Artifact is Valve’s answer to Hearthstone, taking on Blizzard Entertainment’s free-to-play juggernaut with a digital card game of its own. Inspired heavily by the locations, heroes and themes of DOTA 2, Valve has plenty of artistic brilliance to draw upon when it comes creating an experience that blends challenge and strategy – two things essential for such a game.
With a release date now announced, Trusted Reviews has compiled everything you need to know about Artifact including the latest news, gameplay, trailers and more.
Artifact release date – when is it coming out?
Valve has confirmed that Artifact will be launching for PC, Mac and Linux in November 2018. A launch across Android and iOS devices is currently planned for 2019.
Related: Best PS4 Games
Artifact gameplay – how does it play?
Much like Hearthstone and Elder Scrolls: Legends, the aim of Artifact is to build a collection of cards, assemble them into a formidable deck and use them to compete with other players.
Cards themselves can be obtained from community members in the Steam Marketplace or from Valve itself inside individual card packs. It’s no surprise Valve is implementing its client directly into the world of Artifact, and it should be better for it.
Visuals isn’t the only department where Artifact takes inspiration from DOTA. Many of the MOBA’s mechanics have also been translated to the collectible card game. For example, each game features three playing boards known as ‘lanes’ alongside towers that must be defended from attacks. Once towers are destroyed a weak point will be revealed. The first to destroy two out of three of these will emerge victorious.
Related: Upcoming Xbox One Games
Over 40 cards have been confirmed for launch, many of them planned to depict heroes from DOTA 2. Cards are grouped into four categories – Red, Green, Black and Blue – all of which have unique effects on the field. Each lane also has an independent mana pool, so there’s no need to worry about balancing things out during a hectic session.
You can cast hero cards, use items and formulate strategies with a bespoke deck or one Artifact puts together for you. Much like DOTA 2, Artifact will focus on player-vs-player competition and will not feature a solo component.
The lead designer behind Artifact is none other than Richard Garfield, the man who created Magic: The Gathering. Knowing this, our hopes are high for something filled with depth, challenge and plenty of replayability.
Artifact trailer – how does it look?
We’ve compiled all of the trailers for Artifact below including the reveal and some snippets of gameplay courtesy of Gamespot:
Will you checking out Artifact later this year? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter @trustedreviews.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
