+++
slug = "online-tcgs-hearthstone-duel-links"
tags = ["Games", "Hearthstone", "Duel Links"]
date = "2017-03-19T09:22:43Z"
title = "Online TCGs: Hearthstone vs Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Links"
draft = false
+++

For years, going back to my childhood, I've dabbled in various competitive card games - most consistently Yu-Gi-Oh! but also Pokemon, Netrunner, Magic the Gathering, and Mojang's Scrolls. When a friend introduced me to [Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.konami.duellinks&hl=en_GB) I couldn't resist.

The premise is pretty simple, your starting character is one of the two main characters from the original TV series - (Yami) Yugi or Seto Kaiba; and your aim is to rise to the top of Duel Links tournament which pits the best duelists in the world against each other. You have a starting deck based on your character's deck from the original series and you battle other duelists to gain experience points in order to level up your character, which unlocks skills and new cards for your deck. Separate from your character's level there are 'stages' of the game which can be progressed through by competing various challenges, such as 'Win 5 duels' or 'Use 10 trap cards'. Completing stages unlocks additional characters from the TV show such as Joey Wheeler, who can be battled against or played as. Although a tad cheesy the game's theme is actually one of its strengths, the setting is familiar and embedded deep in the heart of the game without being overbearing or annoying.

In fact Duel Links' _feel_ is polished to near perfection. Moments like pulling a rare card from a pack or summoning a signature card have dazzling animations to accompany them and moments of dialogue between rival characters are nostalgic and true to the game's source material. Even the mechanism used to encounter duelists in the 'Duel World' feels like it was designed to deliberately feel like you're part of a city wide tournament. Unfortunately, whilst the experience of playing captures the TV show, creating a deck doesn't feel anything like playing the physical TCG.