Bless Unleashed – On Consoles (March 12, 2020 – November 30, 2022)
Genre: MMORPG | Developer: | Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S (all shut down), PC | Payment model: Free2Play
What kind of game was it? Bless Unleashed was and is a classic theme park MMORPG, albeit with typical elements from Korea. It featured an action combat system, equipment that had to be upgraded with a large amount of materials, and open PvP in endgame.
The game is the spiritual successor to Bless Online but did some things differently. Among other things, it launched directly as a free-to-play game, offered better performance but also had fewer classes.
On first impressions, Bless Unleashed performed well. Especially the boss fights in the starting areas were impressive. However, interest from players declined significantly in endgame. Nevertheless, it launched with over 75,000 concurrent players on Steam on PC.
What did it fail at? Bandai Namco took over the publishing for Bless Unleashed on consoles. Their agreement with developer Neowiz expired, and they decided not to extend the partnership.
The reason was likely the weak player numbers on consoles. MMORPGs are generally not very popular there. Some players report that the starting areas on consoles should have been completely deserted for a while.
The PC version continues to operate, as Valofe took over the publishing. There, peak concurrent players exceeded 1,000 in December (via SteamDB).
What are the best memories? Bless Unleashed impressed mainly with action-packed fights and a combo system. You had to learn the right order of attacks to activate the corresponding ability.
Another highlight was the design of boss fights in the open world. All enemy attacks were clearly indicated with telegraphs and animations. This made dodging easy, but also essential since these attacks could take away 50 or even 100 percent of your health points.
Bosses were also everywhere in the world. In the starting area, you would already encounter a wolf that couldn’t be defeated alone at level 3. At level 7, there was a giant, at level 11 another boss, and at level 14, you would face the harpy, who probably had at least one player’s life on her conscience.
The fight against the harpy often took around 15 minutes but was part of the story quest. Therefore, dozens of players gathered at the spawn point. It truly felt like an MMORPG. Here you can watch the fight:
Are there alternatives or successors? Bless Unleashed can still be played on PC. However, if you are looking for a new console MMORPG, your options are highly limited. The highlights are ESO, Black Desert, and FFXIV on PlayStation.
You can find out more about good console MMORPGs here: The 5 best MMORPGs on PS4, PS5, and Xbox that you can play in 2022.
