We’ve all been there at one time or another. We’ve been playing the same-old favorite MMO for a long time and then suddenly feel a bit burned out on it. It’s time for a break. But all of the other obvious choices seem equally stale or non-appealing.
You could take a break from MMOs, sure, but perhaps not before investigating one or two titles you may have overlooked in your hasty evaluation of the genre. There are always underrated MMOs that deserve a second look, especially if they’ve been quietly growing better over time. To help with that search, here are 10 such titles that I think shouldn’t be ignored when casting about for a new home — or even a distracting bit of fun.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Once a major top 5 MMO, SWTOR’s slid into a solid B-tier status over the years — still respectable but not quite as popular or updated as it used to be. However, the Broadsword era’s proven to be nurturing for the game with some nice patches, infrastructure improvements, and indications of a positive future with enthusiastic devs behind the wheel.
It’s a game with tons and tons of great voiced story content, almost all the MMO systems you could want, and a future that’s still expanding. This MMO always seems to get passed over in people’s estimations, perhaps because of the final tepid years under BioWare, but I say the Force still is strong with this one.
AdventureQuest 3D
Sometimes you’re not looking for a massive MMO that requires you to no-life it in order to catch up. Sometimes you want something light-hearted, flexible, and breezy fun. For that, I point you toward the criminally overlooked AdventureQuest 3D. This game keeps getting update upon update and offers collectable classes, events, a passionate community, and enough humor to make even the most stone-faced among us chuckle a time or two.
Palia
Palia got written off very early in its lifespan thanks to limited content, halfway-developed systems, and a general feeling that this title wasn’t ready for the mass market. Yet Palia’s seen a rise in its fortunes with a Nintendo Switch release, a studio buyout by Daybreak, plenty of patches to fill out the content holes, and a zone expansion in the works for 2025. It feels like this is the perfect time for a second chance, especially for anyone looking for a cozy multiplayer life sim.
The Secret World
This is the dark horse of this list in more ways than one. True, Funcom’s all but given up on both versions of The Secret World (and has for years), yet the community won’t let this unique MMO fade away. In addition to rabid fans who are eager to evangelize this game to you, this MMO offers some of the most innovative quests, a truly gripping horror-laced storyline, and a contemporary setting. If you’ve never played through it, I’d highly recommend doing so at least once in your life.
Elder Scrolls Online
Even though it’s numerically toward the top of the MMO heap, Elder Scrolls Online always seems to be passed over when it’s time to pick team members for kickball. But it shouldn’t be because this is a full-package MMO with so much great story, flexible questing, fun classes, and cool side systems (archaeology, companions, housing) that are more than enough to overcome its deficiencies and lack of mainstream enthusiasm.
Star Trek Online
While Cryptic’s not been in the best of places with its parent company ownership, let’s not lose sight that it’s running a pretty awesome little MMO even so. Whether you’re a Trekkie, a casual sci-fi fan, or simply a gamer looking for a different kind of online experience, here you go.
With tons of well-written stories, great spaceship battles, and a very passionate community, Star Trek Online shouldn’t be overlooked. Plus, it does an admirable job being a melting pot for a half-century of lore and series.
WoW Classic Era
Sure, The War Within is all the rage right now and Cataclysm Classic is your default “classic” experience, but World of Warcraft’s best-kept secret is how fun and engaging its straight vanilla experience continues to be. The Classic Era servers used to be ghost towns, but they’ve enjoyed a renaissance from players looking for a very old school experience — or even a hardcore mode.
Plus, and this shouldn’t be discounted, Classic Era has such a small footprint on your computer’s hard drive and can be run by actual potatoes.
Embers Adrift
Speaking of both old school design and engaged communities, Embers Adrift actually has been growing in content and popularity since its launch, thanks to a throwback design that fosters group cooperation. It’s a good recommendation to give to anyone who feels that modern MMOs are way too streamlined and simplistic. Plus, now you can play it without a subscription, so it’s more financially affordable than it used to be.
Project Gorgon
Ah, Project Gorgon. You’re the Little MMO That Could. A sort of spiritual successor to Asheron’s Call, this is a quirky skill-based game that makes up for lackluster graphics with an overactive imagination. Mix-and-match combat skills, turn into an animal, engage in community slam poetry, and puzzle your foes with a heavy dose of psychology — and that’s only the start. It’s an amazing MMO to explore when everything else starts feeling same-old, same-old.
Dungeons and Dragons Online
While I’ll be the first to admit that Dungeons and Dragons Online’s character system may be the most complex in the genre and its graphics are an acquired taste, this is one of those MMOs that most people ignore while the actual fans are rabidly enthusiastic and will bend your ear about the game if given half a chance.
It’s a different style of MMO altogether featuring a voiced dungeon master, genuinely fun grouping, multiple D&D campaign settings, an insane amount of character build choices, and some funny, shocking, macabre, and thrilling instances. If I keep typing this paragraph, I’m going to tempt myself into going back!
Everyone likes a good list, and we are no different! Perfect Ten takes an MMO topic and divvies it up into 10 delicious, entertaining, and often informative segments for your snacking pleasure. Got a good idea for a list? Email us at justin@massivelyop.com or eliot@massivelyop.com with the subject line “Perfect Ten.”
