There’s no denying that Chrono Odyssey has piqued the interest of many MMORPG gamers who are awaiting something that could truly be considered ‘Next-Gen’. Developer Chrono Studio (A subsidiary of NPIXEL) and publisher Kakao Games have leveraged Unreal Engine 5 to create a game that is certainly stunning to behold, but there’s more than just gorgeous visuals to get players hyped for Chrono Odyssey. Here are five features that you should look forward to in the upcoming open-world Action MMORPG.
Engaging Action Combat
In most MMORPGs, combat is a major focus and essentially drives almost every game mode. In Chrono Odyssey, it’s clear that the developers are taking their time to make combat unique and meaningful. Last year the team dropped a gameplay video that showed off numerous combat scenarios, outlining their action-combat focus. The depiction of a stereotypical warrior facing off against a giant great sword wielding monster emphasized the necessity to dodge attacks while striking carefully.
The combat felt somewhat reminiscent of games like Elden Ring, where players will be tasked with learning a specific move set of an enemy in order to counter it. We also saw the necessity to block and counter certain attacks later, with multiple classes taking on specifc roles to take down some of the gruesome creatures they encountered. Ranged characters were firing off arrows, mages were flinging spells, and melee characters were swiftly striking and blocking devastating attacks.
Weapon swapping will also play a big part in how you’ll dispatch your enemies, so choosing a class with weapons that complement your playstyle will be a must. It’s clear that Chrono Odyssey will cater to a more twitch-focused crowd, which will delight players looking for a very active combat system. The team has begun testing combat, so it's only a matter of time before we start to see much more of what's in store.
Classes for All
Customization will reportedly be a big part of Chrono Odyssey. While it’s highly likely the team wouldn't have gone through the trouble of creating some of the most bewitching creatures just to skimp on their character creator, it also looks like we’re going to be blessed with numerous classes and potential archetypes to choose from.
While all player characters will take on the abilities of an artifact known as a Chronotector, which will allow them to manipulate time, there will be plenty of classes to merge with your artifact that will surely appeal to your preferred playstyle.
In the combat video, we were shown numerous weapons and combat styles from the 6 different classes: Swordsman, Ranger, Sorcerer, Paladin, Berserker, and Assassin. No classes appear to be gender-locked, so you’ll be able to build the character you want. When it comes to weapons, twin axes, spears, sword and shield, great swords, great axes, dual blades, bows, staves and spell books with various magical abilities, rifles, and maces were all shown as weapons of choice, displaying a multitude of flashy abilities. While it’s a bit too early to determine where some of these classes may fall in terms of archetypes, it seems like Chrono Studio will have plenty of options on the table.
Vast Seamless Exploration
Exploration is an enormous part of Chrono Odyssey. While we’re not entirely sure how big the world of Setera is, we do know that it will be a seamless open world where players will encounter gigantic monsters. In the combat video, a massive dragon boss was shown, where nearly two dozen (or more) players banded together to defeat it. The battle felt like the kind of encounters Guild Wars 2 employs for their world bosses. However, exploration doesn’t simply stop at finding new world bosses.
We have also seen the use of boats, climbing, and several mounts, as well as vistas where player characters look out on sun-kissed mountains depicting several biomes. Aside from some ice-capped peaks and some sandy shores, there are a few unique locales, such as a statuesque depiction of a giant, a derelict citadel, and dark ornate crypts where frightful monsters creep, hungering for their next adventurer.
The Chrono Odyssey team has stated that they have exploration completely covered, and what they’ve teased so far ensures that there will certainly be a lot to see. What we have yet to see is how exploration will be rewarded, but sometimes the journey itself is a reward.
An Exciting Time-Shifting Theme
Time is a construct—or at least the passage of time can be wielded with a constructed artifact in Chrono Odyssey. With the Chronotector, you’ll be able to manipulate time while battling monsters. The use of time is a core component of the game, unlike other games that may utilize time as a one-off character or class like the Chronomancer in Guild Wars 2. Every class will be able to harness time to their benefit, not only in combat, but as a key component to progression and a fundamental driving force behind the story.
Adventurers in Setera will break the flow of time so that they can unlock everything that the world has to offer. You will find yourself rewinding events, and even exploring brand new timelines altogether. The premise is exciting and unique with the potential for endless possibilities. What was the world like before it was settled? What happened to the world historically that shaped Setera into what it is in the present day? Can that history be changed? Even more exciting, what will become of the future? The utilization of time is difficult to master even in single-player games, but as a core feature in an MMORPG world where it seemingly permeates everything, how could you not be intrigued?
Unparalleled Visuals
Unreal Engine 5 is a powerful game engine, and Chrono Odyssey is a gorgeous game. There’s no getting around it, the premise of Chrono Odyssey being a next generation game is that it has next generation visuals that truly make it stand apart from many of the MMORPGs currently on the market. While this list has plenty of reasons to get hyped aside from graphics, leaving the visuals off of the list would be a disservice. However, we’re not only talking about graphics here. The team at Chrono Studio has worked hard to create exceptional assets with unique and detailed features.
It's obvious that the art direction isn't a stand-in, as if the team were trying to cover up a poor engine. Instead, every character and design enhances the feel and immersiveness of the game, pushing the envelope with Unreal Engine 5. Over the past couple of years, the team has teased some of the different monsters that players will encounter, which includes the saint Gaiana, who is as beautiful as she is deadly, and the team has showcased the huge world-boss the Void Dragon, whose flat head imparts an unsettling feel to the menacing monstrosity.
Unreal Engine 5 also has some clear advantages in lighting, which has frequently been featured across the various landscapes and panoramic views provided in Chrono Odyssey’s videos. Many fans are hyped based on the visuals alone, and after seeing the game in action, it’s clear that Chrono Odyssey surpasses the next generation threshold in visuals by a wide margin.
