In Profane, you should have maximum freedom as a player. You should be able to build houses and cities, dynamically change the world, and dominate the economy. The developers have now shown about 2 hours of gameplay in a livestream that is received very mixed.
What kind of game is this? Profane is a sandbox MMORPG that relies on colorful comic graphics and action-packed battles. Basically, you are not bound by anything, as there are no classes, no levels, and no fixed storyline.
- You create your character and start out naked in the open game world. There you can get your first equipment, build your own house, but also a city. This can be expanded, but also besieged by enemies.
- In general, the game world is supposed to be very dynamic. There should be PvE events where NPCs attack cities, and you have to fend off these attacks. However, there should also be constant new dangers from other players, PvP, or weather.
- In the open world, there is PvP with full loot. Players from other factions can attack you, and upon death, you can lose items. Progress such as experience in skills or crafting is, however, not lost.
- Crafting and economy are supposed to play an important role.
The developers say that Profane is a real RPG again, where players take on a role and make decisions. They also confidently state: WoW is not a real role-playing game because of these missing components.
What has happened now? Profane last showed a gameplay video in 2021 but has held back since then. Although updates have been shared periodically in the roadmap or screenshots, video material has been lacking.
However, this changed a few days ago when the developers showed almost two hours live of their MMORPG in the stream. You can watch the video here:
A lot of gameplay, but not everyone is thrilled
What is shown in the video? It starts at minute 16:50 with character creation. Different races, skin colors, hairstyles, and voices are shown. The selection is not excessively large, but also not final, as the developers emphasize.
In the game itself, the most important elements are shown, including the gathering system, swimming, and climbing in the game world. Thanks to small developer cheats, the character has access to numerous abilities, so you can already get a good impression of the combat system.
While the developers show the game world, they also talk about some features that are still to come, including battles on a mount or how cities are protected when players are offline.
How is the gameplay received? Very mixed. Some are excited to finally see new content from Profane. They have high hopes for the sandbox MMORPG because it gives players so many freedoms and reminds them of a modern Darkfall. They were primarily in the live stream and show themselves satisfied with the progress.
However, there are also many disappointed comments gathering under the recording. The weak graphics and animations are criticized. Additionally, the world still seems empty and unfinished. One user even claims that he could rebuild the content in Unity within a few days.
What happens next? Profane started Pre-Alpha about 3 years ago and has recently been conducting smaller beta tests, including on the combat system in May 2022. However, these are under an NDA and participation is random; there are no backer packages.
However, there are still numerous developer steps to be taken before a permanent alpha. Accordingly, there is a roadmap from which you can find all details (via Profane).
For example, content is still lacking for mobs and NPCs, in trading, the faction system, or navigation. The weather and karma system have not been worked on at all.
What do you think of Profane? Does the concept appeal to you? And how do you find the implementation so far?
More MMORPGs in development can be found here: All 59 MMORPGs currently in development for PC.
