- Highly enjoyable and addictive gameplay experience
- Nostalgic classic MMO with satisfying progression
- Truly free with no monetization pressures
- Persistent login and connection failures reported
- Severe server rollbacks disrupting gameplay progress
- Plagiarized assets damaging game credibility
Emotions
The primary causes of frustration stem from severe technical and accessibility issues, including persistent login failures, server instability, and frequent disconnections. Players also report losing progress due to rollbacks, overcrowded servers, and poorly designed UI elements like immovable inventory windows and obstructive chat overlays.
Disappointment arises from the game's lack of content, unoriginal design, and poor technical execution. Players criticize the reuse of assets from other games, shallow gameplay mechanics, and unmet expectations due to stability issues, limited features, and perceived rushed development.
Players feel excitement due to the game's engaging and nostalgic gameplay mechanics, such as flexible progression systems, rewarding loot drops, and intense combat. The potential for future content, like dungeons and PvP, along with the free-to-play model, also contributes to this positive emotion.
The game evokes nostalgia by replicating the style and mechanics of classic MMOs, such as Ultima Online, Diablo, and Lineage I. Players appreciate the old-school design, lack of modern monetization, and the familiar vibes reminiscent of early 2000s gaming experiences.
Enjoyment is driven by the game's fun and addictive core gameplay loop, including fluid combat, rewarding progression, and engaging exploration. Players highlight the pleasant and refreshing experience, particularly in leveling, loot systems, and class-specific mechanics like the Ranger.
Verdict
Mostly negative
Summary
Positive 53% · Negative 47%. Score: 47 / 100
Positives:
- Players consistently praise the game's fun and addictive nature, highlighting its engaging PvE and PvP mechanics, as well as its rewarding gameplay loop. The simplicity and snappy feel of the gameplay are frequently mentioned as key strengths.
- The game is widely celebrated for its retro, old-school MMO style, reminiscent of titles like Ultima Online, Diablo II, and Lineage I. Players appreciate its adherence to traditional MMORPG mechanics without unnecessary modern systems.
- The progression system is praised for being meaningful, granular, and impactful, with a balanced pace that avoids excessive grinding. Players enjoy the loot, upgrades, and character customization options.
- The game is commended for its complete lack of monetization, microtransactions, or pay-to-win elements. Players appreciate the absence of hidden costs and the developer's reliance on donations only.
- The game is lauded for being developed by a single person, with players expressing admiration for its quality, responsiveness, and polish given the solo development context. The developer's effort and transparency are highly respected.
Negatives:
- Many players cannot log in due to authentication errors, full servers, or client crashes after repeated attempts. Some report being unable to register accounts or access the game despite reinstallations.
- Players report frequent and unpredictable rollbacks, often losing 10-30 minutes of progress, including levels, quest rewards, and items. This issue is exacerbated by server crashes and memory leaks, making the game frustrating to play.
- Players criticize the game for sparse quests, limited endgame content, and a small map with few dungeons/classes. The gameplay is described as bland, with quick leveling and little incentive to continue playing.
- The game is accused of copying sounds, icons, character art, and even dungeon layouts from titles like *AION*, *The Elder Scrolls*, and *Magic: The Gathering*, raising concerns about originality and potential legal issues.
- Players report small, poorly designed characters, a tiny map, and minimal customization options. The graphics are described as outdated, and the UI lacks adjustability.
Gameplay:
- The game features a robust progression system centered on experience points (XP), gear upgrades, and loot acquisition. Players can level up to a cap of 25, with granular stat allocation and ARPG-like mechanics driving advancement.
- Combat relies on a tab-targeting mechanic, familiar to traditional MMORPG players. This system is paired with WASD or click-to-move controls for fluid movement during battles.
- The game offers competitive PvP modes, including open-world zones, 2v2 arenas, and skill-balanced combat. PvP is a core focus, with some players noting it as a free-to-play highlight.
- Reaching the level cap (25) requires 4-6 hours of grinding, with endgame content centered on loot farming and gear upgrades. Some players find the grind repetitive or tedious.
- The game includes four dungeons (two solo, two group) with multiple difficulties and key-based entry. Dungeons are a key PvE feature, offering lootable rewards and scalable challenges.
Performance:
- Servers struggle to handle high player volumes, leading to full servers, login failures, and no queue system. Infrastructure limitations prevent smooth scaling, especially at launch.
- Players experience constant disconnections, server crashes, and unstable connections, often tied to rollbacks or login attempts. Some crashes occur every 3-4 hours.
- Despite issues, some players praise the game's smooth performance, fluid gameplay, and custom engine. Servers with capped player limits also show no lag.
- Some players report freezes (5-8 seconds), memory leaks, and resolution struggles on lower-end hardware. Compatibility issues arise with sandbox/VMware due to API hooks.
- Infrequent server saves and character deletion issues lead to lost items or progress, compounding frustration from rollbacks.
Recommendations:
- The game is highly recommended for fans of classic MMORPGs, ARPGs, and nostalgic experiences like WoW Classic or Diablo II. Players appreciate its execution of familiar concepts and appeal to grinding enthusiasts.
- While some players encourage trying the game for its potential or free model, others advise waiting until server issues, rollbacks, and disconnects are resolved. Concerns about developer track records also impact recommendations.
- The absence of pay-to-win mechanics and monetization makes the game worth trying for players frustrated with modern monetization practices. Its free access lowers the barrier to entry.
- Requested features include UI customization (e.g., moving elements), click casting, item comparison, and an LFG tab for easier group formation. Players also suggest cheaper XP point resets.
- Some players recommend using throwaway emails or virtual machines due to perceived security risks, while others ignore launch-day issues to focus on gameplay.
Miscellaneous:
- The game is currently in alpha/beta stages, leading to expectations of bugs, incomplete features, and frequent updates. Players testing these versions often highlight instability or missing content as a drawback.
- The game forces players to create accounts outside of Steam (e.g., via Discord or a custom platform), which is criticized as inconvenient and a potential security risk. Some suspect malicious intent like keylogging.
- Multiple reviews accuse the developer of using stolen or improperly sourced assets, including those from *Aion* (non-commercial use). This has sparked controversy about ethical development practices and legal risks.
- Players emphasize that initial experiences (e.g., bugs, presentation, or onboarding) directly influence their decision to uninstall. Superficial aesthetics are noted as masking deeper issues, leading to quick disengagement.
- Criticism focuses on the developer’s reliance on Discord for support and lack of transparent communication. Players report frustration with unresolved issues and delayed responses, particularly in public channels.
