Why is Skyweaver the best blockchain game so far?

Original Title: TG review skyweaver: the best blockchain game go far
Original Author: Robert Baggs, tokengamer

GameFi has gone silent after its explosion a few months ago. Those once prominent games like Axie and CryptoMines have fallen into obscurity after the end of their user growth, leading many to be skeptical about the blockchain gaming space. Without the liquidity of native tokens, these so-called blockchain games are not really games at all.

However, Skyweaver is far from a typical game; it resembles "Dark Forest" in that it does not rely on native tokens but purely on gameplay. In other words, even without blockchain technology, this card game is quite interesting. Below is an evaluation of Skyweaver by a blockchain game player, translated by Rhythm BlockBeats.

Since 2018, I have tested many blockchain games. Some are impressive, some are gamified DeFi, while others are few and far between, and some have been completely forgotten. Given that this field is very new, most of my work has been for this "blockchain game observation" column, studying the development of blockchain games. Skyweaver is the first published game I am reviewing (albeit a soft-launched beta version). What kind of game is it?

Key Details

Type: Card Game (TCG)

Price: Free-to-play

Network: Polygon/Ethereum *

Platform: PC, Android, iOS

Play-to-Earn: Supported

Token: No native token, uses USDC

Developer: Horizon Blockchain Games

Release Date: Public beta began on February 8, 2022

Skyweaver is a beast, especially in the blockchain gaming field. The game is very similar to "Gods Unchained," and for those outside the crypto world, it feels more like a web3 version of "Hearthstone" or "Magic: The Gathering Arena."

As of February this year, it has garnered significant interest from gamers and investors alike. Despite not being officially released, the app has already reached 233,000 installs, with over 100,000 people in the Discord community and 345,000 users on the waiting list. Additionally, it has received eight-figure investments from companies like Coinbase.

"For the past four years, we have been refining Skyweaver, continuously tweaking the mechanics and user experience to ensure everyone can enjoy it while maintaining the purity of web3. We are committed to providing a convenient and secure way for millions of people to access web3, where everyone can own, use, and enjoy digital assets. We believe Skyweaver is a bridge between the web2 and web3 gaming communities, with all the potential for widespread adoption in the mass market and growth of the Skyweaver ecosystem."

------ Peter Kieltyka, Co-founder and CEO of Horizon Blockchain Games

Gameplay

The title of this article is not an exaggeration; this is the best blockchain game I have tested in nearly four years. The term "AAA" has a broad influence in this field, typically provided by reputable and experienced independent studios. Some (though rarely) seem capable of producing high-quality content in the same category, but they often take years to do so. The rest are either delusional or hope that "if they say it enough, it will come true."

Although it has never been mentioned, Skyweaver possesses AAA quality. I initially used the desktop web version, but I dislike gaming in a browser, so I switched to the PC client. The GUI, animations, speed, responsiveness, and smoothness… everything is excellent.

Since I also need to care for a newborn and cannot stay at the computer for long, I took the opportunity to test the iOS app, and I was pleasantly surprised that even if the iOS app didn't perform better, it was just as good as the PC version. I can even say that this app is flawless.

I have played a large number of TCG games, so I could almost play Skyweaver without any learning curve. But this ignorance was short-lived; ironically, I realized that I had no idea how to excel at this game. While many of the mechanics and systems are familiar to me, they are as deep as I can see, and the skill ceiling of this game is very high.

Game Modes

"Skyweaver has several competitive game modes and leaderboards. Among them, the ranked mode can be played for free, allowing you to choose between 'Explore' or 'Construct.' The 'Explore' mode lets both players select a hero and then receive a random deck based on that hero. The 'Construct' mode allows you to use your own built deck. By earning points in this mode, you can ultimately win tradable NFT silver cards.

The 'Conquest' mode is slightly more complex; it is a win-streak mode where the better your winning streak, the better rewards you can earn. This mode requires a USDC payment to purchase an entry ticket, with each ticket priced at 1.5 USDC. Different gold NFT cards are available each week, and the number minted this time will be displayed before they are rotated out.

P2E Mechanism

This topic is a bit tricky, as there isn't much to explain at the moment. Since Skyweaver does not have its own token (there are no token rewards in the game), the only way to make money is to win silver and gold NFT cards and then sell them for USDC on the built-in market of Horizon's multi-chain wallet, Sequence. So, it is indeed a Play-to-Earn (P2E) game, although it has fewer P2E mechanisms compared to other games.

I also want to mention how the game's economic model operates; the developers show no signs of greed, which is both encouraging and rare. The decision to not issue a dedicated token and only use stablecoins is fascinating, and I have yet to fully understand the deeper meaning behind this design.

Developers

Given the quality of Skyweaver, I believe the developers have extensive experience in the gaming industry. Horizon's experience in blockchain is impressive; they developed the Sequence wallet and co-created the famous ERC-1155 NFT standard. (It seems that Product Director Philippe Castonguay accomplished this impressive feat.)

Horizon has raised $13.3 million from Coinbase, BITKRAFT, Polychain, and other institutions, providing more social proof of Skyweaver's capabilities.

Communication and Transparency

This is an unusual section for a review, but I will never remove it. In the emerging field of blockchain gaming, there are rug pull scams, so whether a project is developed by a solo independent developer or a well-funded studio, I scrutinize their practices closely.

So far, the Horizon and Skyweaver teams have performed exceptionally well. There is nothing I want to know that I cannot find out; their social media team is responsive. I co-hosted the WAX Lyrical podcast with John from NFT Insider, and we both independently engaged with the game. We discussed this issue before our last podcast and noted the team's strong communication skills.

Final Thoughts

One of my professional friends in the crypto space believes that blockchain games are currently terrible. While I do not agree with his viewpoint, I understand his point: they do not meet the standards of the gaming industry, a lot of infrastructure is still under construction, and the user experience for mainstream users entering this space is not friendly enough.

I also lament the abundance of low-quality games and simplistic formatting designs in this field, but I forgive some of the shortcomings inherent in the innovations taking place. For this stagnating industry, game items and P2E are undoubtedly a breath of fresh air.

However, the first person I showed Skyweaver to was this cynical friend. When people think blockchain games are just gamified DeFi, I want to recommend this game to those skeptics.

This is a top project among its peers, a beautiful and complete plan, and its economic system is applied very conservatively. That is to say, its economic system does not solely serve the developers and, considering it uses stablecoins instead of its own token, does not exhibit significant greed.

If you enjoy TCG games, give Skyweaver a try. Even if you remove blockchain technology and NFTs from the game, it is still worth playing, and I believe this is the hallmark of a successful blockchain game.