Skyforge is a free-to-play sci-fi fantasy MMORPG from the Allods Team, Obsidian Entertainment, and My.com that focuses on action, customization, class swapping, region based servers and most importantly the ability to be God. The game features an exciting, dynamic action combat gameplay inspired by console action games, where players have the opportunity to walk the hero's path – from a newly christened immortal to mighty champion, and eventually becoming a God capable of standing toe to toe with other Gods.
As a newborn immortal, players strive to gain mortal followers and powers along their journey in the world of Aelion. Empowered by faith and the skills of their followers, they will battle invading forces from space to protect their homeworld, Aelion.
This game is different from other traditional MMORPGs as there is only one character for players to play with, but the unique open class system allows them to play a full range of classes through unlocking using the Ascension Atlas. In addition, players can customize their characters by building their skill trees according to the different playing styles.
The Ascension Atlas is similar to the sphere grid skill tree in Final Fantasy 10. The nodes on Ascension Atlas are made up of three different colors, red for damage, green for defense, and blue for secondary stats. The blue node also enables players to open up new talents that can empower their characters as well as unlocking new classes.
At the start, players can choose between the three primary classes – Paladin, Cryomancer, and Lightbinder. Along the game, players will then gain experience through quests and unlock more talents. At different checkpoints on the Ascension Atlas, players will be able to access to learning new intermediate and advanced classes. With 13 classes to unlock, players can develop every class on a single character without ever needing to make “alts” to try different classes or professions. Players are also able to switch between classes quickly in the game, allowing them to use the different customized character with countless gameplay options suited to every player's liking and battle needs.
In Skyforge, players can join Pantheons (a.k.a guilds) and participate in Pantheon Wars. Pantheon Wars is a mixture of PvE and PvP that has guilds competing against each other over rare temples. Guild members are also able to strengthen the guild by building structures that give access to special areas and bonuses to other guild members.
Skyforge Key Features
Ascension Atlas – Thousands of different ways to customize and build your character.
Multi-Class System – Players can swap between any of the game's 13 classes instantly.
Varied PvP options – Various maps ranged from 6 – 24 players. Free-for-all, Team Deathmatch, Payload, and Capture the Flag modes available.
Pantheon Wars – Ability to join a Pantheon and fight against other Pantheons in a never-ending war for the future of Aelion.
Action Combat Gameplay – A mix between mouse and tab-targeting, combined with combo style attacks.
Quality Visual and Audio Experience – Beautiful, and stunning graphics, and UI paired up with great sound quality.
Skyforge: First Impressions
My Verdict
The User Interface (UI) of the game is unique, and it focuses on responsive and interactive combat, supporting both solo and collaborative play. I like the prestige system that serves as a guide to the overall strength of a character and is enhanced through equipment, skill builds and overall progress of the game. From this system, I can also have a fair gauge of how strong my team or opponents are, before combat. I am a visual person, so I am very particular about the graphics of any game I played. Skyforge, however, lives up to my expectation that is pretty impressive. Despite all these, I feel that this game is not recommended for first-time MMORPG players as there is a slight learning curve for the complex skill tree system and its game mechanics.
Overall, I feel that Skyforge is a promising free-to-play sci-fi fantasy MMORPG for 2015/16. If you are a hardcore MMORPG gamer that loves character customization and action combat gameplay, this might be the game for you.
