Not many know this, but just before there was the digital-only Hearthstone CCG, there was Solforge (Free) by Stoneblade, a CCG that tried to take advantage of what a digital platform has to offer. The game’s been around for quite some time, but it’s still in Beta and, unfortunately, its great gameplay ideas are hidden under a very clunky UI that was supposed to be a quick example of how the game will play rather than the game’s actual UI. The game’s been stuck with that UI – and with many other client technical issues – for years now, but, fortunately, we are getting closer to the release of the new UI that should give the game the opportunity to get new players aboard. Back in October, we got a first glimpse of the new UI, and I was really disappointed at what I saw even though I knew it was still a work-in-progress.

Yesterday we got another glimpse of the new UI, and this time around I’m very happy with what I’ve seen. The UI is greatly improved since the last time I saw it with great menu animations, functional and pretty good-looking menus, and an overall better level of polish. Gone is the lag of the original UI and, in general, this looks like the UI of a 2016 game. The UI is still a work-in-progress, and I hope the developers continue sharpening it all around. Of course there’s more to a game than a good UI, and according to the developer blog, they’re still working on rebalancing the game by improving player health and working on making control decks more viable. I’m happy with what I’ve seen, and I hope Solforge finally gets the UI it deserves.