Eternal: The Card Game

Genre: Turn-Based Collectible Card Game

Players: 1-2 Competitive (Online)

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Review:

WARNING: THIS GAME HEAVILY PUSHES MICROTRANSACTIONS AND LOOTBOXES

Eternal is a free-to-play 1v1 Collectable Card Game with mechanics and a style that place it somewhere between Magic: The Gathering and Hearthstone. Players use “Power” cards to build up their resources, and use those resources to cast spells and summon creatures to fight for them, with the end goal being to bring the opponent’s health to zero.

When I say that this game is somewhere between Magic and Hearthstone, I mean that it is more streamlined than Magic, and as such not overloaded with that series’ immense amount of confusing wealth of minutia, but it also isn’t quite as laser-focused as Hearthstone, which in my experience has a meta that leaves only a handful of viable decks for play at any given time in competitive play. This isn’t to say that Eternal is better or worse than either of those games, as everyone is going to have their own preferences.

What I don’t believe to be a matter of personal preference, however, is that Eternal is far more liberal with dispensing free cards and card packs to players than Hearthstone, and it is much better-suited to digital play than Magic: The Gathering. While some may prefer the core gameplay of either of those games, I feel like Eternal is generally a much friendlier game to new players for these reasons.

As for how it works on the Switch… it plays fine. The controls take some getting used to, and I would argue that the Switch isn’t quite the ideal place to play the game, but Eternal works about as well as you could expect the game to play on both the TV and in handheld mode.

All told, for those looking to start a Collectable Card Game, Eternal: The Card Game is pretty much a best-case scenario on the Switch. It plays well, isn’t overly-complex, is generous with free rewards, and offers a good variety of options for players looking to create their own deck. If this sort of game appeals to you, Eternal will be a great choice for you.

tl;dr – Eternal is a free-to-play Collectable Card Game that feels like it fits somewhere between Magic: The Gathering and Hearthstone. This is a decent port of the game, and those interested in the genre will find this to be a welcoming title, with a good amount of free content and solid gameplay. Definitely worth a look.

Grade: B

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