Vainglory Game Review

No matter how excellent a MOBA player you are independent, the team that is familiar with where to be and when will generally come out on top. In Vainglory, generally outstanding iOS MOBA, the answer to success is to play in the same physical room with your two teammates.

As good as it is at extracting the fast-paced, skill-heavy action of the type into a mobile format with 10 well-built heroes and a big three-lane map, coordinating with an online team is an incredible challenge.

Vainglory Game Metacritic

Vainglory isn’t an effort to estimate genre giants League of Legends and Dota 2 on an iPad -- it’s a well-built, cautiously constructed MOBA that survives on its terms, and greets newcomers with open arms.

It’s scaled-down, somewhat then scaled back, and that’s a vital misstep in most other MOBAs on the platform.

Developer Super Evil Megacorp has done a wonderful job with Vainglory’s map design, which alleviates a wonderful jungle to give its basic design attractive layers.

When working with my LAN team, we ruled nearly every game, usually because we declined to give up that place of chance. Capturing jungle control points enhances your gold and minion power, giving you more of an advantage as matches grow.

Vain Glory Review

Controlling those points is very important – equally significant to lane dominance – because it can go round the tide of a game.

Additionally, the 10 convincing heroes stand out. All are amusing to play and have good relationships in battle. SAW, the lumbering machine-gunner, is ahead in lane but is too slow to jungle efficiently.

As such, laning with Petal and her three damage-dealing pets almost makes sure of lane control, and she can dip into the jungle so a stronger SAW can slay on his own. Their designs are enjoyable, too -- Joule with her mech suit, Krul with a bright sword planted through his chest, and Ringo with his monk garb and large guns.

It’s difficult to say on balance, however, because my team’s capability to verbally call for assistance or to map out our attacks was always a huge benefit. Enabling players to organize the strategy essential to outplay another team, and without text or voice chat, multiplayer loses the tone and efficacy.

Also relating, Vainglory frequently pops up with messages like “Ally has been murdered,” or “Enemy has been murdered,” but not which has been murdered. This makes it hard to know who’s still in play to support or kill you.

But sitting side by side, my team could set up vast plays, get well from bad ones, keep each other alive, and wander the dense jungle beneath the chief lane chasing for effortless kills. We almost felt bad about it – even first-timers will feel controlling playing this way.

Pros and Cons of Vainglory

Vainglory hits the maximum highs of a great MOBA, but only when playing locally with friends alongside a team that’s doing the same. Lining up into an arbitrary game with strangers spotlights enormous communication problems that get in the way of Super Evil Megacorp’s smart level and character design.

It’s available for first-timers looking to get their feet wet while providing sufficient depth to gratify those with hundreds of hours of experience on more compound PC strategy games. Just be sure to make friends.

Vainglory is not the most unique MOBA available on mobile and PC but it does make up for it by providing players a game that chases the footsteps of LoL and DOTA 2. The game mechanics are well balanced and the power scaling is also well cultured.