Finally, the first closed beta of Revelation Online has started, and we immediately dived into the colorful anime world of the Chinese online role-playing game. We noticed that the new game surprisingly incorporates many elements from Blade & Soul and Aion.
Games are not living beings, but the rules of evolution also apply to them. Specifically, a certain species evolves from successful predecessors and perfects useful traits. This is especially evident in Revelation Online, the new AAA MMO from China. The online role-playing game plays like a logical continuation of the gameplay principles of Aion, TERA , and Blade & Soul!
Intuitive Action Fireworks!
As soon as we dive into the first battle with our Sharpshooter “RedFox”, we, as old Blade&Soul veterans, feel fully at home. The control is exactly the same, and the gameplay of the highly mobile shooter DPS class corresponds exactly to our idea of such a gunslinger. We skillfully jump around, gain distance from the opponent, and shower him with a hail of bullets. Whenever our heroine learns new skills, we can intuitively apply them in an appropriate situation, which means we can immediately get into the gameplay without much introduction or explanation. Very commendable!
Also cool: right at the beginning, Revelation Online asks us how we would like to play? Do we want to play the game like a classic MMORPG in the style of World of Warcraft or SWTOR ? Or by clicking like in Diablo 3? Or rather as action freestyle like in Blade & Soul or TERA? In addition to these examples, the game also advises us which controls are best suited for which class. For the Sharpshooter, the program recommends the action style, while for supporters, it suggests the point & click option. If someone ultimately doesn’t like it, they can change the controls at any time.
Fly, little hero!
A major feature of Revelation Online is our wings, as in My.com’s new MMO, we are allowed to play flying heroes again since NCSoft’s famous Aion . And indeed, we receive our first wings to try on very early and can soar around and perform aerial acrobatics to our heart’s content. Our stamina energy only limits special maneuvers; we can flutter around as long as we want. Plus, it looks extremely cool when we unfold our gigantic wings and soar away!
Even though we don’t have wings at the beginning of the game, we still don’t have to walk around on the ground like a normal peasant. In addition to flying, Revelation also offers the cool acrobatic skills from Blade & Soul. We can run like the wind in the best Kung Fu manner, perform multiple jumps, and glide through the air even without wings. And while the coolest maneuvers in NCSoft’s Kung Fu MMO are only visible as predefined travel animations, we can execute spectacular acrobatics in Revelation Online with the right combos right away!
The full anime experience!
In terms of graphic style, Revelation Online strongly resembles other titles from the East, which of course is also due to the colorful anime aesthetics. However, thanks to the modern “Big-Bang Engine”, it looks much better than the competition, which we already notice during character creation. The editor, although not as extensive as in Black Desert Online, still allows us to create any type of anime hero, as long as we settle for human characters. There are no wacky creatures like hamsters or demon beings, as seen in Tera or WildStar.
In the best anime tradition, our story begins as well. We are a member of the village youth in a small town on the coast and prepare for a big festival in honor of the great sea god. We complete a few small quests and later meet another fighter who initially comes off as a clumsy fool and – also very anime-like – a gluttonous good-for-nothing. There are also fitting cutscenes throughout, introducing new characters or explaining situations. Those who found such sequences cool in Blade & Soul should get their money’s worth.
Am I speaking Chinese?
Of course, you can still tell that Revelation Online is in beta status in many corners. Before we can even start the game, we first get to entertain ourselves in a cheerful waiting line while the colorful intro talks to us in Chinese. So we have no idea what the game is about.
In-game, a lot of text is simply not translated and is either still in Chinese or at least in Russian. Those who do not speak either of the two languages are out of luck. On the other hand, the gameplay – as already mentioned – is so intuitive that we wouldn’t have needed the texts anyway. This beta is indeed a work-in-progress test version and certainly not a retail-ready product! However, for those who can live with that and internalize it, there is still plenty of fun to be had in Revelation.
Jürgen says: The first beta of Revelation Online has impressed me greatly despite the many issues in the game. This is mainly due to the cool gameplay, which is intuitive and fun to play. The graphics are also good, and even though I’m not the biggest anime fan, I still appreciate the style once I’ve settled into it. I’m really looking forward to the end of the day and the weekend to continue diving into the game with my heroine RedFox and possibly test a dungeon or the PvP. There will likely be more articles from me next week!
