Noah’s Heart is a new free anime-MMORPG that was released on July 28 for PC and mobile. In many ways, it seems to try to imitate Genshin Impact. MeinMMO author Anny Bader tested the game for about 6 hours.
For months, I have been keeping an eye on Noah’s Heart, as it is often compared to the well-known anime “Sword Art Online” (SAO). The world and the story are said to strongly resemble it. Ultimately, I recognize Genshin Impact in the MMORPG more than something like SAO.
I have been playing Genshin Impact for almost a year and I am constantly amazed by the game. It’s a pity that the multiplayer there is so terrible. Most of the time, you are out there alone, see no fellow players, and only occasionally get to invite other players into your game world.
This is why I am initially very pleased that the developers Archosaur Games seem to be releasing a Genshin Impact imitation with Noah’s Heart that has a decent multiplayer.
Noah’s Heart throws its players into a colorful anime world that is threatened by a higher power and must be saved by you. You create a character, complete a tutorial, and then it begins.
Comprehensive character editor, but it remains an anime game
I am excited about the character editor. First, you choose from a few pre-made looks, which is a bit confusing. After that, it continues to the real editor, where you can adjust your appearance in more detail.
The options are diverse but still within the anime spectrum. More precisely, this means: The smallest eyes are still very large, and the thickest body is still thin. Additionally, your face always looks rather childish, no matter what you set.
Aside from that, there are many possibilities. For the eyes, for instance, you can set how the pupils look and how long the eyelashes are. Among the pre-made options, there are also sliders for a more precise result.
The options for hairstyles are limited to a few. However, you can color the hair sections differently.
You will be thrown through story and level
Due to the SAO comparisons, I intended to focus on the story. However, I can hardly grasp any of it, as the dialogues are rather disjointed and the voice acting sometimes simply cuts off.
If you want to progress quickly, you are right at Noah’s Heart. Story haters do not have to click particularly quickly to skip everything, as that happens automatically. To run to the next quest, you simply click on it and your character walks there automatically, at which point the dialogues open up and the NPCs want to tell you everything incredibly quickly.
In the video, you see crowdfunding MMOs that have really flopped:
The leveling process is way too fast; I don’t even notice some level-ups. While I am clicking through the UI, I discover a reward: I am supposed to receive experience points. Okay. Then I suddenly level up 6 times and am more confused than before.
If you want quick successes in an MMORPG without doing much, you are gold right at Noah’s Heart. Those who play Genshin Impact know how long it takes per adventure level. For one level, one grinds a few days, if not weeks, from level 30. Noah’s Heart seems to want to compensate for the long Genshin grind by throwing you from level to level.
Strong parallels to Genshin Impact
In some respects, it seems that Archosaur Games tried to copy Genshin Impact exactly. During the “summoning”, a short cutscene appears before you find out which character you have drawn. You see two comets swinging around. This scene is virtually identical to the “wish” in Genshin Impact.
Moreover, there are many other parallels:
- You play a team consisting of your main character and so-called phantoms – In Genshin Impact, these are the characters.
- You obtain the characters by “summoning”, that is by praying. For that, you need fortune coins, which is the parallel to the original stone in Genshin Impact.
- There are chests hidden all over the game world that you can open.
- In combat, elements (ice, water, fire…) play an important role.
- There are intrusive shops in both games, although the real-money shop in Noah’s Heart advertises a bit more aggressively than in Genshin Impact.
However, there are also a few differences. For some players, Noah’s Heart might have the edge:
- The multiplayer. In Genshin Impact, you play almost alone and sometimes invite fellow players into your game world. Noah’s Heart, on the other hand, is a real MMORPG, so you encounter numerous fellow players.
- In Noah’s Heart, there are mounts. Relatively early, you get your first horse. Later, you can move around in various ways; there is even a motorcycle.
- Finally not climbing anymore! In Noah’s Heart, you shoot a hook to the desired destination and pull yourself up.
- In Noah’s Heart, you have a jetpack; in Genshin Impact, you only have your wings. So in Noah’s Heart, you don’t have to take off from an elevated point, but can propel yourself into the air at any time and spread your wings there.
Once Noah’s Heart has developed a mature game version, it will have real advantages over Genshin Impact. However, it does not reach the graphics, where Genshin Impact is ahead.
Currently hardly playable due to bugs and translations
Despite cool features, Noah’s Heart is still so raw and buggy that it is no fun.
The multiplayer itself works, but at first I cannot see my fellow player. He is standing next to me but is invisible to me. After several logouts and logins, it works, and we form a group. He then constantly receives messages from the game saying that he should follow me.
Joint questing is also not working. If one player starts the dungeon, the other can join, but the dungeon does not count for the second person – even if they have the same quest open.
The voice acting is in English and is obviously not performed by native speakers. However, what bothers me even more is that the dialogues suddenly cut off in the middle.
Then I was left with nothing but to read. However, the German translation is currently a disaster. Sometimes there are typos that simply shouldn’t be there. In most other places, the translations are so unbelievably bad that I don’t understand what is meant. Mounts are referred to as “carriers,” and in the character editor, I can edit the “forehead bone.”
Conclusion: After 6 hours, I’m level 40 and rather unenthusiastic
I have played Noah’s Heart for about 6 hours and will put it aside for now. The bugs and translations make it impossible for me to enjoy the MMORPG.
Once the developers patch most of the game, Noah’s Heart could be interesting for many of you. Especially Genshin Impact fans who want a real multiplayer experience will find it here.
It’s really a shame that Archosaur Games released the game as a final version. It is no longer a beta, yet still so buggy. After the last closed beta in May 2022, there should have been an open beta first. Now it is out, and it remains open how many problems will still be resolved.
If the developers patch the game to at least fix some of the bugs, Noah’s Heart could be an exciting alternative to Genshin Impact in the future.
Anny Bader
MMORPG author at MeinMMO
What do you think of Noah’s Heart? Have you had similar experiences with the MMORPG? Or did the bugs and translations bother you less? Do you generally prefer to play in German, English, or another language? Feel free to let us know in the comments here on MeinMMO!
We also have a preview report on Tower of Fantasy:
Tower of Fantasy is the MMORPG that Genshin Impact should have been
