first impressions
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV’s Arcadion brings the noise
There has been a question that has kind of been bubbling in the background of the entire premise behind Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, and...
First Impresions: Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail is a dense summer getaway for the MMORPG
I finished up Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail's story a while ago, but I've been spending a couple days turning over what I think about...
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail’s relatively smooth early access isn’t a sign of doom
On Sunday evening, I had to log out from Final Fantasy XIV to take care of an errand. This is not unusual. It is,...
First impressions of ASKA, Sand Sailor’s brand-new colony-building survival sandbox
Thanks to the press preview hosted by Thunderful and Sand Sailor, I recently had the opportunity to play around with survival sandbox ASKA a...
First Impressions: Tarisland’s interesting gameplay isn’t enough to surmount shoddy temport quality
When we issued our 2024 predictions for the MMORPG genre during our annual year-end articles, I said that Tarisland would be a sleeper hit,...
Massively Overthinking: Unfair stigmas that follow MMORPGs
A few weeks back, our team was discussing the intersection of survival sandboxes, MMORPG virtual worlds, and gankboxes - and how hard it is...
SGF 2024: Hands-on with NCsoft’s long-awaited Throne and Liberty, launching September 17
Most of the games I played at Summer Game Fest were more enjoyable than I expected - including Throne and Liberty, which was probably...
SGF 2024: Hands-on with New World’s controversial Aeternum reboot, which is still an MMORPG
How's everyone recovering from all this New World Aeternum news coming out of Summer Games Fest? It's been kind of a confusing time for me, as...
Hands-on with V Rising: PC vs. PS5, multiplayer, and progression impressions
You might think given the last few pieces I've written that I might have a thing for vampires. I vehemently deny this. It is...
First Impressions: Elder Scrolls Online story, not scribing, is Gold Road’s apex
If you followed my series of Choose My Adventure columns from last month, you'll know that I ended up making Elder Scrolls Online my...
Progress Bar: Wayfinder is in a much better place as an offline game
Normally we're the sort of gamers who advocate for more MMOs and multiplayer games, not less. We're also all about games being preserved. Therein...
First Impressions: Corepunk’s MOBA-esque closed alpha was fun – with lots of room to grow
I've got a pretty good poker face, especially when nobody can see my face. So I've been pretty subtle about my excitement for Corepunk...
Second Wind: V Rising’s 1.0 build is a fangtastic revamp of the vampire survival sandbox
It doesn't seem possible that V Rising burst onto the scene almost two years ago, but here we are. I sometimes struggle to get...
Second Wind: World of Warcraft’s radically casual new endgame
Today we're going to be dusting off Second Wind, a column where we revisit MMOs of the past. It's an older column, sir, but...
First Impressions: Gigantic Rampage Edition’s classic Clash mode and the game’s overall plans for the future
I admit that when I was first invited by Gearbox Publishing to get my hands on the resurgent Gigantic, I was mostly awestruck. I...
First impressions: Final Stand Ragnarok is not Camelot Unchained, but it’s a fun romp anyway
At the top of 2020, when City State Entertainment's Mark Jacobs first announced Final Stand Ragnarok - called Project Colossus back then - it...
The Daily Grind: Are there any MMOs you waited for reviews before buying?
As someone who spends a not-insubstantial part of my life reviewing games, especially with bigger titles, I know it sometimes feels like wasted time....
Global Chat: What are the top dragons in EverQuest?
If you were pressed to put together a top 10 list of the most famous and infamous dragons in EverQuest, which beasties would you...
Progress Bar: Inside the latest 24-hour pre-alpha test of Pantheon Rise of the Fallen
This past Saturday was when Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen elected to open up its floodgates and let a whole bunch of people into...
First Impressions: Nightingale’s survival and realmwalking blend could make it a stand-out in the sub-genre
Our regular readers know that the survival sandbox sub-genre is suddenly getting very crowded in very short order, which means that the upcoming gaslamp...
