My time with Eldevin has
been somewhat of an unexpected journey. I am usually not the type of
gamer to actually consider diving into a browser game for any real
length of time other than a quick time killer or a pure boredom romp
with nothing better to do. Eldevin surprised me from the moment I
logged in on my character and began to see all of the loads of
content held within.
The first thing you will
notice about Eldevin is that this is without a doubt a fully equipped
browser game with no downloads required. You simply make a Hunted Cow
account and you are free to make your character and explore the world
of Eldevin completely free of charge.
I am going to break down
each piece of the game down into sections and talk about the various
things that I have liked about Eldevin and the things I think could
use some work and even things that I just plain didn't like about the
game. Throughout this review I have taken into consideration that
this is indeed a browser game and thus I weigh my decisions made
about this game against other browser rpgs and not against the more
AAA mmo titles out there.
Visuals:
Right off the bat looking at Eldevin may make some new gamers cringe
as there is nothing really special about the visuals here.
Considering the nature of this game and that it only requires that
you have a browser and have Java installed I feel the game looks
fine. This of course will look dated to many gamers in today’s day
and age. This is definitely one of the weak points of Eldevin but if
you can get past this there are a lot of good things to find
elsewhere.
Gameplay:
This is going to be the real meat and potato's section of my review
as I will explain a little bit about the systems within the game and
the overall combat approach and character customization. The visual
options you have for your character in Eldevin are rather limited but
seeing as how the graphics are on the lower end I can't imagine
really faulting the game for this. The combat in Eldevin, overall
feels smooth and presents a wide range of combat options upon
reaching level five. The combat system looks and feels similar to
that of an action RPG like Torchlight 2 or Path of Exile. The one
thing that is different is that although it may look and feel like an
ARPG its actually a tab target based system similar to that of many
modern mmo's. If you have ever played Divine Divinity it is
essentially the exact same approach to combat.
Upon reaching level five your character will be given one talent
point which can be spent in one of six different progression trees:
Templar (Tank), Warrior ( Meaty DPS), Assassin (Dual Wield Melee DPS
and Range hybrid.), Ranger (Ranged DPS uses a bow), Mage (Ranged DPS
casts spells), Prophet (Healer) . Your character is also given six
stat points which you are free to distribute between any stats that
you want regardless of which way you choose to progress in your
talent trees. Progression down one tree does not mean that you are
forced to use only skills related to that tree. You can also allocate
talent points down multiple trees if you so desire, leaving room for
a lot of experimentation and true hybrid classes. The downfall is
that you are only allowed to respec your character once every sixty
days for free. If you want to end up repeccing more often than that
you will need to drop some real money in the cash shop. That being
said this is some of the most freedom in terms of character building
that I have ever seen in an mmo.
Aside from a huge amount of character combat freedom you will also
have a large amount of crafting professions to pursue should you deem
them worthy of your time. Every crafting profession in the game is
extremely useful. The only real issue I have with the crafting system
in this game is that it is VERY grind based and certain professions
will take you likely hundreds of hours to max out. This can be a good
thing if really enjoy the fulfillment that comes with taking raw
ingredients and making useful items from them, but for someone who
just wants to get levels quickly this is likely to be a boring and
frustrating experience. One saving grace of the crafting system is
that once you have all of your raw materials, you can bring them all
to a work bench and craft them into items all at once without any
human intervention. My character is actually making hp potions right
now as I type this review. This feature makes it nice if you want to
get something done around the house or have some schoolwork that
needs doing. This allows you to feel the satisfaction of progression
while avoiding the no time to play blues. The gathering professions
on the other hand do require you to be present going from node to
node collecting various materials. This can be a long process and is
likely to make some players feel like they have in the words of
Handsome Jack “headbutted a belt sander.”.
If crafting isn't your thing why not take part in the some of the
numerous instances and dungeons spread all throughout the world of
Eldevin? Eldevin features a dungeon finder which will conveniently
look for other players that are interested in doing the same dungeon
as yourself and then put you all into a group so that you can play
together! This is a great feature but it could use some work. The
dungeon finder will put you into a group regardless of what the group
make up is meaning you will get a lot of full DPS groups which can
make getting through the dungeons very difficult sometimes. The good
news is that if you manage to get a balanced group the game works
exactly as it should. Eldevin can be a very challenging game at times
which helps to emphasize team work and group unity.
Instances and crafting not for you? How about taking place in some
of the varied PvP matches? Yes, thats right! Eldevin has a complete
collection of various PvP game modes including Capture the Flag,
Domination and Team Deathmatch. These can all be joined through a
queue which you can wait for while doing whatever other tasks tickle
your fancy. This was something that really surprised me about the
game. I think its great Hunted Cow went through the effort to support
multiple varied maps alongside various game modes.
No matter which of these various things you like to do in Eldevin
you will no doubt end up doing some solo questing to help you along
with your leveling. Side quests are what you would expect from the
game and are usually the typical “Go kill these” or “Go gather
this” or the super fancy “ Go Kill This and Gather This from it!”
but they do serve the wonderful purpose of granting experience and
giving you a good tour of the various areas within the game. The
story quests deserve some recognition here though as they are mostly
well written and have some very cheesy if not very cool cinematics.
Animation:
The combat animations in the game are passable but they are nothing
to stare wide eyed and awestruck gazing at your computer screen. The
various skill animations look fairly good and seem to be on par with
many of the other browser mmorpgs on the market. Crafting animations
for the most part are typical looking an do a good enough job
depicting what your character is trying to do weather it be mining,
fishing, forging or making potions.
Sound:
The overall sound of the combat
skills and the various crafting activities are really rather poor.
What shines the most in terms of sound here is the music which is
absolutely wonderful and for me one of the strongest points of the
game. Each area has a different song or tune that plays while roaming
the area and every one of these songs are beautiful and intoxicating.
I can't describe how many times I would walk through certain areas
and begin whistling along with the songs as they played or just take
in each note as I mine or gather apples. This really adds to the
immersion and gives the game a relaxing and peaceful quality.
Cash
Shop:
I think this is worth talking about because of the fairness of the
cash shop model. Eldevin never requires you too pay real money for
anything. The full game in its entirety can be experienced without
ever spending a dime. The subscriber models even offer little in
terms of non convenience options. I have played for around 75 hours
or so at the writing of this review and I have not once felt like I
needed to buy anything. I have thought about it because I believe in
supporting the games I enjoy but I've had a hard time figuring out
what I would even want from the shop at all. This is a great move by
Hunted Cow and they should be commended for having such a lenient
free to play model.
Community:
Normally
when talking about the community of most online games I would say
that you should ignore most people entirely and worry about having a
good time on your own. Eldevin is one of those special games that has
a community that care greatly for the game and other people playing
the game. Every interaction I have had with an Eldevin player has
been a good one which is something that I cannot say for most games.
The community is always helpful and in many cases willing to go out
of the way to help new players. This is by far the strongest aspect
Eldevin has going for it and it is something so rare to find that
this alone is worth giving Eldevin a look.
Conclusion:
7
/ 10
Eldevin is a true hybrid
game in my mind seamlessly blending an action rpg style and feel with
the modern systems of newer mmorpg standards that we hold dear. This
combination can lead to a very enjoyable experience. If a caring
community within Eldevin isn't enough for some, the vast amount of
content should be. Weather you enjoy crafting, instances, a well put
together story, PvP, or just murdering bad guys for hours on end
Eldevin is sure to have something for anyone willing to look beyond
its rough edges. Some players though may have issues with the games
grinding nature, especially in regards to the gathering and crafting
systems.
