You’ve probably heard of Auto Chess, but that’s no guarantee you know what exactly it is. Originally a DOTA 2 custom game mode, the model has branched out on mobile to not a whole lot of fanfare. We actually planned on reviewing the current mobile iteration of Auto Chess a few weeks back but stopped short when we couldn’t be sure the game was genuine. It looked like another cash-grab clone looking to jump onto the next big thing at the time. It’s not the fault of Dragonest, the game’s developer – it’s a reflection on the reputation of mobile app stores these days.
But let it be known that this is the real deal. Auto Chess has broken free of the shackles of Dota 2 to stand on its own two feet on both Android and iOS. It’s technically in beta, but with a (cheap) battle pass and ranked season play already included, it’s clearly ready for player attention.
Sadly, Auto Chess struggles to land a good first impression. On a newcomer like me, anyway. While colorful and inviting on the first load, it took me four taps of the Log In button to actually get anywhere. Doing that in complete silence aside from a button press sound effect doesn’t do much to defend itself from the initial idea that it really could just be another dodgy clone. The translation, while not the worst, certainly doesn’t do it any favors.
Once I was in, I couldn’t help but choose the avatar that best reflected my own expression at the time ...