Bloons TD6 is the perfect gateway into the tower defence genre. It’s not overcomplicated, using a basic colour scheme to denote which enemies are stronger, and the cartoonish, palatable aesthetic has made it approachable to kids since the Flash days. Even with the growing complexity of its sequels, the core premise remains unchanged. However, with Card Storm, Ninja Kiwi is looking beyond the tower defence genre.
This new Bloons game is a CCG built on the back of Bloons TD6, using its heroes, monkey types, and even gameplay loop to make the digital trading card genre just as approachable.
Much like in past games, there are lanes of bloons that chip away at your health after crossing the endpoint until it’s game over. The difference here is that it’s turn-based, and another player opposite you controls what bloons are placed. All the while, you’re doing the same to them, positioning towers that can knock out their bloons as you try to overwhelm them with your own army of gasbags.
If You Know Bloons Tower Defense 6, You Know Card Storm Already
It’s an interesting spin on the usual collectible card game format, but break it down and it’s the same premise. You place cards to attack your opponent, they place cards to stop you. With the Bloons dressing, however, it opens the door to an entirely new audience who maybe wouldn’t consider playing a CCG. Knowing what cards synergise well and keeping up with the meta can be tricky, but going in with all of that prerequisite Bloons knowledge makes it far less daunting.
You know which Bloons are stronger already and what towers do what, only now they’re represented by cards. It demystifies deck building completely, because now it’s the equivalent of picking out your towers in TD6, just in advance.
Even if this is your first Bloons game, the simple premise of the entire series makes it more approachable by nature.
A card game using Bloons as a foundation was always going to be more intuitive than other CCGs. The beta I previewed earlier this year summed that up perfectly: it took no time at all to familiarise myself with every single card, able to put together unique decks that gave me an upper hand in most matches. But the release build goes even further, implementing new modes that allow you to experiment and learn the ins and outs of Card Storm without being thrown into the deep end against other players.
Bloons Card Storm Comes With An Adventure Mode
A new feature that wasn’t present in the beta is the single-player Adventure Mode. You can play the prologue, tutorial, and training modes right out of the box, but as the game itself is free-to-play, the first major story is £7.99.
It’s not too expensive, but I found the prologue was more than enough to refamiliarise myself with the mechanics. For newcomers, it’s likewise a great way to practice and learn the ropes before having to face real opponents, and it offers a way to keep the game thriving even if its userbase dies down, a very real possibility given the fickle nature of online games.
Completing the prologue also rewards you with Tokens that can be used to craft cards, so while you’re getting used to the ins and outs of Card Storm at your own pace, you’re still rewarded. It’s an intuitive side mode that only makes for an even stronger gateway. But there is one major hitch.
Bloons Card Storm Monetisation Makes It A Grind
In the beta, I was given access to every card available. This made it so deck building was breezy, encouraging experimentation. However, as I noted earlier this year, there were numerous currencies overwhelming the menus. Knowing how Bloons TD6 got bogged down in microtransactions, daily quests, log-in rewards, and all the other unfortunate filler of live-service games, I was wary of how Card Storm would look at launch. Going by the ‘Mixed’ Steam reviews, you can take a guess.
Monkey Money returns and is used to buy heroes, and then there are the aforementioned Tokens used to craft cards, of which there are several types for each category. You can get 60 Monkey Money with every daily quest and 450 with every weekly quest, making for a total of 870. Heroes cost 1,000 to 2,000 Monkey Money, so it’s a bit of a grind to get enough, but certainly doable even as a free-to-play player.
You can also earn more of both currencies via feats. Much like in Bloons TD6, these are in-game achievements for things like winning games or placing towers (in this case, cards). While it’s not too invasive in a tower defence game, it’s more egregious here.
For one, you unlock towers and their upgrade paths by playing Bloons TD6 and levelling up, which takes no time at all. The feats simply go towards bonus upgrades in a completely optional skill tree. In Card Storm, you need to earn Tokens, so you need to complete feats. This can be an incredible grind when you’re asked to play 2,000 cards or win 100 games for the biggest payouts, pushing you towards forking out real money to keep up with the meta and stand a chance against paying opponents.
The foundations of the game are incredibly approachable and newcomer-friendly, especially for a CCG, but this mess of crafting materials and microtransactions flies in the face of that approach.
It’s a shame to see it so bogged down by the awful practices of Bloons TD6, but underneath the MTX mess, there’s a great CCG here that’s far more understandable to newcomers than most other games on the market. I only hope that those jumping over from other Bloons games to try Ninja Kiwi’s newest outing get a taste for the genre and branch out, maybe even trying physical TCGs or the more daunting, complex games on the market, just as Bloons led so many of us to fall in love with tower defence and strategy games as we branched out.
The Storm gathers, and only true Heroes can stem the Bloon tide. Gather up your cards, choose your favorite Hero, and enter the Arena to claim victory!
From the makers of Bloons TD 6 comes a revolutionary collectible card game featuring the fan-favorite Monkeys and Bloons, rendered and animated in gorgeous 3D. Develop deep strategies, build your collection by crafting awesome cards, and carefully construct decks to help you win PvP and single player games.
Featuring 4 unique Heroes with 3 Hero Abilities each, 120+ cards at launch, and 5 different Arenas to battle on, the tactical combinations are endless!
BALANCE OFFENSE AND DEFENSE
Monkeys can’t attack other Monkeys, so you’ll need to stock up on both Bloon AND Monkey cards in order to win. Send Bloons swarming at your opponent, fend off opposing Bloon rushes with your Monkeys, and find that perfect balance essential for victory!
USE HERO ABILITIES WISELY
Playing Bloons will power up Hero Abilities that can turn the tide of battle in your favor. Whether it is Quincy with his bow or Gwen with her flamethrower, each Hero has a unique set of potent Hero Abilities. Choose them wisely!
TEST YOURSELF IN SOLO ADVENTURES
Looking for something more relaxing than fur-flying PvP action? Our solo Adventures are crafted single-player experiences that will test your deck building and game management skills to the limit. Try out the Prologue Adventures or support the game by buying the full DLC Adventures.
FULLY CROSS-PLATFORM
Take your collection of Bloons and Monkeys with you wherever you go, as Bloons Card Storm is fully cross-platform – just register your account and your progress stays with you.
BUILD THE BEST DECKS
Build crazy combo behemoths, fun theme decks, or use the latest meta decklists – the choice is yours!
PLAY AGAINST YOUR FRIENDS
Private match support at launch so you can challenge your friends to a game anywhere, anytime! Matchmaking is also fully cross-platform so what are you waiting for?
Download now and join the Card Storm!