The new sandbox MMORPG Fractured Online launched in Early Access on Steam on September 15. Currently, the game’s reviews are “mostly negative.” What is the reason for this? We at MeinMMO explain the situation.
What is Fractured? The MMORPG, which originated on Kickstarter, aims to be the first “truly dynamic” sandbox MMORPG. It relies on an open world, survival aspects, and a significant amount of role-playing.
The core idea of the game is that the three available races each represent a different game mode:
- Wildfolk are peaceful, and there is only PvE on their planet.
- The demons are evil, featuring open-world and full-loot PvP.
- The humans are somewhere in the middle and can take a balanced path.
The cities in Fractured are also meant to be completely built, managed, and conquered by players. There isn’t even any real loot, as all equipment items in the MMO are to be crafted by users.
Where does Fractured stand currently? The game was originally supposed to be released in 2018, but was then postponed multiple times. It has also moved away from the Kickstarter model and has found a publisher in Gamigo, which distributes the game.
A beta for Fractured has also been running continuously over the past year. Every pre-order customer could essentially already play it. On September 15, the MMORPG then launched in Early Access on Steam and the company’s own platform, Glyph. You can join for €24.99. The Wildfolk have also been added. Only the demons are currently still missing.
However, this Early Access launch is not going well for Fractured at all.
This live-action trailer promotes the game with a song by Lara Loft:
Bad start on Steam – Only 38% positive reviews
How is the game received? Not well at all. The launch on Steam was accompanied by several issues. Some users were unable to successfully link their Glyph accounts to Steam and had to wait for support to reply in order to even start playing.
However, many of the fans seem dissatisfied with the game itself as well. After just a few days, the game only achieved 38% positive reviews with nearly 240 reviews. This results in a “mostly negative” score on Steam, which is very discouraging for many players.
However, this does not seem to deter the active players. While the peak at launch was 1,515 concurrent users on Steam, it is still 1,188 four days later (via SteamDB). So what is the problem with Fractured Online?
High standards for Early Access: Looking at the comments on Steam, it quickly becomes clear where the negative reviews are coming from. Many fans expected a game that is more finished than what Fractured currently is.
Many features, skills, and even an entire race are still missing in the Early Access version, which should remain online for about six months to three-quarters of a year. Additionally, there are complaints about technical issues. Slow servers are reportedly a problem according to users.
Early Access means that a game is not yet finished, but many other Early Access games already exhibit higher standards, which is why Fractured is currently not performing well with fans.
“The game needs much more time”
What are people saying? The general mood is rather downcast. Both positive and negative comments note that Fractured still has a lot of issues. Some are so disappointed that they leave a negative review.
However, even the positive reviews acknowledge this. In good reviews, the idea of Fractured is usually praised, stating that the MMORPG has a lot of potential, but is currently not living up to it.
The negative reviews confirm this, and many agree that Fractured would need much longer than a year to truly become good. One user even goes so far as to call the MMORPG a “cash grab” because he finds it too unfinished.
Others, however, call for patience. An Early Access title is simply not finished, and a lot can still change. However, almost everyone agrees that there is still much to improve and optimize in the game.
These are the critiques: At this point, we would like to directly share some of the comments so you can form your own picture of the situation (via Steam):
- Syther writes: “The game needs time. I can’t even rebind my mouse buttons and the servers seem to only be in America; at least I’m consistently getting a ping of 170. But I don’t expect much from an indie game in Early Access.”
- Marabu says: “The idea behind the game is good, unfortunately the implementation is rather mediocre. The performance and the combat system feel strange and you can definitely tell there’s only one server based on the ping. Still, I see a lot of potential in the game and will continue to follow it.”
- Kev says: “Well, an Early Access title that feels like a very early alpha.”
- Kavorka writes: “Yes, it has many bugs. But the developers regularly provide updates. Just try the game out if you liked games like Albion.”
Have you already played Fractured Online? What do you think of the game? Would you rate it positively or negatively? And if you haven’t played it yet, would you like to try it out? Feel free to let us know in the comments here on MeinMMO.
As for what happens during and after Early Access, the studio’s CEO revealed this in an interview: Medieval MMORPG Fractured shows new endgame – Lets you compete for asteroid control
