The MMORPG Bless Unleashed is being released for PS4 and PC after the Xbox One. Although players are still skeptical due to the failed Bless Online, the chances of success might be better this time. MeinMMO author Andreas Bertits explains why.
Why is there such great skepticism among players? A burnt child fears the fire, as they say. Players still feel the anger over the botched release and the early end of the MMORPG Bless Online.
Bless Online launched after a long and difficult development phase in May 2018 through an Early Access phase on Steam. It quickly became clear that the title could have benefited from a beta phase. Because especially the technical aspect could not convince:
- Performance issues
- The combat system did not run smoothly
- The UI could not be customized
- Gameplay was quite repetitive, especially in the higher levels with grinding
- The English translation left much to be desired
In September 2019, the MMORPG came to an end. The developers could not get a handle on the problems.
This led to severe criticism from players who felt cheated and even demanded their money back. The ratings on Metacritic plummeted.
This is why players are so angry: When Bless Unleashed, a kind of quasi-sequel, was announced, the anger was directed at this game. There were fears that a similar catastrophe as with Bless Online was imminent, and players believed that the developer Round 8 Studio had spent their money on developing Bless Unleashed instead of addressing the problems of Bless Online.
Even today, the mere mention of “Bless” is a red flag for some and articles about the game warn against jumping into the MMORPG.
A game burdened by the legacy of its quasi-predecessor
What about Bless Unleashed? The new MMORPG Bless Unleashed was released on March 12 for Xbox One. Due to the previous situation, the online RPG had a hard time at launch.
However, if you dig a little deeper and block out the prejudices, Bless Unleashed is definitely not like Bless Online. Especially those who approach the game unprejudiced – perhaps because they have not heard anything about Bless Online or because they want to give the new MMORPG a fair chance – can definitely have fun.
On average, according to MMO Population, around 46,000 players are playing on Xbox One. In comparison: “TERA” has around 59,000 players according to the list and “The Lord of the Rings Online” has around 52,000 players. This means that the player numbers of Bless Unleashed are quite okay. Not outstandingly good, but one must also consider that the MMORPG is currently only available on Xbox One.
The team appeals for fairness: It is absolutely understandable to show skepticism when one has been disappointed by Bless Online. But according to the developers, both games only share the name, the world, and some assets. Even the team behind Bless Unleashed is different.
In an interview with Round 8 Studio, Koven Park, Development Lead of Bless Unleashed, revealed:
I would like to take this opportunity to mention that Bless Unleashed is a completely different game than Bless Online. Bless Unleashed is developed by a new development team that previously worked on projects such as Monster Hunter. And unlike Bless Online, we are listening closely to our players.
Koven Park, Development Lead of Bless Unleashed
The mere fact that there are beta phases this time shows that the studio has learned. Additionally, the developers apologize for everything that went wrong with Bless Online. However, the team also explains that players should expect something different from Bless Unleashed compared to Bless Online. It offers a new and different gameplay experience:
We hope that users who have not yet interacted with the game will feel that Unleashed is a different game once they directly experience and enjoy it.
Koven Park, Development Lead of Bless Unleashed
Just jump over your shadow
Does Bless Unleashed deserve a chance? Looking at reviews from players of the Xbox One version on reddit, one notices a divided opinion, as is the case with almost every game. Those who feel cheated by Bless Online issue warnings. However, among those who are giving the title a chance, there are some who are having fun. Of course, not everyone likes Bless; for example, the combat system is somewhat sluggish for MMORPGs and resembles more Dark Souls. But that’s how it is with games. Tastes are indeed different.
This is why it’s worth getting started: Nevertheless, Bless Unleashed deserves a chance. Since it is a free-to-play game, the worst that can happen is that you lose some time. No one has to start with a monetary investment right away. But just taking a look to see if it might be different than Bless Online and even fun doesn’t hurt anyone.
What are the chances of success? Based on the previous ratings of the Xbox One version of Bless Unleashed, the chances are better than with Bless Online, provided that the MMORPG gets a fair chance.
The previous game reports, for example on reddit, are significantly more positive than what was the case at the launch of Bless Online. We are talking about:
- A beautiful, vibrant world that still has relevance even in the endgame with world bosses
- Crafting that becomes important especially in the endgame
- Challenging dungeons
- Both group and solo players can have fun, although grinding weighs more for solo players
Had there been no Bless Online, we would have been looking forward to an interesting MMORPG with the release of Bless Unleashed in early 2021 on Steam that certainly has the potential to survive long term on the market. It just needs the goodwill of players to jump over their shadows and take a look without prejudices.
If you want to look at other MMORPGs for consoles that are coming out in 2020, then take a look at MeinMMO’s list of “The 7 best MMORPGs on PS4 & Xbox One that you can play in 2020.”
