The pirate MMO Atlas has faced a lot of criticism. Opinions range from “ARK reskin at full price” to “unplayable”. Now, a major update has been released.
Has the atmosphere in Atlas improved in the days since release? We took a look.
Developers are continuously improving Atlas
What did the update bring? Since the release of the early access version on December 22, the developers have released several smaller patches. Now, a larger update has followed that addresses some of the criticisms.
- The game’s performance is being improved
- There should be fewer lags
- The rewards for treasure hunts have been doubled to minimize the criticized grind
- Some bugs have been fixed, including issues with resource respawning and claiming ships from non-allied players
- You can now commandeer enemy ships on the “Lawless” and “Golden Age Ruin” servers
Major problem remains: Land claims
However, there is still a major problem that the developers have not yet addressed: The land claim system, which allows areas to be claimed without cost. Territories can only be conquered if players are not nearby. The system is expected to undergo a redesign.
As player “Easy Target” on Steam states: “If you manage to reach an island outside of Freeport, you know there’s no way to settle because the entire land is claimed. And even if you find a flag to conquer, it takes hours. The game is supposed to allow 40,000 players to play at the same time, but there are only about 100/150 islands and each island has maybe one or two groups. It’s almost impossible to get a boat or a house if you can’t claim land.”
The atmosphere seems to be improving slightly
What is the atmosphere like at the moment? The rating of the game on Steam is currently at 28% and thus mostly negative. On December 25, the rating was still at 25 percent. The ratings are increasing, albeit very slowly.
Even in the reviews that labeled Atlas as in a catastrophic state, an upward trend can be seen. They also seem to be becoming “fairer.” Players increasingly point out that it is an early access game and not a “finished” release version, even though the tedious grind has recently been increasingly classified as a nuisance.
- Iskaltýr commented on Steam: “It’s just an early access game and you have to live with complications; that’s the nature of early access.”
- Neumann | Basti expresses enthusiasm: “Don’t be fooled by all the bad reviews! Atlas is a bit tough at the beginning, but once you have a base, things pick up! We are a group of 8 people, and we love this game immensely.”
- In contrast, Aznee criticizes the grinding: “15 hours of farming for a large ship only to be sunk by a buggy ghost ship within a minute. Great game concept… Not!”
- Mein-MMO reader Malfrador also finds the MMO better than it is portrayed in the reviews on Steam, as he writes in his reader review of Atlas.
Many players of the survival MMO agree on one thing: Atlas is most fun when played in groups with friends. It seems that players either hate the game or love it. While those who recommend it are in the minority, they are all the more enthusiastic.
Atlas continues to grow despite being “mostly negative” on Steam
Why Atlas is a phenomenon: The game is currently selling very well. In the list of top games on Steamcharts, Atlas was able to rank directly at number 12 among the most played titles. The peak of concurrent players in the past six days since launch has been 52,920 players. The new record was recently set again. Despite the winter sale, it is still in 1st place among the bestsellers on Steam.
Atlas seems to hit a nerve. The player numbers are high, as are their play hours. Already after 6 days, players have spent over 4.5 million hours in Atlas. In comparison: Elite Dangerous, often a top 50 title on Steam, has accumulated about 4.2 million play hours according to Steamcharts. The mechanics in the game seem to encourage this as well.
If the developers continue to provide patches consistently and work on fresh content to improve the MMO and keep players engaged, Atlas could well establish itself as a solid presence in the genre. Some enthusiasts seem to enjoy precisely what others criticize.
The US site MMORPG.com aptly wrote that Atlas is a crazy project but still far from what was shown in the trailer. Nevertheless, it is not as bad as it is currently portrayed. It has its charm and is an exciting, fun game that makes players want to log in repeatedly. It will likely appeal especially to players who have already had fun with Ark and don’t mind that it is still very early in development.
The aforementioned trailer, which you can also see above, was parodied exaggeratedly on YouTube. This video went viral:
