Vanquisher Starter Pack PC Code Provided by Amazon Games
Story and Gameplay
Lost Ark has finally made the journey around the globe to English speaking crowd and the wait has been well worth it. It is one of the best free-to-play games in existence today. Part ARPG, part MMO, Lost Ark is home to a massive story with some truly epic moments between light and darkness, good and evil, with some MMO-esque fetch quests that include collecting plants, animals parts, and many other moments of standard fare. The epic moments of the story of the Ark are truly fantastic with some moments of jaw-dropping sequences that get your blood pumping whilst battling huge bosses or watching the tale unfold. Sadly, many of said epic moments are sometimes spaced between extremely tedious chores.
Gameplay is where Lost Ark truly shines and man, the combat is truly spectacular, if not one of the best systems of all time. With my Mage as my main, I was sizzling, frying, smacking, and hurling massive spells at hordes of enemies in no time. With so many classes to try and constant updates (A huge March update was released at time of publication) with areas, quests, items, and more, you won’t run out of things to do anytime soon. Yes, the leveling can be a bit of a slog while rushing through some quests, this is one MMO-style game that the endgame truly shines. Raids, dungeons, sailing around exploring this massive world, is an absolute joy. While some may enjoy the MMO aspects of this game, I wish it was more ARPG and loot heavy vs the raid style endgame. Either way, I had a blast and will continue to enjoy the game for the foreseeable future.
Audio and Visuals
This is one amazing sounding and looking games, especially for free-to-play. Standing out most are the stunning combat sound effects that only enhance the already-stunning combat system present. While some of the voice acting is a questionable, most of it is ok and the music can also go from whimsical to stirring very quickly. Overall, very solid audio.
As you can see from the 4K screenshots including here, Lost Ark is a gorgeous sight to behold especially when it comes to spells and special effects. Fire, water, ice, lighting, and more absolutely come alive and almost seem to pop off the screen. Character models as equally impressive with high quality textures and animations. Some environments can be a bit drab but overall, there is a massive amount of variety and quality to be had.
Replayability
This section is a bit tricky as there is so much content for a single character to enjoy but not sure if I’d ever want to rush my way through all 50 levels again. If you don’t mind that, you could play this game for months, if not years. Since it’s free, besides the totally optional paid packs for perks, cosmetic items, mounts, and more, it truly is amazing how much play time you can get out of the game.
There are definitely additional unlocks and items for leveling more than one character and the combat alone is so solid on every class I tried, I may have to go back and level another. It would be awesome if there was a different way to level instead of the linear story every time.
What It Could Have Done Better
First off, for now, classes as somewhat gender-locked. This might be a massive problem for some but rumor has it that Smilegate is working on expanding options. Also, as mentioned, the story can be a bit of a slog sometimes as hitting next, next, next to move on with the story instead of reading every line of dialogue is a bit of an issue. Lastly, I wish there were more exciting loot drops especially while leveling up as most mobs drop the same style and look of loot for an entire area. Not a deal breaker as some of it looks stunning, but it can be a bit of letdown. Once again, if this was more an ARPG and less MMO, the game would be much stronger. Besides the prologue, the beginning area is very slow and to be honest, doesn’t draw you in to the good parts of the game that await those who stick it out.
Verdict
In the end, this is a title that every PC gamer should at least give a try since the cost is exactly zero dollars. Make sure you do the prologue and definitely give it more than a few hours to grow on you as the game just gets better and better the further you progress culminating in a massive payoff in endgame. While there are some design options that are questionable, the combat system alone makes this a noteworthy title. I’ve waited a long time for Lost Ark to come to the US and overall, I’m loving it.
