It’s absolutely surreal to see that, despite all the obstacles, Pantheon: Rise of the Dead actually released – albeit in early access – in 2024. Given that I had serious concerns about Visionary Realms pulling the trigger on this old school style MMORPG project before it was completely ready, I felt it was my duty to check it out first. -hand hoping for the best.
This Avant-garde And EverQuest The spiritual successor has a lot on its plate, not the least of which is a bunch of crowdfunding from the very public who are now seeing the results of their “investment.” I’ve heard mixed things, but nothing like experiencing it for yourself.
We’ll start with the character’s creator, which already raises several unanswered questions. There are six races and four classes, and while each is given a description, the races don’t explain any advantages or disadvantages of their choice, and the classes are vague to the point of crazy (especially the “Dire Lord”, who don’t do it). This doesn’t sound like a typical fantasy role). Then you have a true throwback to the MMOs of old – an attribute sheet where you hand out certain points manually. Or, like me, press that big blue button and the game will automatically handle this task. I don’t understand why it’s even here.
I know we have to consider all of this with the “this is only early access” caveat, and I’ll keep that in mind, but the appearance options are incredibly few. Get used to everyone in your race having the exact same face, I guess. I opted for a Halfling Ranger because there’s some sort of pet system with him? Maybe? It wouldn’t kill the writers to explain these things a little better.
Save the school bus, tutorial — how am I moving again? Wait, let me get a pen and write this down.
While the game threw some basic tutorial material at me, what it failed to convey was (a) where I should go and (b) what I should do. After learning a few skills from the scrolls in my inventory, I was dropped onto a series of treetop platforms with various vendors, trainers, and crafting stations. But without a map or guide, I ended up wandering around saying nothing and feeling like an idiot until I finally found an elevator leading to the forest floor.
At least it looks pretty good, apart from the character models? But there really have to be shadows.
Flipping through the UI revealed a few more details about the game, including that I needed to stay fed and hydrated. There was also a screen for Pantheon Much-vaunted “acclimation system” in which you can get used to certain types of dangerous environments and (I assume) die less often from them.
Once on the forest floor, I took a few minutes to appreciate the assets of Pantheon visuals. It’s a good looking game, not cutting edge, but enjoyable in a 2010 way. The decision to go for more colorful, slightly cartoonish graphics was a good choice. And the music is quite pleasant.
Without any real direction, I was left to explore and get into fights. And I got into a fight, although in a somewhat clumsy way. I heard that Pantheon is rather a EverQuest flashback than anything else, and now I can understand why. If for some reason you want to go back to the days when you had to “con” (consider) a crowd to see how hard it is compared to you and finish each fight by sitting down to rest, then it’s gone.
The actual fighting was adequate. The sound effects and animations never really matched (and the audio was too muffled for my tastes), but the auto attacks and ranged and melee skills worked well enough.
Have you ever had a game night that hit you like someone flipped a switch? That’s what it felt like here. At one point the world was clear and bright, and within perhaps five more seconds it went almost black. Luckily I had a torch to light a small circle around me, but that was going to seriously hamper my movement (especially without a map – I can’t stress enough how frustrating this game is without both an area map and a mini -map).
So, without quests or direction, what to do? I took a random direction and explored, hoping to see something interesting or meet other players. I took a cool screenshot of some light effects on the waves while I was swimming, came across another character (he was standing stoically on a rock and didn’t respond to me) and I been touched by a gecko. Truly, a legendary story. It just doesn’t work for me in a world where there are so many other MMO options, even old-school options.
I realize that a segment of MMO players will enjoy this aimless experience; the game has over a thousand positive reviews on Steam and over 4,000 concurrent players, so it obviously resonates with a specific slice of old-school MMO gamers.
But many others will be as disconnected as I am, and that worries me.
Part of my disappointment with the game is that playing it confirmed my suspicions that it just wasn’t for me, and that’s fine. A lot of MMOs aren’t for me. Not every MMO has to be for me. The fact that it’s not for me means it might even be for you.
But the other part of my disappointment is less personal and more public because this game wasn’t ready for the kind of early access that the broader MMO player base expects.
Come to Pantheon For this experience, I had pretty low expectations, but this game didn’t live up to it, despite being in development for over 10 years. For the life of me, I don’t understand why this was pushed into Early Access in this state. It’s not just that it’s a partially constructed MMO; it’s that there’s no specific reason to play this and not another returning MMO. There’s nothing here, at least not yet, that fills a niche or need, other than making some crowdfunding investments profitable and being newer than other games released. It’s the kind of unfinished effort that gives ammunition to critics and pessimists of the genre, perhaps rightly so.
If I’m playing a game and all I can think about is the many other similar titles that do all of this much better, then that’s really not a good sign. You might as well play EverQuest, Drifting embersOr Gorgon Project for that returning MMO feel with a lot more content, direction and engagement.
I don’t like writing this, and I especially don’t like criticizing a game whose indie studio overcame terrible odds and faced so many trials, including the tragic death of its own founder, that the genre still mourns. I really wish I could say that this game is in a great place, and if it does indeed get the continued development it needs, maybe one day. Pantheon will be a fleshed-out MMO that can take its place in the list of old-fashioned MMOs that I just cited above.
But will it last until then and will he get that chance? It’s possible, if all those concurrent players I mentioned before stick with whatever monetization plan the team ultimately chooses. But I fear that by pushing this too early, Visionary Realms may have hindered rather than helped its chances of overcoming the “early access trap.” I hope I’m wrong.
Do you like watching and speculating about upcoming MMOs? Us too! Each week, Justin tackles another upcoming title in the MMO Hype Train with opinions, analysis, and fervent, blind hope. Choo choo all aboard!