By spring 2024, Pax Dei is set to launch in Early Access, a new sandbox MMO with ambitious goals. The game offers an enormous amount of freedom and hardly any fixed paths that you need to follow. However, this could now become its biggest weakness, fear interested parties.
What kind of game is this?
- Pax Dei is a mix of survival game and MMORPG in a medieval fantasy world. While there are classes, the game promises absolute freedom otherwise.
- The core features of Pax Dei include an extensive crafting system, world exploration, and a city-building system that allows you to found and expand entire settlements.
- The unique selling point of the game is its unique zoom feature: To obtain information about objects or the environment, you need to observe them closely.
More about it in our presentation:
When will Pax Dei be released? Already at the end of 2023, the first alpha of Pax Dei started. The Early Access is planned for spring 2024. A specific date and price are still pending. You can sign up for it via the official website.
The sandbox MMO will be released for PC on Steam. A console version is currently not planned. More information will be shared in the coming days and weeks.
The developers say: The game needs a community to be further developed. That’s why it will only be released in Early Access. However, players are skeptical about whether it can all work out.
Valheim is one of the major inspirations for Pax Dei. We have already spoken with the developers about their game:
“When I see sandbox, I exit”
In a thread on Reddit, players and interested parties discuss the release announcement. There, they are unsure about what to think of Pax Dei. The biggest concern: the game will not offer enough.
It is said, for example: The game sounds like players need to find something to do on their own. Such a thing wouldn’t work. What has been seen so far is also not finished enough. Combat is placeholder, quests and NPCs have not been seen yet.
The idea is good, and a fantasy MMO with a similar economy to EVE Online is indeed interesting. However, Pax Dei may suffer from launching too early in Early Access.
A similar discussion has already taken place in the MeinMMO editorial team, particularly between MMORPG specialist Alexander Leitsch and survival expert Benedict Grothaus. The discussion is likely being viewed too much from the MMORPG perspective. Especially since the MMORPG subreddit is overly critical of MMORPGs.
For players used to rich quest areas like those in World of Warcraft or Guild Wars 2, Pax Dei seems sparse. But for fans of Conan Exiles, ARK, and similar games, a large area to explore with great features and RPG elements is an interesting approach.
Some users also see it similarly: Pax Dei should be viewed more as an MMORPG than a survival game. In fact, this mix is something that both genres have been steering towards for a while now. Even some developers share this view. Recently, this was seen with Conan Exiles. The barbarian MMO is increasingly evolving into a survival MMORPG.
