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The next big MMO for PC and Mobile? | CBT Review - Tarisland

3K View2023-11-16

Tarisland

6.6

RPGAdventureOpen WorldFantasyMMORPG

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✨Overview

Tarisland, a highly anticipated MMORPG from developers Level Infinite and publisher Tencent, emerges as a bold contender for the next big MMO, both for Mobile and PC, which is a pretty massive undertaking.

Heavily influenced by the iconic World of Warcraft, Tarisland embarks on a journey to capture the magic of classic MMOs while introducing its own twists. Access-wise, this game has eluded me for quite some time now, and I wasn’t able to try it in the past few beta tests. Finally, with this ongoing second closed beta test that runs from November 16 and will last for at least two weeks, I have gained access and am now able to try it and share my thoughts about it.

📖Story and Premise

The narrative of Tarisland unfolds in a world locked in a fierce conflict between three warring deities: Asheron, the god of disaster, Moira, the god of destiny, and the player's awakened character. Set against the backdrop of the titular planet Tarisland, the game promises an immersive experience with classic style dungeons, raids, and rich lore. Honestly, the storyline is a bit generic, but it manages to strike a balance nonetheless, offering a servicable plot for the MMORPG gameplay it sets out to do, without overwhelming players with excessive lore. The game is full voice acted, especially for the main quest dialogues, but the quality is a bit underwhelming feels amateurish in some parts.

🎨Graphics and Art Style

Tarisland features stylized visuals with vibrant colors and artistic character and world design. The graphics are not hyper-realistic but instead employ a more cartoonish and exaggerated aesthetic, which helps the game run smoothly on a variety of hardware from the highest end PC to even simple smartphones. Once again, we can easily draw comparisons to World of Warcraft. However, I would argue that Tarisland has the edge here because it supports both PC and Mobile platforms simultaneously, with the extra option to look better if your hardware supports it. Well, Tarisland being 20 years younger definitely helped. Honestly, playing it on PC or mobile, both versions look good. you can pretty much switch back and forth between platforms and any changes in the fidelity wouldn't bother you.

The game’s world is vast and varied, offering a range of landscapes from lush forests and snowy mountains to barren deserts and mystical landscapes. Each zone has its own distinct atmosphere and style. The art style, character models, and visual elements maintain the same consistency, and overall, its a visually impressive title. The game successfully captures the essence that cartoonish stylized MMORPG aesthetic that creates an inviting atmosphere.

🎮Gameplay

Tarisland is basically the classic MMORPG formula taken from 10, 20 years ago, infused with modern elements, and made to support Mobile. Despite its vastness, Tarisland ensures compatibility with mobile platforms, allowing players to embark on epic adventures and switch seamlessly to PC with cross progression and cross play.

As of this CBT, there are nine characters to choose from: Barbarian Fighter, Ranger, Paladin, Warrior, Phantom Priest, Mage, Priest, including the two new characters: Shadow Swordsman, and Phantom Necromancer. Which is a pretty solid class lineup so far and probably covers all bases as far as player preferences go.

I was able to try both the Mage and Paladin classes, to get a feel of the Melee and Ranged combat, so far, it really adopts a classic MMORPG style of gameplay. Although its noteworthy to say that these classes are gender-locked as of this version, there are no male Mages, or female Warriors for example.

The introduction sequence and subsequent starting quests serve as a comprehensive tutorial, introducing players to all the features and gameplay elements of the game. These include movement, combat, mounts, exploration, questing, dungeons, raids, crafting, bosses, and even PvP.

The game seamlessly guides players through these various aspects in a natural way. For multiplayer components, it even gives you AI companions that integrate seamlessly with the story. For instance, the initial boss encounter and dungeons in the game feature AI teammates, simulating the experience of matchmaking with other players. It's a "show, don't tell" situation that works exceptionally well, especially for an MMORPG opting for a classic approach that might initially appear foreign to the newer generation players out there.

⚔️Combat

Tarisland's combat is not as action-packed as other modern MMOs or ARPGs out there, opting for a more grounded style of combat with moderate animations and less focus on movement. The system strikes a balance between simplicity and gradual complexity, catering to both casual and dedicated players. Target lock enemies and unleash your skill sets. Position yourself strategically, support party mates, create synergies, and exploit weaknesses.

You're free to rotate the camera, from a close-up third person view to a zoomed-out isometric style of play. It's possible. Although there is a fixed camera setting option for those who prefer it.

Players have access to six abilities, including buffs, area-of-effect attacks, and skills that require build-up for addition bonuses, using spammable abilities with skillset-specific mechanics. For example as Frost Mage, there is a mechanic that allows me to build up a charge by continuously using my basic attack, and use that charge to augment my first skill.

⏫Progression

With the nine aforementioned distinct classes, each harboring two specializations/skillsets (For example, Mage has Frost and Flame skillsets), Tarisland offers a rich progression from the get go. Talents, skills, and ultimate abilities interweave to create a dynamic character progression system, enabling players to craft avatars tailored to their preferred playstyles.

The skillset system is perhaps the defining feature of Tarisland’s progression, with two Skillsets each class, it facilitates seamless role-switching. This innovation is particularly beneficial for support players who can opt for support skills in group content and swiftly transition to a damage-focused setup for solo quests. For example, the Bard has DPS and Healer specializations, while the Barbarian has Thunder (Damage) and Frozen (Tank-CC) specializations.

Tarisland also features a life skill system to pursue for various in-game elements such as Jewelry, Forging, or Alchemy that allows the crafting of various items, as long as you farm for the required resources and materials.

As for the itemization, it’s pretty standard, equip more items to increase your stats, and farm for better numbers. There’s no cosmetic change when equipping new gear though, so it’s entirely possible to go from level 1 to lets say level 30, without any cosmetic changes for your character, which is a bummer for those who like to customize the appearance of their characters, but this is where monetization comes in.

💵Monetization

Tarisland boasts a free-to-play non-P2W approach, which is a rare thing these days especially for mobile games. However, the game does include microtransactions. With real money, you can purchase Crystals, which is mostly used for cosmetics. Since the gear you earn does not affect your character's looks by itself, buying cosmetics is one of the only surefire ways to change it, and they are downright expensive at the moment.

However, concerns arise about the potential for a pay-to-win model. Gold, another seemingly premium currency, raises questions about its role in the trade center, especially since you can definitely trade with other players for better items using this currency, and Gold can be acquired in exchange for Diamonds.

There is also a 'CBT Benefits Card' which functions similarly to a monthly sub or a season pass that can provide the player bonuses, discounts, and boosts once availed. This will probably become a Season pass offering upon release, and this is technically another form of pay-to-win especially that you can also trade for it, albeit in a relatively mild manner. The pay-to-win system isn’t exactly prominent, but it’s still there buried under extra steps.

However, not everything here is final and all aspects are still under heavy tweaking. The game's commitment to fair and balanced gameplay, absence of pay-to-win elements, and cross-platform accessibility are highlighted, but the true impact of monetization will only become apparent when it finally releases.

📊Technical Performance

During this closed beta test, Tarisland demonstrated smooth performance on my Snapdragon 888 device. I was able to play it in 1080p preset settings (second to the highest), and medium setting frame rates. I tried setting it to high but the game recommended I lower it down due to heat concerns. It honestly looks impressive with the settings I played with, and perhaps one of the better games I’ve played on mobile, looks/performance wise.

No controller support so far in my testing, but I hope that will change in the future as this is one game that would benefit alot from controller as it is both for PC and Mobile, I do hope it also comes for Console too.

⚖️Conclusion

Tarisland presents a compelling blend of nostalgia and innovation. The game features beautiful, stylized graphics and art that are perfectly suited for a multiplatform experience on both PC and mobile. It offers abundant content, making it a worthwhile exploration for any MMORPG or even casual WoW fans. The rejection of modern MMO trends in favor of a return to the genre's roots sets Tarisland apart from contemporary titles. However this return to roots can also be its downfall in this modern era, that and it’s final monetization implementation down the line, will make or break this game upon release in the future.

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Tarisland

6.6

RPGAdventureOpen WorldFantasyMMORPG

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