The MMORPG Otherland was plagued by many issues, including a change of developers. Now everything is supposed to change. Because the game is getting a major update and a new name.
For last summer a major update for Otherland was planned, which had to be postponed. Now it is finally here, and players are expected to experience a new gameplay with Otherland: Next.
A game struggling for success makes a fresh start
What is Otherland? Probably not many have the MMORPG Otherland on their radar, as it hasn’t been particularly successful.
- Otherland takes place in a kind of cyberspace, which consists of seven virtual worlds so far
- The MMORPG is based on the book series by author Tad Williams
- Players meet in a hub before traveling to the worlds
- PvE is the focus
- PvP can be experienced in battlefields
A game on the brink of collapse: Otherland is struggling for success. Initially, the MMO was developed by RealU and gamigo before RealU filed for bankruptcy in 2013. Now the Polish studio Drago Entertainment is taking care of development. However, this has not made Otherland successful.
The reviews on Steam stand at 34% with “Mostly Negative”. Critics point to server and network issues, numerous bugs, limited character customization, and sluggish combat.
According to Steamcharts, only an average of 0.4 players are playing the MMO at the same time. The peak was in September 2015 with 200 players.
New and better?
What does Otherland Next offer? With Otherland, now carrying the new name Otherland: Next, a kind of fresh start is to be initiated. “Next” as the next step into the future of the game. The centerpiece is the introduction of the eighth area, the Fire Isle. However, many more changes are coming to the game.
- The ability to read parts of Tad Williams’ new Otherland novella “The Deathless Prince and the Peach Maiden” in the game
- New legendary weapons will be added to the game
- Introduction of a Social Class focused on social interaction between players
- The Social Class offers a new gameplay experience that does without most quests and combat
- Improvement of server performance
- A new UI will be introduced with a future update
Little feedback due to too few players: With so few players, there are also few reactions to the update. However, this Otherland seems to improve many points that players have criticized so far.
MW2K stated on Steam: “I like the new update – I haven’t visited the Fire Isle yet (I’m only Level 40), but the lag seems to have decreased, and I’m now playing with about 10-20 more fps. The game responds much better.”
