Game Reviews

Meow Wars review - A multiplayer-focused card game that's missing one vital ingredient

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iOS
| Meow Wars
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Meow Wars review - A multiplayer-focused card game that's missing one vital ingredient
|
iOS
| Meow Wars

There's a lot to be said for putting cats in videogames. I don't know why, but having a feline friend in a digital experience just makes it all better. And when you add in some interesting, card-based combat to the mix, you know you're onto a winner.

Which is probably the best way to describe Meow Wars. It's got a few niggles here and there, and it could do with picking up some new users to make the multiplayer a bit more, well, multi, but there's the core of a really good game here.

Scratching in card to reach places

The game is essentially a simple one one one card scrapper. You've got a deck built of a few different cards, and the aim of the game is to get rid of all of your opponent's minions. You do that with fights. Cat fights, I suppose.

You can have three cards in your hand at once, and every turn you'll fill up any empty spaces and use one of your active cards to attack one of your opponent's. Cards have health and attack values, and if your attack beats their health, you'll knock them out of the game.

Meow Wars iOS review screenshot - Bonus cards in play

Cards with the same numbers cancel each other out, knocking both cats out of the running. Once a card has attacked, or is attacked and survived, it takes a cat nap. That means it takes up a space in your hand for your enemy's turn, but it can't fight back if someone swings a paw at it.

It's a really simple dynamic, but it makes for some interesting tactical choices. You can sacrifice a lower-powered card to put a higher-powered one to sleep, leaving it free for an attack by a more powerful kitty in the next round.

Meow Wars iOS review screenshot - Fighting on a desert island

Cards you unlock in the single player add little twists to the game, some of them affecting your opponent's hand, some of them affecting your hand, and some of them affecting both. Playing these wisely is the key to success.

The servers are a little barren at the moment, and there isn't much single player content to keep you interested, but with a boost in players that shouldn't pose too much of a problem.

Cat nip

Meow Wars isn't the deepest card game by any means, and the lack of extra challenges once you've worked your way through the brief single player campaign suggests it's not going to have the compulsive longevity of something like Mind Cards.

But there's definitely a lot to like here, and the added frisson of multiplayer is certainly a plus point. Or it would be if there were more people online.

I guess what I'm saying is I really like Meow Wars, because I like cats, card games, and multiplayer. Now please download it so I can play against you.

Meow Wars review - A multiplayer-focused card game that's missing one vital ingredient

If it can get some more players, then Meow Wars could be one of the best casual multiplayer card games on iOS
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Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.