Place 2 – Bless Unleashed
Setting: Fantasy | Developer: Round 8 Studio | Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Release Date: March 12, 2020 | Rating on Metacritic: 57 (on Xbox, not enough on PC)
What kind of game is this? Bless Unleashed is a classic theme park MMORPG, but with typical elements from Korea. It features an action combat system, equipment that must be upgraded with large amounts of materials, and open PvP in the endgame.
The game is the spiritual successor to Bless Online but does some things differently. Among other things, it started out as a Free2Play game, offers better performance, but comes with fewer classes.
At first glance, Bless Unleashed performed well. Especially the boss fights in the starting areas were impressive. However, interest from players significantly dropped in the endgame. Nevertheless, it launched with over 75,000 concurrent players on Steam on PC.
What is the best rating on Metacritic? The best rating was given by the website Generaction Xbox. They rated it 82, citing the “addictive gameplay,” the abundant content, and the fact that it is not Pay2Win.
There was criticism, especially of the trading system and the limited selection of classes and races.
What is the worst rating on Metacritic? The worst rating is a 10 from Gaming Trend. They report that “almost everything” is a disaster. There are problems with input from the controller, movements and the combat system feel bad, and the content is so poor that it is not even recommended for a free game.
The second-worst rating was a 50 from MMORPG.com, followed by a 55.
How is the MMORPG doing today? This varies greatly. The versions for PlayStation and Xbox have since been discontinued. Bless Unleashed can no longer be played there.
On PC, the MMORPG is still ongoing, but it recently peaked at only around 800 concurrent players. While there are still regular updates and events, no new content has been released for quite some time.
Place 1 – Final Fantasy XIV
Setting: Japanese Fantasy | Developer: Square Enix | Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Mac | Release Date: August 27, 2013 | Rating on Metacritic: 49
What kind of game is this? Final Fantasy XIV offers dozens of hours of story content, numerous areas, a strong crafting system, and challenging dungeons and raids. Moreover, there are currently 19 different jobs, which you can freely switch with one character.
The game appeals not only to fans of the Final Fantasy series but also delights MMORPG players with its strong story and demanding boss fights. However, it hasn’t always been this way.
FFXIV was first released on September 22, 2010, but was then considered quite unfinished. The list of criticisms is long. There were:
- No quest log
- No dungeons and raids
- No side quests
- No possibility to jump
- No enemy level display
- No options for custom key bindings
Our colleague Irina Moritz summarized her experiences with the original version of Final Fantasy XIV here:
What is the best rating on Metacritic? The website GamingXP gave the original version of the MMORPG a proud 84, ranking it miles above all other testers. Although the site no longer exists, we retrieved it again with the WayBackMachine. In a snapshot from October 10, they stated:
Anyone who has seen “Final Fantasy XIV” and fought through the complex controls will hardly want to flee from Eorzea again. As a result, the motivation to fight for this continent is correspondingly high. Class independence is also a significant plus, as you can try something new at any time.
The technology, graphics, and “many possibilities” are praised; however, there is criticism mainly for the controls.
What is the worst rating on Metacritic? This comes from Game Revolution and is a 25. There, the game is described as a “mediocre game” that does not deserve the name Final Fantasy and looks like a beta for the upcoming PS3 version.
PC Gamer also only gave a 30, stating: “A flat, slow, grind-heavy MMO crippled by a terrible interface and nonsensical gameplay restrictions.” It couldn’t get much worse.
How is the MMORPG doing today? Today, Final Fantasy XIV is a completely different game. Already A Realm Reborn – the relaunch in 2013 – received a rating in the 80s. Many changes were made to the game at that time, including adjustments to the level system, combat, and the game world.
Endwalker, the latest expansion from 2021, is the currently most successful MMORPG expansion according to Metacritic, ahead of WoW: Wrath of the Lich King.
What do you think about the list of the worst MMORPGs? Which game do you think is missing, and which one has been unfairly included here? Feel free to write it in the comments.
