The MMORPG Bless Online is one of the few new PC MMORPGs that will definitely appear in the West in 2018. The release is announced. But will the game also be good? There are enough warning signs.
Fans of classic MMORPGs have been waiting for the Korean AAA MMORPG Bless Online for years. While newer Korean MMORPGs like Black Desert tend to lean towards the sandbox direction, Bless is a traditional theme park MMORPG like WoW, which has so far been denied success in Korea and Russia.
That is supposed to change in 2018 with a global Steam release.
Bless Online looks like a modern WoW…
Bless was announced in 2011, developed with high production value and great visuals. It runs on the Unreal Engine 3. Bless has great graphics, superb sound, and incredibly cool trailers. Star composer Hans Zimmer has contributed the soundtrack – he usually provides soundtracks for Hollywood blockbusters.
The gameplay concept is oriented towards World of Warcraft – there are two realms at war with each other. The setting is a world that resembles the European Middle Ages.
A World of Warcraft with modern graphics and a slight Asian touch. This potentially appeals to a lot of people. They will be curious and eager about Bless when they see trailers and concept art.
… but hasn’t been able to captivate many players in the last 3 years
However, when the game was actually playable in 2015, there was criticism from the beginning regarding gameplay and performance. Against competitors like ArcheAge or especially Black Desert, Bless didn’t stand a chance and went under. This phase dragged on for two to three years: 2015, 2016, 2017 – none of these were good years for Bless.
The game was already playable in Korea and Russia but hardly captivated any fans.
By 2017 it looked very bleak. The European release fell through, and for a few days it appeared as if the game was dead for good, but Neowiz stood by Bless despite all the problems and decided to continue investing.
Neowiz then recalled and revised Bless. They wanted to get rid of the major weaknesses. Neowiz now plans to release Bless in a “Rebuilt” version globally on Steam in 2018. This will also bring Bless to the West.
The new version is expected to convince in the West in 2018
However, there are still many question marks surrounding the title. YouTuber Nocht has been dealing with Bless for a while and summarizes the questions and concerns about the game.
The most important changes in the new Bless
- For instance, the gameplay and combat are not as dynamic as in Guild Wars 2, Black Desert, or ArcheAge, but are more oriented towards World of Warcraft – during the overhaul, only the static skills were toned down and the more dynamic ones emphasized
- the skill system is now significantly more complex – you can upgrade abilities and slot the appropriate skills onto the hotbar
- the inventory is much tidier than before, inspired by Black Desert
The big question marks surrounding the release of Bless
- For Nocht, the big question is whether Bless will launch with all classes – other versions started without Mystic and Ranger, two popular classes that bring a lot of variety
- There are also still questions regarding the cash shop, as newer versions have a mechanic to upgrade pets – this could fall into the “Pay2Progress” category and cause issues
- It is also questionable whether Neowiz can adequately promote the game here in the West to raise awareness among a large player base for Bless and to keep them
- As for localization, German as a language is confirmed, but it is assumed that the audio will only be available in English
- Nocht expects that the Early Access date for Bless will be around March 2018 – with a later release in the year
The question ultimately with Bless is: Can the game establish itself here in the West or will it quickly fade and only appeal to fans? 2018 will bring answers to all these questions. Either way.
