MeinMMO author Mark Sellner has played many MMORPGs, but he has always avoided Albion Online. In retrospect, this was a mistake because the game is great, if only the cash shop wasn’t so annoying and my focus was fully on sandbox.
In the last two months, the MMORPG Albion Online was able to gain a lot of new players again, as can be seen on the Steamcharts website. Although this does not include all platforms, but only Steam, currently the title is on the rise.
Good enough reason for me to finally take a look at the MMO that I have been putting off for what feels like an eternity. To get an impression of the sandbox in its unique graphic style, I played Albion for just over five hours. During that time, I tried to take in as much content as possible.
While the game initially bored me and I almost wondered if it was worth my time, I was quickly proven wrong. Albion is certainly not without its flaws, but it has its moments and can be a lot of fun. Provided you can come to terms with the compromises you have to make.
By the way, if you want to start Albion Online now, you can find a comprehensive beginner’s guide on MeinMMO.
In the very first minutes of the game, one thing stands out: the MMORPG runs really smoothly. The animations look good and it’s fun to move through the world by clicking the mouse in the iso perspective. This is also the very first task that awaited me in Albion.
What at first glance seems like dull quest design proves to be a tutorial for the MMORPG. It can even be fun if you approach it with the right mindset. The game first sends me to a lighthouse, only to send me back down from the lighthouse again. A task that symbolically represents the quests of the next four hours. But it’s not as bad as it sounds.
Shortly after my lighthouse sprint, Albion equips me with a shield and a sword, thus introducing me to its classless system.
Similar to Path of Exile, there are clear paths you can take, but in the end, your abilities depend on your gear. My sword starts with two different attacks, from which I have to choose one. Armed and equipped with a skill, I may then open the big gate and heroically slay my first three enemies.
Stranded on an island with a coast, a jungle, and high mountains, Albion starts and teaches me the basic mechanics of the title. The next quest then sends me to gather materials because crafting is a big part of the game. I just click on the tree or rock I want to gather and my character diligently works to mine the stuff.
Even normal monsters have new move sets ready, and mini-bosses in dungeons and expeditions even more so. I must actively dodge to defeat the enemies, and even then, one or another in-game death remains almost unavoidable.
The rather slow fights quickly gain depth and are a lot of fun, even though I have few skills available and my character moves rather sluggishly than dodges quickly. The same combat system that initially discouraged me is now the highlight of the sandbox MMORPG.
Also a highlight is the randomly generated dungeons that you find repeatedly on the way in the maps. They are portals that glow a little green (solo) or blue (groups). The first time I even accidentally landed in one because I thought it might teleport me to the other side of a bridge.
It did not, instead it opened a dungeon in a mine, which yielded me plenty of loot. A pleasant surprise and together with the expeditions, slightly larger planned dungeons, my highlight of the preview session.
Please spend more money
However, there is one major downside, and that is the Free2Play concept of Albion Online. The game constantly urges me to invest money in Albion if I am playing as a free player. Whether it is pay-to-win in the long run, I cannot assess. At first, it does not feel like it.
So why this constantly popping-up shop window?
One of the first quests gives me the premium stats for three days. The premium status is an optional subscription system that provides certain bonuses and costs €10.86 per month. Theoretically, you can also buy premium with in-game currency, but according to community statements, it is difficult to farm the necessary silver unless you are already a premium character.
With every single monster kill and every material gathering, a message appears on my screen showing how much bonus I receive from the premium status for the current action.
However, Albion not only subconsciously tells me to please spend money. Regularly, the shop window opens to inform me about exciting deals.
In the first five hours, I had no disadvantages as a free-to-play player. Whether that will remain later, I cannot judge yet. Nevertheless, the constant irritation with life easements in the cash shop quickly becomes annoying.
For me personally, the graphic style is also a small downside. As much as I liked the gameplay, I couldn’t get used to the graphical aspect of the game even after hours.
However, that is also somewhat positive because Albion not only runs on your Windows or Mac PC but also on Android and iOS systems with the same account.
Even though I don’t play on mobile devices at all, I made an exception for Albion. And it was a good decision. Because while I had no access to my PC, I could simply continue playing on my smartphone exactly where I had left off.
Albion is well implemented and plays smoothly on Android. I had no problems setting up my account accordingly, and the mobile client has the same range of functions as the PC version. This is really pleasant for a free-to-play title and gives me more freedom than I am used to from many MMORPGs.
Conclusion
Albion Online is a lot more fun after five hours than I expected. The graphic style initially turned me off and still does, but it doesn’t detract from the fun.
Once Albion picks up some speed, the initially slower fights are really enjoyable and quickly become challenging. Gathering materials is also fun, if not for the constantly full inventory. But that’s manageable.
The cash shop offers many life easements that I could live with if Albion didn’t constantly try to sell them to me. And I really mean constantly. If I can say that these cash shop messages are the most negative thing about the MMORPG, then it is a good game.
I personally will probably not continue playing due to the complete sandbox aspect and the graphic style. However, if you don’t have a personal problem with the graphics, the sandbox, and PvP, then Albion is a great MMORPG that you can confidently start even in 2022. It’s definitely fun and thanks to the free-to-play principle, you have nothing to lose.
Mark Sellner
MMORPG expert at MeinMMO
By the way, Albion is also one of the best mobile MMORPGs you can play on Android and iOS in 2022.
Even though these materials respawn quickly, I quickly find it annoying that other players can steal resources from you, similar to New World. And not only that – if they have better tools than I do, other players can start hacking at the same rock after me and finish before me. Then I am left empty-handed and quite frustrated.
What starts slowly finally gets good
Only when Albion finally gives me a weapon of my choice does the game start to become truly fun. With the materials collected, I can choose which weapon and armor I want to craft. The options are the already known sword and shield with heavy armor, bow with leather armor, and staff and spellbook with light armor.
Because throwing fireballs is simply the coolest thing, I decide on the mage gear. Suddenly I have four active abilities instead of just one as before. This happens after about 20 minutes in the game and really ramps up the entire game. Now, freshly equipped, I am allowed to attack a fortress to free the island’s harbor and finally complete the tutorial.
Having defeated the enemies and caught the ship, I continue onto the continent and into the first larger city, which quickly turns out to be a village. I continue to follow various quests given to me by the overseer of the village. I particularly find it negative that I can only activate one quest at a time. However, this doesn’t matter much anymore, as soon there are no more quests available.
The current tasks help me improve my equipment and bring me closer to the crafting system. I spend the next hours better understanding the skill system, upgrading my equipment, and gathering a lot of materials.
Once I have figured out how the basic mechanics of Albion work, the game no longer feeds me quests and grants me full sandbox freedom.
This is more fun than it sounds on paper and has almost survival game aspects at certain points. Although the game initially protects me, I later lose my entire inventory should my character die. And I have died often.
This is not a problem, as fighting NPC monsters is not only fun but also becomes quite challenging fairly early on and constantly tests my skills.
Even normal monsters have new move sets ready, and mini-bosses in dungeons and expeditions even more so. I must actively dodge to defeat the enemies, and even then, one or another in-game death remains almost unavoidable.
The rather slow fights quickly gain depth and are a lot of fun, even though I have few skills available and my character moves rather sluggishly than dodges quickly. The same combat system that initially discouraged me is now the highlight of the sandbox MMORPG.
Also a highlight is the randomly generated dungeons that you find repeatedly on the way in the maps. They are portals that glow a little green (solo) or blue (groups). The first time I even accidentally landed in one because I thought it might teleport me to the other side of a bridge.
It did not, instead it opened a dungeon in a mine, which yielded me plenty of loot. A pleasant surprise and together with the expeditions, slightly larger planned dungeons, my highlight of the preview session.
Please spend more money
However, there is one major downside, and that is the Free2Play concept of Albion Online. The game constantly urges me to invest money in Albion if I am playing as a free player. Whether it is pay-to-win in the long run, I cannot assess. At first, it does not feel like it.
So why this constantly popping-up shop window?
One of the first quests gives me the premium stats for three days. The premium status is an optional subscription system that provides certain bonuses and costs €10.86 per month. Theoretically, you can also buy premium with in-game currency, but according to community statements, it is difficult to farm the necessary silver unless you are already a premium character.
With every single monster kill and every material gathering, a message appears on my screen showing how much bonus I receive from the premium status for the current action.
However, Albion not only subconsciously tells me to please spend money. Regularly, the shop window opens to inform me about exciting deals.
In the first five hours, I had no disadvantages as a free-to-play player. Whether that will remain later, I cannot judge yet. Nevertheless, the constant irritation with life easements in the cash shop quickly becomes annoying.
For me personally, the graphic style is also a small downside. As much as I liked the gameplay, I couldn’t get used to the graphical aspect of the game even after hours.
However, that is also somewhat positive because Albion not only runs on your Windows or Mac PC but also on Android and iOS systems with the same account.
Even though I don’t play on mobile devices at all, I made an exception for Albion. And it was a good decision. Because while I had no access to my PC, I could simply continue playing on my smartphone exactly where I had left off.
Albion is well implemented and plays smoothly on Android. I had no problems setting up my account accordingly, and the mobile client has the same range of functions as the PC version. This is really pleasant for a free-to-play title and gives me more freedom than I am used to from many MMORPGs.
Conclusion
Albion Online is a lot more fun after five hours than I expected. The graphic style initially turned me off and still does, but it doesn’t detract from the fun.
Once Albion picks up some speed, the initially slower fights are really enjoyable and quickly become challenging. Gathering materials is also fun, if not for the constantly full inventory. But that’s manageable.
The cash shop offers many life easements that I could live with if Albion didn’t constantly try to sell them to me. And I really mean constantly. If I can say that these cash shop messages are the most negative thing about the MMORPG, then it is a good game.
I personally will probably not continue playing due to the complete sandbox aspect and the graphic style. However, if you don’t have a personal problem with the graphics, the sandbox, and PvP, then Albion is a great MMORPG that you can confidently start even in 2022. It’s definitely fun and thanks to the free-to-play principle, you have nothing to lose.
Mark Sellner
MMORPG expert at MeinMMO
By the way, Albion is also one of the best mobile MMORPGs you can play on Android and iOS in 2022.
