Discord allows you to chat with your friends through the web. Its emphasis is gaming, but you can use it for anything you'd like.
Quarrel brings the Discord experience to just about every type of Windows 10 device and incorporates Fluent Design to create a beautiful client. Unfortunately, the app has flaws holding it back.
The app is available for free on Windows 10, Xbox One, Windows Mixed Reality, and Windows 10 Mobile. If you want to upgrade to remove ads, you'll have to pay $1.29.
Beautiful design
Quarrel takes the clean look of Discord and adds just a bit of flair to it. The general layout is the same, with a large chat area and your contacts and servers on the left, but aspects of it feature Fluent Design. The app has customization options and looks good in both light and dark themes.
From the looks of it, Quarrel doesn't seem like the developer just switches all blacks over to transparency and called it Fluent. Transparency effects are well placed and enhance the look. There's subtle blurring when you open specific parts of the UI and the app mixes gray and black transparency well. This attention to detail creates a beautiful app while maintaining the original feel of Discord.
Bugs and issues
While the design of Quarrel is excellent, the app has stability issues and lacks some key Discord features. In my testing, I had to reset the app when it hung on a login screen, couldn't join a new server using a link, and ran into crashes and general stability issues. There's always a chance that issues are more prevalent on my hardware than other people's, but multiple reviewers of the app mention similar problems.
Additionally, Quarrel lacks voice chat support. I use Discord for chatting in servers, but a primary use of the service is voice chatting during gaming sessions. Not being able to voice call while playing games is going to be a deal breaker for many.
Overall thoughts on Quarrel for Windows 10
Unfortunately, I can't recommend Quarrel right now. It shows promise with its beautiful design and use of Fluent Design, but its missing features and stability issues hold it back from being a reliable client.
The developer of Quarrel seems keen to keep it updated, so hopefully, these issues can be ironed out in the future because I love the look and feel of Quarrel.
Pros
- Beautiful design
- Available on many Windows 10 devices
Cons
- Stability issues
- Missing key Discord features
