Lost Ark is finally due to launch for the Western world this week, over two years after its original Korean debut. The action-oriented MMORPG has been generating a lot of early buzz thanks to its successful early playtests, and the first round of reviews are in. So far, the word is fairly positive – though if you’re not a fan of the traditional MMO grind, Lost Ark might be old-school enough to put you off.
Sitting at an aggregate score of 81 on OpenCritic and 80 on Metacritic, the response to Lost Ark has been solid. In its 78 out of 100 review, PC Gamer says the game “offers a vast and spectacular fantasy adventure elevated by a stunning combat system and an astonishing sense of scale, but its grand plans are hindered by hackneyed storytelling and a repetitive quest structure”.
Across the board, the reviews make clear that, despite its isometric perspective and action-focused combat, Lost Ark is far more MMORPG than ARPG. As Rock, Paper, Shotgun says in its unscored review-in-progress, “the grind and the game’s aged MMORPG template refuse to budge, and I’m not sure it’s something even its excellent combat can varnish over.”
Broadly, though, the outlook is good. “Lost Ark finds itself focused on a never-ending gear treadmill,” as MMORPG.com says in its seven out of ten review, “and it does an extremely good job at it”.
Here’s our roundup of the scores.
- CGMagazine – 8/10
- COGconnected – 82/100
- Dexerto – 9/10
- Digital Trends – 4/5
- GameWatcher – 8/10
- Gaming Nexus – 8.8/10
- God is a Geek – 8.5/10
- MMORPG.com – 7/10
- PC Gamer – 78/100
- PCMag – 4/5
- Twinfinite – 4/5
The Lost Ark early access release time – available for those who’ve picked up Founder’s Packs – lands today. The wide, free-to-play release is set for Friday, February 11.