Last week the MMO Launch Spotlight took a breather to celebrate some awesome RPGs that released during Steam Next Fest. This week, there’s a slew of new MMOs just waiting for your attention. Let’s get right into it.
Crestfallen: Medieval Survival
Medieval fantasy survival game Crestfallen has released a demo on Steam February 3rd. This survival game pits players against dragons and orcs in both a single player and multiplayer mode. The game has had a playable demo for about a year now, but the latest update has plenty of crafting items, enchanting, and AI and player-built castles to siege.
Testing is still underway, and while multiplayer servers are currently running, it seems tests may be centered around about 20 players per server. As the game heads towards launch, these numbers may change, though Early Access launch appears to be planned for July 1st, 2024. That being said, the team at Bloodbath Studios has stated the game will likely be in active development for ‘several years’. So if you want a baseline of where the game is now, the demo is free to try throughout February.
Shop Legends (AKA Shop Heroes Legends)
Oh gee, Cloudcade’s PC port of android title Shop Legends Tycoon has hit Steam on February 4th. This is a “business tycoon” type of game, and while it obtusely falls under the MMO category, this very obvious mobile-forward title has made it to the list, and is available to play now.
In this game, you’ll craft gear for your customers, dictate your orders to heroes, and gather rare loot as you go. If you’re looking to build an idle empire where your (real money) funds directly correlate to your advancement, Shop Legends may be for you. This may be why the game currently sits at a mixed review rating on both Steam and a slightly higher mixed rating on the Play Store. Many players who flocked to the game were fans of the original Shop Heroes and some state that Shop Legends has some pacing and lack of features in its current state.
1387 MMO Strategy
Text-based MMO 1387 MMO Strategy has been listed on Steam as of February 4th, 2024. Celadogan Gunes, the developer, plans to release the free game on February 26th this year. According to the Steam page, this game is inspired by mobile and web-based strategy games of the 2010 era.
In 1387 you’ll sift through menus as one of the first explorers to the New World. Build alliances with other players, and then manage your colony and advance on others to attack their settlements in this idle strategy MMO. You can currently jump into the demo by downloading it on Steam.
Trimurti Online
We wrote about the open alpha of Trimurti Online back in December of 2023. Now in February 2024, the game has released a demo ahead of their release on February 13th.
For those unfamiliar with Trimurti Online, the game is essentially a remade Tantra Online where you will battle monsters and along with other players, participate in raids, and enjoy an Indian themed world. The game has been rebuilt with Unreal Engine 5, though the team at GameOlic states they have utilized the older assets to keep the style of the original title.
The Magic Land
MMORPG The Magic Land released on Steam February 9th, 2024. This magical world, built by Racs Studio is described as a “virtual playground” where you will explore, solve puzzles, and play alongside friends. There isn’t much information about The Magic Land on Steam, but what I’m able to find is that it’s a pretty bad blockchain game. In fact, I couldn’t even validate the official servers due to an SSL error. Just generally a bad practice for anything blockchain related.
The game has an overwhelmingly negative review score on Steam, and from what I’m able to glean from the reviews and browsing the official site, there are non NFT classic servers. The official site also has some story lore, details the 4 character classes, the Knight, Paladin, Druid, and Sorcerer, and also gives basics on how to play. My recommendation is to stay far away from this one for the time being.
This may be the launch spotlight, so I want everyone to know it launched, but it’s not the no opinion spotlight, so I want players to be fully aware that this is probably a game you should avoid. If you must play, use Steam’s version, and stick to the classic server, do not attempt their blockchain offering.
I Love The High School Affiliated to Normal University
Yes, I Love The High School Affiliated to Normal University is the name of this game, and yes, it’s a Chinese game with NO English Language support. It also hasn’t released on Steam as of yet. It has, however, made its debut as a Steam page, as of February 9th, 2024.
At this time, according to the Steam page, the game features 3 monsters. As a classmate, you’ll battle with swords and spells, and take down these monsters as they come. Eventually you may be tasked with defeating a monster at a much higher level than yours, which is where banding together alongside other players comes in. From what I’m to understand, this game primarily takes place in the campus of the school.
From what I’m able to find here, this game was developed by HSNU, a school in Beijing. The development team on Steam is "The Employees of Primary and Secondary Schools Attached to Normal University". In the Steam details, it was started by a Mathematics teacher at HSNU that was interested in gaming development. It seems they plan to release a full version later this year. I’m not sure if the teacher really sees campus dwellers as monsters, but what a strange title. As it appears to be more of a hobbyist project, it might be something to follow along with just to see how it all pans out.
Elemental Land
Elemental Land released their demo via Next Fest. Brazilian developer Water Eye has decidedly planned to release the game “soon” on PC and Android devices, with a push to other platforms later on.
Elemental Land boasts 5 classes, PvE and PvP challenges, crafting, trading, and a cash shop that is cosmetic only. Water Eye states that the game is currently in Alpha, and you can jump into it on the demo version, at least until Next Fest concludes. Luckily, the game is planned to release as a free to play title, though no exact release date has been given as of yet. The cartoony graphics and light color palette give this game a more casual feel that might skew to younger gamers. The game seems to be far from complete, but it might be a fun diversion if you’re looking to try something off beat.
Kind Words 2
Kind Words 2 is less of an MMORPG and more of an MMO social space. Popcannibal’s lofi city pop game has one thing, and one thing only in mind. Being nice to real people. The game feels a lot like Animal Crossing meets Sky: Children of the Light especially with the big-headed cartoon style and endearing premise. You’ll interact with real people, writing letters, expressing your worries, and comforting other players with your kind words.
The game is very text-focused, where you’ll write just about anything to other players, as long as you stick to the main rule, being kind. In-game events, like poetry slams, and music recommendations are common in Kind Words 2. What I find most interesting here is that the game does have a Mature content warning. This is primarily because you’re talking with other players, and these conversations can take a mature departure, sometimes skewing from what the intended purpose of the game is.
While I can’t say for certain how well moderation takes place in Kind Words 2 I will say that this is a fantastic premise for an MMO, where we’re often bombarded with constant negativity and competition. If you want to feel a little positivity in your day, the demo for Kind Words 2 is now available until the end of Next Fest. You can also request access to the beta if you love it so much and want to partake in testing. The release date is still TBD.
