Heroes of the Storm (2015)

Disclaimer: it is only fair for me to disclose that I have played both LOL, DotA, and DOTA 2 prior to playing HOTS, as it seems most people only feel one game is worth mentioning.

Blizzard steps into the MOBA arena with HOTS. I personally started playing HOTS during the Overwatch promo period, where if you played HOTS you unlocked skins in Overwatch. I got a few Overwatch friends together and we tried to bang out a few games to get the loot. We thought after getting the loot we would be done, but when we tried to return to Overwatch the damage had been done. We were HOTS people now. This is one of the things HOTS does well. It gets you hooked even if you don't have a lot of prior experience. Everything is very accessible. Compared to other MOBAs this simplicity is nice to see as it can be easier to pick up and enjoy. As we climbed and grew as strategists and players we started to see some of HOTS's flaws.

Instead of trying to have the perfect map HOTS tries to have a bunch of ok maps. Each map has its own playstyle and its own objectives. This is great at first because you get a variety of gameplay experiences. However, some of the maps were so poorly designed that they had to be removed from the game entirely. In addition, having so many maps creates a problem with accessibility. Now instead of worrying about what item to buy you have to worry about if your teammate knows where the control beacon is. Lack of voice communication compounds this issue as typing and pinging don't seem to get the job done in many cases. Many characters are ill-suited for certain maps which can also be a large balance issue.

These issues aside HOTS does do some things very well. By having timed events on the maps gameplay is paced. You don't end up with long periods of boredom. The action is fun fluid and continuous. Sometimes you may feel restricted by the guided gameplay, but you end up with very little downtime and with a large number of big team battles that fans of MOBAs love. Overall, I think having these mini-games within the game create a different experience from other similar titles. By making something unique Blizzard can compete in the same space as the big boys.

Map rotations, character rotations, and balance patches all play a big role in your experience. Frequently, I knew by the time the loading screen went up if I was going to enjoy a game. HOTS though fun for a while fell flat quickly and never managed to regain its steam.