UPDATE 2/7/2022: Having played this game for over an additional week, I can say that the ranking system has improved. While the player difficulty has definitely improved (currently Gold Tier 3), I have gotten better because I was able to form a deck that fit my playstyle and gave me a fighting chance. Yes, I still face players that activate 12+ effects in a single turn, but I am able to give them a challenge and beat them from time to time. My review below has not been further revised. Thank you.
----Original Review Below---
Having been born in the 1990s, it is safe to say that both Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! were a part of my childhood. And while I did not mind the adventure of "catching them all," I was really pulled towards Yu-Gi-Oh! with its interesting card game mechanics and the badass look of the classic Blue Eyes White Dragon. I played a couple of the Yu-Gi-Oh! games during my childhood but none of them really matched my expectations at the time, which was mainly dueling my friends. Of course, technology was limited to friends being in the same room to play against each other and we mainly stook with the decks we built in the real world. I haven't played the game in over 15 years but when I came across Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel on my PlayStation 5, I decided to give it a shot. And what I came across was a little path down memory lane playing with some of my favorite cards as well as being introduced to some new ones along the way. Oh....and that the game has mightily changed since the classic Yu-Gi adventures.
Concept
Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel is a free-to-play game where you can build your own deck and face off against players across the world. While there is not a storyline perse to follow, there is a Solo category where you can learn about some of the newer cards out in the world (highly recommended for people like me that only followed the original series). There you are able to practice with some of the new cards, gain knowledge on some of the mechanics, and play in some practice duels where you can win some in-game cash or a few rare cards you can put into your personalized deck.
The concept of a Yu-Gi-Oh game is simple: each player begins with 8000 life points and the objective is to deplete your opponent's life points to zero. To do this, you must summon monsters and use spell / trap cards to gain the upper hand over your opponent. That is the basic structure - I could do into Link Summoning, Synchro Summoning, and others like that but it is best to leave that to the game. (Fusion / Ritual Summoning was as complex as it got for me when I was still watching the show.) That being, the game does a good job with explaining each type of card and how to use them. After you practice with those cards, the game even gives you the option to play against AI with a deck filled with these cards so you can get used to them even more. I won most of my duels but mainly out of luck - most of the time I was just using card effects until I had enough monsters on the field to destroy my opponent's life points. This is the best way to play the game as you need to be strategic based on what is on your opponent's side of the field.
While this is a free-to-play game, there is an in-game currency for you to buy card packs and decks to further build upon your personalized deck. While you can purchase this currency with your own money (aka microtransactions), the game does award you with this currency by completing Solo missions and engaging in ranked play. There are also ways to develop cards you are looking for to expand your deck. Along the way, you will acquire duplicates of a lot of different cards. Instead of selling these cards (or keeping them in your stockpile), you can deconstruct those cards for points that you can then use to generate new cards that you want. It's a good idea and limits the necessity of buying card packs in game.
Speaking of ranked play, good luck to newbies like me. I got up to a Silver Tier 5 and got torched continuously by other online players that seemed to be doing 30 turns worth of plays in their first phase of the game. I was actually getting frustrated by facing these players who were very good at utilizing all of the mechanics of the game when I was stuck in the early 2000s. I kind of wish there was an option to have a "Classic Ranked Mode" where the mechanics of the game were focused on the first few seasons of the show. But that is wishful thinking and understand that I must adapt to 15+ years of updates to the trading card game. But even with that in mind, I felt I was playing against players who were diamond (if that even is a rank) compared to silver players. Maybe this will be more fleshed out as the game matures but it is incredibly frustrating to play against players who are obviously way above my level every...single...game. And while I got frustrated most of the time, I still find myself going back to the game.
Verdict
Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel is one of the better Yu-Gi-Oh! games out there. It benefits from being free-to-play and it looks like it will only get better. With events / tournaments being hinted in the future, I can see this being a huge success for the fans of the trading card game. For gamers like me who used to play Yu-Gi-Oh! at one time, it is a nice path down memory lane. But if you want to play amongst the best (or even half of the current fanbase), be prepared to lose often as you try to understand how the game has changed over the past two decades. The ranked system is incredibly unbalanced, but I believe that will improve as the community increases over time. I can see gamers who left the card game years ago go back and give this a shot...even if it is to reminisce on the simpler times. With that in mind, Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel can be a good time.
Score: 8/10