Riders of Icarus finally arrived in the West in 2017. It offered the classic content of an MMORPG but mainly tried to convince with a large number of mounts and pets. We at MeinMMO have taken a look at where the game stands today.
What is Riders of Icarus? Riders of Icarus is a theme park MMORPG from the Korean developer WeMade. It is free-to-play and offers you:
- 8 different classes
- A linear story told through quests and cutscenes
- Dungeons and raids
- PvP
- A huge number of mounts
These animals are a unique selling point of the game. You can tame almost anything in the wild and even fight from your mounts. A highlight are the aerial battles that you can engage in while riding a dragon or a demon-like pegasus.
This YouTube video gives you an insight into the wildlife of Riders of Icarus:
Constant Player Numbers and Regular Updates
How is the MMORPG doing today? In Germany, you actually hear nothing about Riders of Icarus anymore. However, the game is not doing that poorly.
On Steam, since May 2018, an average of between 200 and 500 players have been checking in to the MMORPG each day, with a low point in September 2019 (which may have been due to the publisher change).
The game uses its own client, so the overall player count should be higher.
Additionally, the MMORPG receives an update every 7 to 14 days. These usually involve events, minor features, bug fixes, and balance changes.
However, in 2020 a patch with many new features was already released.
What did the big update bring? On February 26, a patch was released that brought several new features for veterans of Riders of Icarus:
- Increase of the level cap from 67 to 70
- New raid for 10 players
- New quests from level 70
- A new “Mythical Armor Set”
- New awakening skills starting at level 70 for each class
- Additionally, the event for the Chinese New Year ended
However, the road to this stability was not easy. Shortly after release, there was a silence about the MMORPG. Even afterwards, communication was difficult.
A Year of Silence Shortly After Release
How did the release of the MMORPG go? After the official release in the summer of 2017, there was almost a year of silence. Suddenly, there were no more updates and significant bugs remained in the game.
In the summer of 2018, however, the developers returned. They did not give a reason for the lack of communication, but there was talk of new updates that should help get the MMORPG back on track.
What happened afterwards? On July 26, the new class Magician was released along with additional content and an event.
In October 2018, the level cap was raised to level 67 in the “Shadows of Turimnan” update. New areas, animals, and skills were also released.
Change to a New Publisher
What happened in 2019? In 2019, the publisher Nexon, which is also responsible for MapleStory 2, handed the game over to the American company VOLOFE. Previously, the Korean company distributed the game itself in America.
With the change, the account also had to be migrated. This process was available from August 28, 2019, to February 26, 2020. Now returning players must create new accounts.
Along with the change, new content was also released, including a dungeon and 50 new quests. However, the developer remains the Korean company WeMade.
Has communication changed since then? The MMORPG received a Discord server for direct exchange with the new publisher.
A partner program was also established, allowing players to contact GMs, discuss with them, and test new content early. Currently, there are 4 players each from NA and EU involved.
Additionally, there is a forum where events and contests take place regularly. Currently, players are supposed to catch a specific mount and tell a story about it. The best stories receive prizes (Forum).
Riders of Icarus 2020 – Is it worth it?
This is what users are saying on Steam: Although Riders of Icarus has overall balanced reviews on Steam, 82% of the 117 reviews in the last 30 days rated the game positively, though some individual positive reviews sound rather negative.
Positives include:
- The ability to ride dragons and various other creatures.
- The vast game world.
- The story, which is said to be a bit confusing at the beginning.
Critiques include:
- The migration system, where apparently some characters were lost.
- Technical issues since the acquisition by VOLOFE. Two voices even demand Nexon to return as publisher.
- The somewhat dated graphics.
This is what our author Alexander Leitsch says: Riders of Icarus may no longer be the most current MMORPG, but it offers a really cool and rare element with the combat on mounts.
The MMORPG is available in German, and the player numbers are high enough to at least not be alone in the world.
However, there were also bugs and problems with new updates, such as during the winter event 2019/20. However, the developers responded and distributed items as compensation. So not everything runs smoothly in the MMORPG, which also shows the criticism of the migration.
Since Riders of Icarus is free to play on Steam, it might be worth taking a look at the game. Perhaps this MMORPG will bridge the gap until one of the new games arrives:
