Blizzard’s attempt to horn-in on the popularity of esports like Dota 2 and League of Legends has finally arrived—albeit in a closed alpha that only a few lucky invitees get to play.
Lucky for us, a lot of these invitees are streaming their games via Twitch.
Here are the five best streams and videos from the first day of Heroes of the Storm.
1) “It’s punting time.”
Here’s something anyone should be able to appreciate.
In Heroes, Dragon Knights, which take an awful lot of work to awaken, come with the very satisfying ability to punt enemies across the map. If it looks good in the video, know that it feels 100 times better (or worse, if you’re the kicked) in game.
But let’s be honest, what really makes this is DunkTrain’s beautiful post-punt celebration.
2) TotalBiscuit
John “TotalBiscuit” Bain is kind of a big deal. One of the most popular gaming YouTubers in all the land, Bain’s specialty is talking his viewers through new games.
For the past day, he’s brought various friends onto Skype to play cooperative and learn about the new game. This is fun to watch for a few reasons: First, friends play smarter together.
Second, they’re all thinking out loud, which helps a lot when these friends happen to be close enough to Blizzard that they can relay the company’s gameplay advice.
Third, when they mess up, no one is afraid to laugh right in the other person’s ear.
Bain has probably the most popular and educational Heroes stream so far.
3) Squishei
Jeremie “Squishei” Quek, a writer who has been following the game closely since it was announced, has put together a fantastic commentary while playing Zeratul on the Haunted Mines battleground.
When it comes to explaining every point of the new game, Quek does well giving the audience the why and how everything is happening. If you want a real explainer from the front lines, it’s hard to do better than Quek commentary.
4) KungenTV
Jesper “Kungen” Rundberg is a popular Swedish streamer who previously played League of Legends professionally with TCM Gaming.
He plays alone on his stream but, if you catch the right game, Rundberg can still provide a string of smart insights that can only come from a player with professional experience. He’s a clever player navigating his way through new territory. That’s pretty fun to watch.
5) Khaldor
Thomas “Khaldor” Kilian, a big time StarCraft 2 commentator, has taken a big shine to Heroes of the Storm. He played a marathon nine hour session to mark the alpha’s launch.
Kilian’s stream is great but, better yet, he managed to sit down and give us a bite-sized look at his first impressions of the game. Even for those of us who have played but haven’t leveled all the way up, Kilian gives everyone a great step-by-step look at the leveling system and how Blizzard introduces new players to the game.
6) HuskyStarCraft
Mike “HuskyStarCraft” Lamond and his e-celebrity friends on a five-person Skype call makes for great streaming. As each of the players learns about the game, they’re talking to each other and the viewer, letting us know about the nuances that only constant play can discover.
