On December 13, 2024, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen launched on Steam. The game has received good ratings with 80% positive reviews, and the player count continues to rise. Between the years, on December 29, it reached a new peak of players on Steam.
What kind of MMORPG is Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen? Readers of MeinMMO have known about Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen for 8 years. The first article about the indie MMORPG appeared in December 2016.
Pantheon is an MMORPG conceived by Brad McQuaid, the mind behind Vanguard. However, McQuaid passed away in 2019 at the age of only 51. Pantheon is said to be a spiritual successor to games like Everquest, focusing on challenging PvE where you need a group for every relevant activity.
The development of Pantheon took a long time and almost seemed to have failed. However, starting in 2023, the production team suddenly accelerated, focused on new graphics, a season model, and pushed for a release in Early Access.
Pantheon launches with 80% positive reviews on Steam
Here’s how it is on Steam now: The MMORPG has appeared in an “early state” on Steam: Anyone can purchase access for €39.
At its peak, the game had 4,200 players. This peak was reached on Steam on December 29, so these are current figures.
In the first days post-release, it struggled a bit, but the trend in player numbers is going upwards.
An MMORPG for those who prefer WoW Classic over WoW
What do people say in the reviews? The mood is clear (via Steam):
One should not expect a “modern WoW” from Pantheon – it is rather a game for those who prefer WoW Classic.
The MMORPG plays like a modern Everquest, but it is still in Early Access; it feels good. The qualification often is: “For an indie game in Early Access, it is quite good.”
Fans of the game emphasize how well Pantheon captures the feel of “Everquest around the year 2000” – a good group is essential. It is repeatedly noted that it is a “classic MMORPG.”
What are the criticisms? “Old MMORPG” also means that there are some punishment mechanics: One player says he is particularly annoyed that you lose your inventory upon death. The game invites you to explore but punishes you if you take the wrong turn by throwing a high-level mob at you.
Another user on Steam says the game is too grindy and that you spend a lot of time looking for a group.
Can Pantheon be recommended? You need to approach the game with the right expectations: This is a passion project of a small team that wants to create an “old-school MMORPG” aimed at a specific group of players.
Those expecting the next WoW will surely be disappointed. Those who have friends from the past and know what they are getting into, and are real “old school MMORPG fans,” might be able to recommend Pantheon with some caveats.
However, it must be noted that the entire project has certainly not developed as ideally over the last 10 years as the now-deceased founder once intended. The team has made the best of a difficult situation in recent years and months, and the results on Steam are now encouraging.
Many indie MMORPGs, even hopeful ones, that we have followed for long on MeinMMO have never made it to release or, like Crowfall, have completely collapsed, but Pantheon looks much better now: New PvE MMORPG lost its way with fans in 2023 but aims to improve next year.
