If you’ve been reading the MMORPG subreddit lately, you’ll know that the mods there are making an attempt to feature indie MMO developers and games. But the first game highlighted through this new initiative, Ravendawn, has already sparked controversy. It’s apparently been in development since 2017 for PC with mobile support, and if you like how Tibia looks, you’re really going to like this one a lot since it seems to be built using Open Tibia, prompting Redditors to accuse it of being a ripoff at worst and merely a private server at best, while the devs have defended their work, stating, “All our work is completely our own, we are our own IP and Cipsoft has no grounds on any of our work.” No good deed, eh?
In any case, the art style and slanted perspective seem to be an acquired taste regardless. “Our art direction for Ravendawn has been to pay homage to two childhood games for us, Ultima Online & Tibia’s art styles, while having our own modern illustrated twist to the style,” Living Phoenix Entertainment writes. “Ravendawn’s gameplay however is a dramatically different experience from all of these games. Much more akin to a hybrid of the best parts of modern MMORPGs and oldschool MMORPGs alike. Our mission with Ravendawn is to reignite a nostalgic isometric art style focusing on depth of gameplay, community and unique character design over empty graphics.”
The press kit on the official website has a timeline putting alpha for Q1 (already passed), closed beta for Q2, and release for Q3 of this year, but the devs on Reddit says the game is now “approaching public alpha” that will be “comparable to most projects betas” – that they aren’t “rushing the release.” According to the official website, the finished project will include houses, a player economy, a political system, and a unique PvP loot system. We’ve tucked the screenies and new trailer down below.
