Clash of Clans Full Review: Story, Gameplay, Graphics & More

Is Clash of Clans Worth Playing?

I will not deny that the first time I played Clash of Clans was pretty impressive. I recall how my friend constantly talked about how his village was being raided during the night and, believe me, I have no idea how a simple game from mobile phone can make people so excited. However, after playing the game for just few hours, I got a town hall, some barbarians and a quite deserted village.

When I opened Clash of Clans next morning, I discovered that someone raided my base while I was asleep. However, instead of getting angry about it, I started thinking of building it better and making it more defensive. This is the feature that distinguishes Clash of Clans from any other mobile game.

Many years have passed since then and the amount of players in Clash of Clans continues growing due to the combination of strategy, patience, teamwork and fights. No matter if you are spending ten minutes playing during a break or you prepare your attack at a specific day, there is always something to do.

Thus, in case you were wondering whether Clash of Clans is worth downloading, here is my full review of the game.

Game Information

Game Title

Clash of Clans

Developed By

Supercell

Platform

Android and iOS

Genre

Strategy

Online Game

Yes

Cost

Free (In-App Purchases Available)

Description of Clash of Clans

Unlike other story-based games, Clash of Clans does not have a campaign storyline.

Here, you must defend your village and upgrade it at the same time. You can build and develop your village by gathering resources, upgrading buildings and training troops.

With every level up of your Town Hall, better troops, defense systems, heroes and structures come into play.

What adds spice to the game is that you turn an insignificant village into a highly-developed kingdom. 

Clans are also available here; players help each other and share troops to participate in Clan Wars.

First Impressions

When I began to play, the controls were extremely easy.

The tutorial teaches everything without complicating things for the beginners. After several minutes of playing, I was gathering Gold, Elixir and building my first defenses.

In the beginning, I did a typical mistake of a beginner.

I was using all my resources on upgrading decorations instead of building better defenses. It looked good but more advanced players destroyed my base very fast.

After learning how to upgrade properly, I could see the big difference in my defense and attacks.

Gameplay Experience

The gameplay is unexpectedly deep even for such a seemingly simple game.

Each of your actions matters.

Should you upgrade your Town Hall right away?

Should you build your defenses first?

Should you accumulate gems or use them straight away?

Should you attack or train your troops before attacking?

These questions make this game exciting for months.

Constructing Your Village

Almost all of the game involves building your village.

You will construct:

Gold Mines

Elixir Collectors

Dark Elixir Drills

Barracks

Army Camps

Cannons

Archer Towers

Wizard Towers

Air Defense

Walls

Traps

Seeing your village develop over weeks becomes very satisfying.

Attacking other players

Here comes the fun part.

Every attack involves careful planning.

You cannot just toss your units into battle and hope for the best.

On the contrary, you examine enemy village design.

You find weaknesses in the defenses.

You figure out where you can place your tank units like Giants and Golems.

After that, you drop additional troops like Wizards, Archers, Bowlers, etc.

Clan Wars

Clan Wars are one of the things that I love the most about the game.

All members receive attacks in order for the clan to get stars.

Victory is not only based on strong armies.

Communicating is important.

Planning is important.

Targeting is important.

The most thrilling times I have ever experienced are the times when a victory was won by the last attack during a Clan War.

Clan Capital and Clan Games

Over time, Supercell has introduced a number of additional features to the game.

Clan Capital

Players join together to build the whole capital city.

Everyone shares their resources.

Raids at the weekend are exciting and rewarding.

Clan Games

Clan Games offer players certain challenges to overcome.

Completing the challenges leads to rewards such as:

Magic Books

Potions

Runes

Resources

Graphics and Visual Quality

Clash of Clans does not strive for realism through graphics.

On the contrary, it offers cartoonish colorful visuals.

All the game looks clean and polished.

Troops’ movements are fluid.

Explosions are satisfying.

Buildings look more grand with every level.

Despite many years since the release, the graphics of the game looks contemporary.

In addition, the visuals of the game run smoothly even on outdated phones, which is an important feature.

Sound and Music

Background music in Clash of Clans is quite soothing.

Attack sounds make battle sessions thrilling without being distracting.

Every single troop has unique sound effects.

Also, hero abilities offer great sound design.

Players tend to turn down the music volume over time, while sound effects stay satisfying.

Troops and Heroes

One of the reasons why Clash of Clans remains entertaining is a diverse set of troops in the game.

Among the most popular troops are:

Barbarian

Archer

Giant

Wizard

Dragon

Balloon

Hog Rider

P.E.K.K.A

Miner

Electro Dragon

Yeti

Root Rider

Hero troops give additional depth of strategy to the game.

The current heroes in the game are:

Barbarian King

Archer Queen

Grand Warden

Royal Champion

Battle Copter (Builder Base)

Battle Machine

Knowing how to utilize all of them properly will significantly influence the outcome of every battle.

Progression System

Progress is slow but a good kind of slow.

Each upgrade makes your village stronger.

Each unlocked Town Hall opens new content.

There were some times when I just needed everything right away, but the process of upgrading became very satisfying in the end.

Patience is one of the major skills learned in the game.

Free-to-Play Play

Something that I truly like about this game is its Free-to-Play playability.

Of course, you could buy Premium Gems to speed things up.

The Gold Pass has very good value.

However, even those who do not pay can progress and become successful by playing the game consistently.

For my part, I have been playing for quite a few months now without purchasing anything and have never felt like I had to.

Best Features

There are several best features of this game which I like very much.

Strategic fights

Social Clan

Game updates

Seasonal events

Clan Wars

Clan Capital

Builder Base

Things That Bothered Me

Games have their imperfections.

Some aspects can get really annoying.

Upgrade Time

Upgrading can take up to several days.

This calls for patience.

Difficult Matchmaking

There will be times when you'll encounter powerful enemies.

It may discourage you due to resource loss.

Builders Waiting Time

During the beginning of the game, having two builders only holds you back.

Getting more builders is worth saving your gems.

Advice for New Players

Here is what I would do if I started over from scratch now.

1. Do Not Rush Your Town Hall

Upgrade all crucial buildings first.

An hastily upgraded base becomes harder to defend.

2. Keep Gems

Do not spend Gems on acquiring resources.

Purchase extra Builders.

3. Be Part of an Active Clan

You will get troops, be advised, and fight in Clan Wars.

4. Upgrade Army Camps

The bigger your army, the easier it becomes to attack.

5. Protect Your Resources

Place Storages close to your best defenses.

It will help minimize losses during enemy attacks.

Popular Mistakes to Avoid

There were many rookie mistakes that I made.

I hope you will not make them too.

Neglecting defense

Rushing Town Hall upgrades

Wasting Gems

Copying bases without understanding them

Launching attacks without scout missions

Failing to gather resources

Idling builders

Who Should Play Clash of Clans?

Those who like:

Strategy games

Progression

Building bases

Multiplayer online games

Teamwork

Battle tactics

For those who want action and do not wish to wait for an upgrade, the game could be too slow in its progression.

Game Performance on Mobile Devices

I have tried the game on old and new Android phones.

Performance is very good.

Fast loading.

Smooth frame rate.

Reasonable battery consumption while playing.

Moreover, this game is optimized for iPhones and iPads.

Is Clash of Clans Safe for Children?

Clash of Clans is quite a family friendly game.

It lacks graphic violence, and thanks to its cartoon-like graphics, it keeps the combat fun.

Parents need to know that there are clan-based chats available and in-app purchases possible, and therefore, parental control is recommended.

Worth Playing: Clash of Clans?

Of course, especially if you enjoy strategic games where you have to be patient and think thoroughly. Clash of Clans is definitely not the game that can be played only on weekends; rather, it is such game that brings constant development and growing up and every time you achieve something it makes you happy.

What I really appreciate in this game is the fact that there is no necessity to spend money while playing the game. It does not matter how long you play as a free player – sometimes it is helpful to purchase some premium features in order to boost yourself, but it is not necessary to play.