I’m always trying to play new games that are made up of interesting mechanics, or are just plain fun. The following games has both.
I’ve been addicted to this game for the past couple of days. Realm of the Mad God is a shoot’em up (like R-type) mixed with a fantasy MMO RPG. Having always been a skeptic of MMOs, I think I finally get it.
It takes a while to understand how to play this game but after defeating some lower level enemies you start to get into the swing of things. This is usually when you die for the first time, and in this game dying matters. You see, Realm has a feature that you don’t often see in modern MMOs, Permadeath. When your character is dead, you lose everything and have to start a new character. In my opinion, the Permadeath component adds a bit of risk, and makes challenges all the more rewarding. Realm is also designed with permadeath in mind so dying isn’t that bad. In order to unlock different classes you have to survive to at least level 5, and yes losing your gear sucks, but it’s awesome to try out a new class when the unthinkable happens to your character.
Another aspect that I like about Realm is the spontaneous team ups. Just like Journey and to a lesser extent, dark souls, people pop in and out of the realm all the time. If you come across another character and help them out, you get xp without having to be in the same guild. You’re also not required to help others and can lone wolf the quests if you wish. THis adds an element of suspense. I can’t count the number of times I accidentally agroed a moster that was too strong for my level only for another random person to pop in and change the tide of battle.
The best part about Realm of the Mad God? Instances. When you’re in a realm, and players have met certain conditions, the realm closes and everyone is sent to the boss’s castle. These events are great! Bullets everywhere! If you survive, expect your character to gain a fair amount of xp. If you die, well, another class is probably waiting for you.
Great game. Go play it.
Got a comment about Realm? Leave it in the comments.