Recent reviews by c4llmeco4ch - twitch, twit, YT

Bought this game twice so I could play it on the couch and at my computer. Great soundtrack, great gameplay.

I would argue this is one of the best critiques of how story is told in games out there. Definitely worth your time.

I'm going to come at this from the perspective of someone who has spent many hours playing this, as well as DotA and LoL (and Dawngate?) and help break down this game in a way that, while not necessarily convincing you to play, might help you finalize your decision in one way or another.

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Ok, so the first thing to note is that this game has the same roots as DotA. In fact, what we call "DotA" was just another offshoot from the original WC3 DotA mod, which was actually known as DotA: Allstars. DotA: Chaos, however, picked up more in the east while DotA: Allstars -> "DotA" picked up more in the west. As such, there are a few quick things to take away from this game.

1) It is very focused on reactions. There is a consumable on a 15 second cooldown that is effectively a 10-second BKB with every purchase. On the flip side, there is a 3 second cooldown diffusal blade which also purges this "Chaos-style BKB". Therefore, a lot of spells must be baited out then blocked with the BKB, but if you use it too early, the enemy can simply cleanse it. As such, reactions and timing become a big deal in the game.

2) Crowd control (CC) is very important, probably moreso in Chaos Heroes Online (CHO) than any other MOBA. There is, on a 5-minute cooldown, a get-out-of-jail-free card of sorts, which sends you back to the fountain immune from any forms of damage for the 5-second duration. However, this TP cannot be activated if the player is affected by any form of hard cc (hard cc being any form of cc that removes the player's ability to perform actions, such as stuns, surpressions, or fears/confusions), so having the ability to stun a low-health opponent can be the difference between a kill being made or let slip away.


This game, while being more on the hardcore side of the MOBA genre (where DotA is the epitome of hardcore MOBAs and League of Legends is focused more on accessibility into the genre), does feature some more accessible elements, most notably the lack of denies. Therefore, while there is a fairly steep learning curve to the game, most of it stems from learning what the heroes actually do as opposed to learning how to play the game (although there certainly is that).

For players who are looking for a hardcore MOBA to fill their time with, there are a few elements that might shun away players who are not willing to put in a decent chunk of time such as:

• There are no wards. As such, map awareness and good game sense is key.
  
• Most heroes revolve around big, over-the-top ultimates that take time getting used to but, without a decent understanding of the game, will probably kick your ass.
  
• High ground is implemented in the game, meaning pushing into the enemy base or up to the (what are effectively) Tier 2/inner towers can be a tall task depending on team compositions.

Ultimately, there are still some underlying issues, some of which can be solved by the studio and some of which can't. For one, there is a fairly big issue with queue times/player population. It can take a while to get a game depending on who is on and what region you are queueing for. Some of the controls are sometimes difficult to work with, but the studio is aware of a lot of the issues and are constantly working to improve the gameplay. Economy for the game is a bit overwhelming, but you get loot throughout playing the game and there is no rune/bonus stats system a player has to grind for, so almost (if not all) of your economy gains can be put towards building up your hero pool.

Finally, I'd like to give my opinion that you should, if nothing else, give this game a chance. There are a lot of mechanics that, even if you do not plan on sticking with the game for long, can help you vastly improve your skills at other MOBAs. This game does bring a lot of interesting qualities to the MOBA genre, and if it gets any sort of backing from the western market could very well compete on the global stage against the bigger forces in the competitive gaming scene.