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Clash Royale meets Teamfight Tactics in Clash Mini, but it’s way too simplified

2K View2023-12-14

Clash Mini

8.5

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SHOULD I PLAY CLASH MINI?

Even fans of Clash Royale or Clash of Clans are likely to be disappointed with this one. I practically grew up playing Supercell games, and I’ve always appreciated the simplicity and casual gameplay that their games offered. But Clash Mini is just too simple and casual. While the mini characters look cute and all, the simplified auto chess gameplay failed to keep me invested for long.

TIME PLAYED

I played Clash Mini for four hours. I’ve reached level 11 and ranked up to Diamond V in the trophy road system, which is equivalent to climbing fourteen ranks in total. I’ve acquired sixteen mini characters and battled over eighty times. I’m currently trying to reach the Master rank in Clash Mini, so I can play in the advanced leagues of the trophy road system.

WHAT’S AWESOME ABOUT CLASH MINI?

• It’s basically auto chess with Clash characters. Clash Mini’s largest appeal is that it’s an auto chess game with a ton of characters from the Supercell universe. From Clash of Clans’ archer queen and barbarian king to Clash Royale’s electro wizard and magic archer, Clash Mini basically has every character from the Clash series, which is fun for longtime fans.

WHAT SUCKS ABOUT CLASH MINI?

• Overly simplified to an unnecessary degree. Unlike Teamfight Tactics or Auto Chess, Clash Mini’s approach to auto chess is a lot more simple than strategic. Each normal match is a best-of-three battle, usually lasting around three minutes. I had to buy units using elixir and place them on a five-by-four-tiled battlefield, but I could only use units that I had already unlocked, meaning players with better characters always had the advantage.

This simplified version of auto chess was fun for the first hour or so, but once I understood how to win consistently, the game got boring fast. Besides class traits—which boosted certain stats depending how many of the same class characters I had—and occasional events that placed buffs on specific tiles, Clash Mini’s gameplay just doesn’t have enough twists to keep players thinking and adapting. There’s no reason to play this instead of any other auto chess title out there, aside from the Clash characters and aesthetic.

• You can’t move a character once it’s placed. Once I’d placed a character onto a tile during the preparation phase, I was unable to move it. This game design choice eliminates strategy; it regularly prevented me from countering an enemy’s move or upcoming attack. And since the opponent’s characters stayed in one spot, matches felt dull and uninteresting as they progressed instead of forcing me to adapt to a changing scenario.

• Cheesy winning strategies. Speaking of a lack of strategy, want to know the secret to winning at Clash Mini? All it took for me to win eighty percent of my matches was to not move or place any units on the first turn, so I could counter my enemy using different characters in the round afterward.

• Slow progression. If you’ve played any of Supercell’s games before, you’ll recognize this studio’s sluggish approach to progression. While I understand the grind in Clash Royale or even Clash of Clans, this slow pace doesn’t fit the extremely casual gameplay of Clash Mini. In fact, it makes the experience more tedious than anything else. Even after four hours of grinding, I’ve only reached level 11 and I’ve only acquired sixteen of the game’s fifty-some mini characters.

• Microtransactions. There’s an entire shop dedicated to microtransactions, a premium battle pass, and even a gacha system that rewards resources. Many of these microtransactions offer essential materials, and some even provide premium mini characters that give players a distinct edge in battle. Even though I wasn’t forced to spend any money, the advantage that these microtransactions provide definitely pushed me to open my wallet.

• Clash Mini is too casual. Unlike Clash Royale, Brawl Stars, or Clash of Clans, Clash Mini has little to no depth. I’ve always known Supercell for their casual games, but Clash Mini’s extremely simple gameplay doesn’t have enough of a long-term hook. I love the idea of an auto chess game featuring characters from the Supercell universe, but it needs more complexity than this to succeed.