Storybook Brawl was an auto battler video game developed by American studio Good Luck Games. Development began in 2020, and the game was released in early access for Windows in June 2021. The game and studio were acquired by cryptocurrency exchange FTX in March 2022 to develop non-fungible token integrations, a move that faced player backlash. Servers were shut down in May 2023 in the wake of the bankruptcy of FTX.
| Storybook Brawl | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Good Luck Games |
| Engine | Unity |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release | Early access: 18 June 2021 |
| Genre(s) | Auto battler |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Gameplay
editStorybook Brawl was a fantasy-themed card-based auto battler featuring gameplay inspired by Hearthstone Battlegrounds. In each game, players first selected a hero which granted them a passive ability. The game was then divided into alternating shopping phases and combat phases. In shopping phases, players spent a limited amount of resources per round on cards representing characters to play on their boards, as well as upgrades for these characters and non-character treasures and spells. These were followed by combat phases, automated fights against other players' boards.[1] Players' boards contained up to seven characters, and one of the primary difference between Storybook Brawl and previous card-based auto battlers was that cards were played on two lines instead of just one.[2]
Development
editThe studio Good Luck Games was founded in Olympia, Washington by former Magic: The Gathering professional players Matthew Place, Josh Utter-Leyton, Matt Nass and Brandon Nelson.[1] Some other members were Rubén Luna de San Macario as VFX artist, Johnathon Conbere and César Romero Albertos as programmers and Antonio Vargas as QA.[citation needed] They later hired Luis Scott-Vargas as vice president of marketing, totaling a staff of seven working on the game as of August 2021.[1] Development began in 2020, and Storybook Brawl released in early access on 18 June 2021.[3][4]
Good Luck Games was acquired by cryptocurrency exchange FTX on 22 March 2022.[5] FTX, whose founder Sam Bankman-Fried named Storybook Brawl his favorite game,[6][7] sought to use the game to test and improve the reception to cryptocurrency integrations in games, and planned to integrate the development team as part of its FTX Gaming division. Plans for the game included non-fungible token-based in-game collectible items, as well as traditional, art-based NFTs.[8]
Due to the bankruptcy of FTX, the game's servers were shut down on 1 May 2023,[6] and a planned tournament in the Bahamas was cancelled.[9]
Reception
editStorybook Brawl received mixed reviews. It was favorably compared to Hearthstone Battlegrounds by Screen Rant, stating that its two rows, greater depth, and wider variety of mechanics led to more replayability.[10] However, PC Gamer criticized these elements, describing the game as "crowded" and that the "sheer number of random elements causes games to vary wildly from one to the next".[3]
After being acquired by FTX, the game was review bombed on Steam due to backlash against the plans to add blockchain features and non-fungible tokens to the game. The game's rating, which had previously been "mostly positive", dropped to "overwhelmingly negative".[11][12][13]
References
edit- ^ a b c Wilde, Thomas (20 August 2021). "Preview: 'Magic' pros and 'Hearthstone' vets team up for card-game auto-battler 'Storybook Brawl'". GeekWire.
- ^ Bolding, Jonathan (2 July 2021). "Storybook Brawl tries to iterate on what Hearthstone Battlegrounds started". PC Gamer.
- ^ a b Cassidy, Ruth (19 June 2021). "This new free-to-play fairytale card game was designed by former Magic pros". PC Gamer.
- ^ Wilde, Thomas (22 March 2022). "'Storybook Brawl' developer acquired by crypto exchange firm FTX". GeekWire.
- ^ Zwiezen, Zach (26 March 2022). "Devs Announce NFT Plans For Popular Game, Get Review Bombed On Steam". Kotaku.
- ^ a b Nicolle, Emily; D'Anastasio, Cecilia (25 April 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried's Favorite Video Game Is Shutting Down". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ^ Tidy, Joe (13 November 2022). "The fall of the FTX 'King of Crypto' Sam Bankman-Fried". BBC News. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ^ Gariffo, Michael (22 March 2022). "Exclusive: FTX buys Good Luck Games in quest to convince gamers to love NFTs and blockchain". ZDNet.
- ^ Chalk, Andy (25 April 2023). "FTX collapse has done lethal damage to an up-and-coming card game". PC Gamer. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ^ Gravelle, Cody (3 July 2021). "Storybook Brawl Early Access Preview: Fine-Tuned Fantasy Fun". Screen Rant.
- ^ Nightingale, Ed (24 March 2022). "Card autobattler Storybook Brawl review-bombed for NFT integration". Eurogamer.
- ^ Dastoor, Vaspaan (27 March 2022). "Storybook Brawl Dev Reveals NFT Plans, Instantly Gets Reviewbombed". The Gamer. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ^ Wilde, Tyler (30 March 2022). "Game immediately review bombed on Steam after crypto company buys it". PC Gamer. Retrieved 7 January 2024.