Whenever I’m looking at a new MMORPG, there are two important hurdles it must cross to be of interest to me. The first is whether the whole concept of it is personally appealing, and the second if the execution of it is well-done. I don’t know about you, but if a game fails to clear either of those, it’s a no-go for me.
Since we can’t know if the final product is well-done until it’s actually in our hands, it’s this first hurdle that I’m going to be speaking more to in this column. Corepunk is a title that, almost from the moment it was announced, easily jumped over the first hurdle. I like the idea — but I’m genuinely worried that it’s going to faceplant on the second part. With this title allegedly coming out by the end of this year, we may find out soon.
Taking the hybrid approach
I think it was a great idea for Artificial Core to zero in on a thematic hybrid of technology and fantasy for Corepunk. The MMO market is oversaturated with generic fantasy titles, so unless you’re going to hitch your wagon to a well-known IP in this field, it’s crucial to come up with a way to make your fantasy game stand out.
See, I’m more a sci-fi nerd at heart than a fantasy one, although I am fine with the latter. But if you give me some good sci-fi vibes or even a full-fledged sci-fi setting, well, I am there. Some of my favorite MMOs over the years have been games like WildStar and SWTOR, titles that are square in the middle of sci-fi but reach across the aisle into fantasy as well.
With WildStar gone and SWTOR‘s development slowed way down, there hasn’t been a lot of movement in the sci-fi MMO space. Along comes Corepunk with robots and orcs and neon and guns and swords… and I’m like, “Yes, please!” (Although some artist is apparently very, very lonely over there.)
And while I’m truly not a fan of isometric MMORPGs — there’s something about the camera distance that fosters a disconnect with my character — I do think it was a wise choice for this smaller team with more limited resources. From what I’ve seen, the artists have created a vibrant and detailed world with this perspective, and it should be cool to explore.
A troubled history
But neat hybrid approaches and pretty eye candy do not a solid MMO make. Corepunk’s development history was – and continues to be – one of the most troubled and unpredictable efforts, including numerous delays, an actual war and studio relocation, and testing periods marked by crashes, exploits, and resets.
In fact, the project only recently transitioned from alpha to beta testing. The last we heard in September is that there’s still a whole lot of heavy adjustments and “several major improvements” that the team was handling – and that was just after the team shut down new preorder purchases, saying it had enough testers in this phase. This is not the picture of a game that’s cruising through a polish phase; it’s the warning signs of a project where nervous last-minute changes are hoping to make all of this work.
Heck, the studio admitted that it “practically completely redesigned” the entire combat system in the past few months. That doesn’t give me high confidence that this is good to go. It makes me concerned that this game isn’t working on a fundamental level — at least yet.
So one of two things are going to happen here. Either Artificial Core is going to stick to its earlier plan to push Corepunk out the door on November 26th come hell or high water, or it’s going to admit that this title isn’t prepared for any sort of release and push it back to 2025.
Suck up the delay
If it’s the former, the odds are stacked in favor of this being a messy disaster that the bulk of MMORPG players will more or less skip. Yes, Corepunk has a noteworthy theme, but its inconsistent messaging and shifting dates have prevented it from generating the level of community and hype that it needs to explode out of the gate. Anything less than perfection is going to whiff.
Everyone that I’ve heard testing this MMO speaks to both its potential and incomplete nature, and there’s no indication that Corepunk has fully addressed the latter. No matter how much marketing teams would like it otherwise, an MMO only gets one chance to make a first impression. This is an unforgiving, quick-to-move-on crowd that’s not going to be showing a lot of patience for a launched product that’s still under construction.
I’m totally fine if Corepunk delays. Yet again. It’s almost certainly the right move, even if it means the studio has to take some egg to the face for the November 26th target date. The absolute best-case scenario for this title is to get it right, get it polished, and then get it out to the initial crowd and have them evangelize this game to friends. Start small but solid and grow from there.
But if that’s going to happen, the foundation has to be firm and without cracks. And Corepunk’s going to need more time to get there.
Do you love spectating and speculating about upcoming MMOs? We do too! Every week, Justin tackles another upcoming title on the MMO Hype Train with opinions, analysis, and blind fervent hope. Choo choo all aboard!
