What We Liked..
Strategy and ARPG layers that work
Tons of systems and progression
Big community
.. and what we didn't
Expensive cash shop
Eternal Fury is a free to play browser-based strategy game with a twist. While raising your kingdoms, armies and alliances are all key gameplay features, you'll also need to upgrade your singular hero ruler, with RPG-like gameplay system in place that offers a good time.
Battles are fought on both maps - the kingdom world view and in arena-style battles that shakes up the usual boring and monotonous gameplay. While free to play, Eternal Fury's cash shop is a mixed bag and borderline hovers over what's fair.
What We Liked..
Simple to learn
Great for casual gaming
Lovely cartoon style
.. and what we didn't
Lacks some depth
Probably more suited for a mobile audience
Hero Wars is a browser-based RPG adventure game by Nexters, also available on mobile devices.
It's a casual free-to-play game with over 100 million downloads in the Android and iOS App Store, and also one of the most popular Facebook games in 2023.
But why is it so popular?
One thing we appreciated about Hero Wars is its easy-to-learn gameplay.
You simply follow the storyline or campaign and get to battle with unique and strong heroes: most of the combat will happen automatically, but the player can make a difference by using each character's special skills at the right moment.
The game has pretty good graphics: playful, colorful and eye-catching.
The artworks of the characters are quite different from other similar casual games, and the skill effects used by each character were relatively impressive.
In Hero Wars, you collect over 50 unique heroes to make your team strong. You can obtain these characters by playing the campaign, where you will be rewarded heroes at certain stages. However, you can only use the five strongest heroes in battle.
There are 13 campaigns with 190 missions, and the farther you go, the stronger the enemies become. But don't worry, as you complete each mission, you will receive good and rare loot equipment.
In addition, you can equip each hero with suitable equipment for your class, and level up your heroes by giving them XP brews or sacrificing 10 weaker heroes. The higher the grade of the heroes, the higher their level can be.
Each stage/mission has three stages inside, and the last stage is where you will face the boss. You can also join a guild and start guild battles with your friends.
What We Liked..
Fun gameplay and roster building
Good visuals
Plenty of content
No need to pay to fully enjoy all the PvE content
.. and what we didn't
Grinding can be tedious in the advanced stages...
... unless you're willing to spend money in the cash shop
RAID: Shadow Legends is a free to play fantasy MMO with strong RPG elements. Developed by Plarium, it puts players in control of their party of hero characters in combat.
At the game's core is the PvE progression in which you'll embark on story campaigns, dungeons and faction wars in order to level up your heroes and give them better gear.
Combat is turn-based, complex enough to keep it stimulating on the long run, but also easy to grasp for beginners.
You'll recruit new heroes over time (there are hundreds of them!), each one with its own strenghts and weaknesses that can be enhanched\mitigated through the use of artifacts, potions, glyphs and other items.
Only those who will understand how to maximize the potential of their champions will be able to climb the rankings in the PvP arena, the ultimate objective for the advanced player.
RAID features very good visuals: all of the in-game artworks (characters, locations, items, etc..) are beautiful, and this contributes a lot to the lore and atmosphere of the game.
Overall, RAID is a very good and fun MMORPG.
Plarium was known for making top-notch, though ordinary, strategy browser-games... with RAID, they markedly upped their ambitions. While it does feature some of the mechanics typical of the company's browser-based titles (like the Bastion to grow your hub), its core lies in the brand-new RPG elements of turn-based combat and heroes collection, which is where the real fun begins for MMORPG lovers.
What We Liked..
Plenty of popular heroes to collect
Very accessible
Decent graphics
.. and what we didn't
Cash shop reliant to bypass grinds
Dark Genesis is a free to play browser-based idle MMORPG which lets you collect popular demigods as heroes: if you've always wanted to see Loki, Shiva and Anubis battle side by side against hordes of enemies, then Dark Genesis is the game for you.
Its party battle system will let you unlock and collect a large variety of popular entities that span across different fantasy icons, cultural heroes and more: you'll form a party of these heroes and challenge opponents in PvE and PvP battles through a series of map stages.
Outside of battle mode, the sky castle map is your home base which unlocks new features as you level up, letting you get access to new buildings and infrastructures that will make you progress faster-
As an added bonus, there's a charm to the game with its decent graphics and easy accessibility
What We Liked..
The Foundry
Battle system
Exploring the Forgotten Realms
.. and what we didn't
Questing can get a tad bit boring
Its technical side
Watch the trailer:
Neverwinter is a new free-to-play MMORPG based off the classic table-top RPG, Dungeons and Dragons. The game immerses the player into the Forgotten Realms, the world in which Dungeons and Dragons takes place.
As usual, at the beginning of the game you create your own personal character, choosing their race, class and even their "faith" and back story. The battle system is rather fluid and is controlled by the player in real time, allowing the rhythm of the game to keep steady.
Neverwinter gives the players even more control of the game with its online quest creation system. Appropriately called the "Foundry", it allows you to make your own personalized adventures which all players are able to play.
Neverwinter is a great MMORPG thanks to the originality of its combat system and quest creator all while still holding to its classical RPG roots. If you've played Dungeons and Dragons, there's no excuse not to try Neverwinter.
What We Liked..
Ridiculously fun PvP battles
Quick match-making
Good graphics
.. and what we didn't
Optimization is a hit or miss
Bland PvE mode
Watch the trailer:
Conqueror's Blade is hybrid blend of medieval MMO gameplay and deep tactical warfare, which places your characters in kingdoms that you'll represent in this feudal age. You'll play as a Warlord, utilizing a chosen class inspired from both Eastern and Western cultures. In its PvE, you'll level up your class, gaining skills and recruiting units for the looming battles ahead. In PvP, expect fun 15 versus 15 siege battles where you and other Warlords fight for regional supremacy that results in better crafting yields, trading opportunities and fame. Conqueror's Blade is a free and unique MMO, but not one without its flaws.
What We Liked..
It's Star Trek!
Wandering through space is a joy
Good representation of galactic battles
Great character customization system
.. and what we didn't
Some repetitive quest types
Unworthy animation
Star Trek Online is an MMO developed by Cryptic Studios and inspired the eponymous television series.
Chronologically, it is set thirty years after the conclusion of the events of Star Trek: Nemesis and drops us in the middle of the rekindled conflict between the Federation and the Klingons, without forgetting about the Borg, always lurking in the background.
Character customization is very good and allows you to choose between three different factions, with numerous races for each, and three distinct classes between them.
Customization also extends to physical appearance and choice of skills.
During the game we will have the opportunity to complete assignments on foot or aboard our personal spaceship.
On foot, the game seems like an action/RPG hybrid where we directly control our character through a third-person view.
Aboard the ship, however, we will have the opportunity to fight and to explore the surrounding area.
Graphically the game is very good but is lacking in some technical fields, one of which is the animation in the third-person sections.
All in all, it's a good game for fans of the genre and a great game for avid fans of Star Trek.
What We Liked..
Generous free to play model
Large playerbase
Steady stream of updates and content
Great sandbox
.. and what we didn't
Not solo friendly
Lacks content diversity
Large world but feels empty
Genre: mmorpg
Setting: fantasy, historical
Graphics: full 3D
PvP: guild or factions matches or duels PvE PvP
When it comes to free to play sandbox MMORPGs, Albion Online stands out. Its top-down isometric gameplay, low-polygonal graphics, huge game world and immersive sandbox systems are its core strengths that keeps its healthy playerbase coming back for more. In Albion, players will grow their classless characters into farmers, crafters, traders or sell-swords, depending on what you want to do which means there's literally something for everyone. While its progression systems are deep and complex, it offers long-term grinds that are worth the effort. Unfortunately, solo players will find it hard to progress far in PvE if they dislike PvP, while large guilds and factions will dominate the economy in different parts of Albion. Overall, it's a solid free to play MMORPG.
What We Liked..
One of the best space sim MMOs to-date
Plenty of content
ships and players
Huge battles are stories worth experiencing
.. and what we didn't
Can be too complex for new players
Grindy in-between fun moments
EVE Online is a legendary space simulation MMO that first launched in 2003. The game puts players in a compelling visual game world that's all about conquering space for your race, corporation and faction. With almost two decades worth of content and updates, EVE Online offers PvE and PvP that's unique in the genre, where both solo players and large guilds can carve our their own fun and history through huge battles where everything is at stake, in addition to exploration, economy, crafting and more. While it's an intricately complex game to get into for new players, the time investment pays off in the long run if you have an end goal in mind. The game is free to play and its microtransactions aren't that intrusive. Overall, it's still a household MMO title and worth playing even today.
What We Liked..
Classic RPG Style
Great PVP fighting mechanics
Armor and weapons still look cool
.. and what we didn't
Dated graphics & low res character models
Heavily P2W PVP
Unbalanced economy
Very low player base
Shaiya holds a place in many people’s hearts as the first MMO they’ve ever played. And as such, people looking back on it today might be viewing it through those dark-tinted nostalgia glasses which may obscure their objectivity when talking about it.
Over 11 years since its’ release, does Shaiya hold up? In a way (Private servers), yes, but for the most part, Shaiya is as dead as an MMO can get. The way it works with old-school MMOs is they either need to have a large enough player base to keep them going, or they need to modernize with the times to draw in newer players.
Shaiya does neither. Few veterans of the game are left, and the changes that the developers have made to the game over the years have only pushed old-school players away even more. There’s nothing on offer here that the new generation of gamers won’t find somewhere else. Somewhere better. The uniqueness of Ultimate Mode, is little more than a novelty feature now, and the P2W aspects of the PVP just kill the game, despite its’ potential. Shaiya still has its’ high points, but the official game is long past its’ prime.