Gwent was already a fun minigame in The Witcher 3, but it's been refined and improved in this iteration. Not only is it an engaging and sophisticated card game, it's also very fair to people that don't want to spend money. This game can very easily be played without spending anything on it. Having played a variety of free to play games over the years, I can say with confidence that this is the only free to play title I've ever played where you truly do not need to spend anything in order to enjoy the experience and even be competitive. The only thing in this game that "requires" payment is the battle pass (called "Journey's in this game). But the free track will reward you with useful items to unlock other cosmetics and card crafting resources, which is obviously what the game is mostly about. If you care about the cosmetics then you will need to pay, but that's a choice you can make, you're not forced or pressured to buy the battle pass. From a gameplay perspective, I find this to be the best CCG I've played (I've played TESL and Hearthstone). It's much better than the original Gwent mini game and it's very fun playing matches in this game. There is a lot of depth to this game with deck building and the competitive side of the title. While there are a few meta decks (these drive the competitive scene, and earn the ire of some players) there are many other strategies you can use instead of those. It all depends on how seriously you want to take the game. If you want to level up in ranked play, like myself, you may need to use more meta decks. But honestly, like all card games, RNG does play a part. How cards are drawn, and how you play your cards, you can win against a strong deck if you literally play your cards right. It's this edge of your seat moments that make the game exciting for me. At the very least, give it a try, it is 100% free. It's a solid card game for serious and casual players alike.
