Rank 3: Blade & Soul NEO
Developer: NCsoft | Platform: PC (Steam) | Release date: February 25, 2025 (own launcher) / June 4, 2025 (Steam) | Payment model: Free2Play | Status: Officially released
The original Blade & Soul from NCsoft came to the West in 2016 and had two exciting qualities in tow: its great combat system and the fresh Wuxia setting.
However, due to peculiarities in payment model, content, and visuals, as well as the large shadow of Black Desert (which was also released in the West in 2016 and could even top Blade & Soul in combat), it never achieved real, sustainable success.
Nevertheless, NCsoft has always been eager to keep Blade & Soul relevant, such as through an engine update in 2021, or this year with the release of Blade & Soul NEO. The re-release promised even more beautiful graphics and the experience of the original version, but combined with targeted adjustments such as the infinite Windwalk (which lets you walk through the air).
Some of these changes – such as faster leveling, the lower difficulty of many contents, or the removal of the popular duel arena – were not received well. Players of the Steam version also complain about technical issues, the payment model, and sudden, unjustified bans (sometimes even directly after the tutorial).
The criticism is also reflected in the ratings on Steam. At least, these are no longer red but now at 40 percent positive. The NEO release has not had much impact on the overall player base. Of the 1,678 maximum concurrent users in Steam’s all-time high, only a few hundred remain (Source: steamdb.info).
At least the developers regularly provide updates and have already released content from the expansions. Nevertheless, the state of the NEO version is a shame, as the original deserves a place in our top 5 of MMORPGs with the best combat system: In which MMORPG does it really bang? Power ranking for online role-playing games with the best battles
