It
seems
iffy
to
release
your
token
before
anything
resembling
an
actual
game,
so
between
that
and
the
fact
that
the
financial
tease
is
probably
leading
to
a
lot
of
people
wasting
their
lives
clicking
on
a
phone,
the
hamsters
get
a
“D”
on
tokenomics.

Onboarding:
C

Gameplay:
A

Graphics:
A+

Tokenomics:
A

Proof
that
low-hanging
fruit
can
be

delicious.
Pixels
is
a
resource-gathering
and
building
game,
a
bit
like
Farmville,
but
with
a
lot
more
style.
Even
the
writing
is
good,
in
its
cutesy
way,
which
is
really
notable.
There
are
also
promised
and
plausible
extensions
into
more
active
forms
of
gameplay,
such
as
dungeons,
but
the
simple
harvest-cooking-sale
loop
is
already
satisfying
in
itself.
There
are
definitely
periods
of
downtime
in
the
early
game,
but
that’s
what
you’re
signing
up
for
–
this
is
a
game
you
can
run
in
the
background
and
check
in
on
every
once
in
a
while
(I’m
making
Popberry
Jam
while
I
write
this).

The
graphics
and
overall
vibes
of
the
game
are
also
excellent.
The
game
is
designed
in
a
nostalgic
8-bit
style,
one
seeming
reason
that
Pixels

actually
has
NFT
imports.
You
can
play
as
your
Pudgy
Penguin
or
Bored
Ape,
and
the
Pixels
team
has
guidelines
that

allow
any
collection
to
submit
game
versions
of
PFPs.
This
unambiguously
rocks,
increasing
the
value
of
the
entire
Web3
space,
and
reflecting
what
seems
to
be
the
team’s
more
general
deep
alignment
with
crypto
ideas
and
values.
At
the
same
time,
there’s
an
outright
downplaying
of
the
possibility
of
massive
growth
in
token
prices,
which
is
equally
refreshing.

In
what
will
become
a
theme,
however,
I
was
annoyed
by
Pixels’
onboarding
process,
which
frankly
seems
to
directly
contradict
the
care
and
values
on
display
elsewhere
in
the
game.
While
Metamask
login
is
teased,
it
no
longer
works
for
new
players,
who
must
instead
download
and
install
a
boutique
wallet
for
Sky
Mavis’
Ronin
Network
–
an
EVM
chain
that
has
its
own
flavor
of
Wrapped
Ether
(WETH),
but
otherwise
seems
to
only
handle
assets
on
Mavis’
own
Ronin
Network.
This
is
an
illustration
of
a
common
misalignment
of
incentives
in
Web3
gaming:
there
are
big
incentives
to
use
an
attractive
game
to
rope
users
into
your
niche
network,
instead
of
improving
interoperability
by
using
a
more
widespread
public
network.
It’s
a
toxic
dynamic
the
industry
should
be
wary
of.

Onboarding:
B

Gameplay:
A

Graphics:
A

Tokenomics:
B

It’s
time
for
a
horrifying
confession:
In
2019,
I
decided
to
spend
money
on
Gods
Unchained
NFT
cards
instead
of
buying
a
Cryptopunk.
I
could
have
retired
by
now
on
a
Punk
or
two,
but
it
is

illegal
for
anyone
to
make
fun
of
me
for
my
choices.
(Mostly,
buying
a
Punk
was
just
incomprehensibly
complex
back
then.)

In
2019,
Gods
Unchained
was
a
concept
rather
than
a
working
game,
so
I
am
ecstatic
to
report
that
not
only
has
it
become
a
game,
it
has
become
a

really
good
game,
with
a
blockchain
use
case
that
makes
sense.
It
also
has
really
solid
user
and
trading
metrics,
with
more
than
200,000
holders
recently
trading
over
$250,000
worth
of
NFT-based
cards
per
day.
I
also
had
great
luck
with
matchmaking
–
casual
queues
are
very
short,
indicating
a
lot
of
players
are
online
actually
playing,
not
just
trading.

One
possible
criticism
of
Gods
Unchained
is
that
it’s,
in
essence,
a
copy
of
Hearthstone,
the
World
of
Warcraft-based
CCG.
Of
course,
there
are
other
digital
card
games
out
there
with
similar-enough
formats
and
gameplay,
but
GU
has
detailed
similarities,
down
to
the
points
and
stats
of
specific
(reskinned)
cards.
Honestly,
though,
there’s
no
real
shame
in
that
–
Hearthstone
is
an
incredible
game,
and,
having
familiar
mechanics,
makes
GU
quick
to
jump
into.

Gods
Unchained
also
looks
and
plays
great,
though
its
designs
and
illustrations
are
quite
generic.
Specifically,
the
way
the
game
marks
the
rarity
of
cards
is
pretty
opaque,
muting
one
major
fun
part
of
playing
a
CCG.

That
doesn’t
mean
there
weren’t
downsides.
GU
becoming
part
of
the
“Immutable
Passport”
ecosystem
adds
a
seemingly
pointless
layer
of
intermediation.
Why
can’t
I
just
sign
in
with
Ethereum
via
Metamask,
where
my
cards
are,
and
which
the
game
ultimately
connects
to
anyway?
Plus,
Immutable
itself
uses
Google
or
email
login
rather
than
its
own
wallet
–
which
seems
convenient
until
you
remember
this
is
an
entirely
superfluous
step
already.
On
the
other
hand,
I
was
surprised
by
how
smoothly
I
was
able
to
connect
back
to
my
pre-Immutable
GU
account.

Finally,
the
tokenomics
of
Gods
Unchained
barely
matter
…
and
that’s

great.
You
earn
cards
and
packs
for
playing
in
a
way
that,
again,
will
be
familiar
to
Hearthstone
players.
And
there
are
daily
quests
that
can
earn
you
$GODS
tokens,
which
I
would
assume
can
be
swapped
for
real
money
somehow.
But,
in
stark
contrast
to
Hamster
Kombat,
these
are
nice
bonuses
for
playing
a
game
that’s
inherently
rewarding
–
not
bribes
for
endlessly
clicking
on
a
static
image.

Onboarding:
A

Gameplay:
F

Graphics
and
presentation:
D

Tokenomics:
C

I’ll
admit
up
front
this
is
Not
for
Me,
but
somehow,
this
dungeon
roguelite
auto-battler
with
actual
animation
is
less
engaging
than
clicking
a
still
image
in
Hamster
Kombat.
“Auto-battlers”
strike
me
as
bleak
artifacts
of
our
era,
games
that
play
themselves
with
the
goal
of
producing
player
satisfaction
without
player
effort
or
skill.
In
the
case
of
Guild
of
Guardians,
the
only
gameplay
seems
to
be
tapping
a
few
heroic
special
abilities,
if
you
feel
like
it
–
but
you’ll
“win”
either
way.
I
wrote
this
review
while
the
game
was
playing
for
me,
and
I
don’t
think
I
missed
much.

The
game
is
also
aesthetically
janky
as
hell,
from
middling
graphics
to
truly
bad
interface
and
design,
and
generally
feels
like
it
was
built
by
contractors
working
to
an
investor
spec
rather
than
actual
game
designers.
On
the
plus
side,
it
was
seamless
to
log
in
to,
and
I
didn’t
get
a
cringey
crypto-based
sales
pitch.
On
the
other
hand,
I
can’t
imagine
any
human
ever
caring
about
this
game
enough
to
connect
a
crypto
wallet
to
it,
and
its

backend
tokenomics
are
utter
boilerplate,
with
a
vesting
schedule
that
seems
to
privilege
insiders.

Onboarding:
C

Gameplay:
D

Graphics
and
Presentation:
D

Tokenomics:
F

One
thing
I
noticed
during
these
reviews
is
that
many
games
built
or
backed
in
Asia
still
appear
to
be
in
a
token-bubble
mindset.
The
homepage
of
Rumble
Racing
Star
is
a
good
example,
starting
with
an
immediate
pop-up
encouraging
users
to
spin
a
wheel
and
win
obscure
crypto
tokens
and
NFT
prizes.
At
the
same
time,
I
was
unable
to
find

any
meaningful
description
of
the
game’s
token
design
from
the
front
page.
Where
you’d

normally
find
a
white
paper
there’s
only
a
vague
gameplay
description.

Unfortunately,
the
game
itself
reflects
this
–
it’s
basic
and,
to
be
blunt,
janky
as
hell.
At
its
core
it’s
a
Mario
Kart
knockoff
with
lawnmowers
for
carts,
but
the
tracks,
characters,
and
vehicles
are
uninspired,
and
worst
of
all,
the
controls
are
unreliable
and
“squishy.”
This
surely
isn’t
the
last
we’ll
see
of
blockchain
games
that
haven’t
figured
out
that
they
have
to
be

good
games
first
–
but
hopefully,
they’re
a
dying
breed.