Does it seem like Heroes of the Storm is still struggling to find its niche? On the one hand, that question is ridiculous at face value; the game is very clearly meant to fall into Blizzard’s now common model for games with online-only play, allowing plenty of casual players to thrive while also pushing the competitive side. But a piece on Gamasutra examines why HotS has failed to take off among the competitive scene, which might bode ill for the game’s long-term viability.
The short version of the argument is that while the game is far more accessible to new players and players not interested in the hyper-competitive aspects, it also shuts down the competitive aspects that can lead to narratives and emphasize individual performance. The game’s heavy emphasis on teams working together and fighting together means that there’s less chance for individual players to shine, and the relatively shorter ranges and smaller areas means that things are frequently jammed into smaller parts of the screen. It’s left as an exercise to the reader whether “more focused on casual players” is a bad thing or not.
