Brawl Stars: Hands down, the best new mobile game of 2018 (app review)

If you’re between the ages of 10-40, there’s almost no chance that you haven’t heard of Supercell. Supercell is the company behind massive freemium mobile games, Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Boom Beach, and Hay Day for Android and Apple iOS. Its games are so popular that Supercell even promoted them during the Super Bowl for the past two years. Clash of Clans still has a massive player base even though it was released over six years ago. Clash Royale is no different – it still has millions of loyal players locked into gaming every day from around the globe.

Supercell’s approach is unique – it makes extremely fun games with no ads that all ages can play. Of course, it does make money on in-app purchases for player upgrades, speed-ups, and the like, but in no way does it require any financial input to enjoy the game for years. Building upon this approach, Supercell recently released Brawl Stars that I’m already calling the best new game of 2018, and most likely the best game of 2019. You do need a smartphone or tablet that runs Android or iOS to enjoy the game, and if you haven’t downloaded the app yet, feel free to click on the links below. They take you directly to your respective app store.

What kind of game is Brawl Stars?

Brawl Stars is a 3 vs. 3 social game where you can team up with random people from around the globe, or you can team up with your friends once they sign up. There are multiple game modes, but the most popular is the 3 vs 3 mode where each team attempts to collect 10 gems from the center of the arena and hang onto them while duking it out with their respective brawlers. There are multiple types of brawlers that each have their own unique fighting skills, and they are upgradable as you improve and fight in the game. supercell found a unique formula that allows you to stay competitive by moving up in the ranks the more you win, and moving down or staying put once you have reached your skill set’s limits.

If you want an up and close style brawler you can choose El Primo who is a wrestler that looks like a Lucha libre. He throws punches to attack his enemies and has a special elbow drop that deals massive damage.

Or if you prefer a classic style shooter character you can choose Colt who has a pistol with accuracy from moderate distances. There’s a list of brawlers that you can choose from, and you can master them all to ultimately master the game. You will face new styles of battles with each player you face as they are real people with different strategies. It’s what makes the game so fun.

Within each brawl match, you’re free to come up with your own strategy. However, Supercell does encourage active gameplay of brawling by rewarding the best player with extra trophies. Trophies matter when it comes to global rank and gets you tougher competition in future matches. Some players, depending on the character they choose, will sit back from afar and throws fire bombs, or they’ll get up close and personal and throw punches and elbows. And for others, they’ll find a middle ground. No matter what you choose, it’s in your best interest to lay the pain on your enemies. The last thing you want to do is leave your teammates behind by sitting back and being passive.

There are multiple maps that provide hiding spots to recover energy and reload. Learning maps is important to developing a strategy, but don’t fret, the maps are pretty straight forward. 

As you continue to brawl you will unlock rewards and other game modes. You’ll also level up your characters so you can battle fiercer challengers. With each upgrade comes added hit points, damage points, and special features. Supercell has intelligently built upgrading into characters so you’re not forced to learn too much all at once. It’s good for old gamers like me who don’t have the brain power of the young ones who can master games just by playing them for a few hours. Of course, you’re free to buy gems which ultimately enables upgrades and character unlocking to move much faster. However, money doesn’t make you better like it does in other games. 

Other game modes

Brawl Stars is fun enough for most in the gem grab 3 vs 3 game mode. However, for those of you who like different modes of play, Supercell has Showdown, Bounty, Heist, and Brawl Ball to keep you interested.

• Showdown is a solo or duo game mode where you fight for survival. Kill all of your opponents and you win. 
• Bounty is 3 vs 3 where you take out your opponents to earn stars and whoever ends up with the most stars at the end wins.
• Heist is similar to capture the flag where two teams of three face off to crack your opponents safe. You can apply different strategies of blasting your way into the enemy’s base or sneaking around the map and taking a quiet approach.
• Brawl Ball is 3 vs 3 where you show off your football skills and score two goals before the other team. 

You only need a minute or two to play

The beauty of Brawl Stars is the ability to have fun in just a minute or two or choosing to play as long as your heart desires. 
You can get an entire match completed in two minutes or less for the most part. If you need a mental break from work or school, open up Brawl Stars and play a quick game or two. If you want to play while you sit on the toilet, go for it. You don’t need to dedicate a lot of brain power to enjoy yourself which makes it the perfect mobile game.

Summary

Overall, I couldn’t be more satisfied with Supercell’s latest hit game. At the same time, I’m rather disappointed that I downloaded Brawl Stars because it’s just one more game that I will waste time on. Luckily, it doesn’t require much brain power for me to have fun, and it’s not so time demanding that I have to make sacrifices to play.

It’s fun to see Supercell evolve on what it has learned from past games, and Brawl Stars seems to the perfect mobile game anyone can ask for. It’s got great graphics, fun sound effects, awesome characters, and an addicting and engaging gameplay that will keep me going for years. I highly recommend you download Brawl Stars today and see for yourself just how fun it is.