Lost Ark Reviews
Lost Ark is literally great enough to re-ignite my passion for MMORPGs after 15 years. That’s not a joke, and it’s not something that I’m just saying for the sake of this review. Because of that, I don’t know that I should be reviewing this game so much as I should be thanking it. I’m incredibly happy to have finally found an MMO that I can look forward to playing every day, and, if you’re willing to take my word at all, I think you’ll find that you’ll end up the same way once you sit down with this game for yourself.
It's beautiful, the gameplay is fun and nervous, the classes are varied, the lifespan is considerable...
Review in French | Read full review
I feel like I’m being a little generous with this rating, as 99% of what I enjoy in Lost Ark is the promise of what comes after the level 50 grind. Lost Ark certainly isn’t a bad experience before reaching the end-game content, there’s definitely a lot you can enjoy on your way there. It’s just hard for me to suggest a game on the merit of “Once you get 20 hours into the game, it really starts to pick up!”
And I haven't even mentioned naval travel, field bosses, or timed battles. In its sheer breadth of content, Lost Ark is gargantuan, and learning its intricate systems means being rewarded every step of the way, for a very long time. As it stands, after 90 hours, I have roughly 40% of each region completed, and have multiple characters well into the second tier of endgame content.
Lost Ark is the gold standard of Modern MMOs. Smilegate and Tripod deliver an incredibly polished experience that gives players dozens of dishes to choose from, all equally delicious. It hits on all those classic MMO beats, while injecting a fresh style and approach to all of it. Lost Ark has already proven to have some strong staying power in the east, and is now set up for a long and fruitful lifespan in the west.
With all that said, who exactly is Lost Ark for? If you’re looking for the next Diablo game, you won’t necessarily find it here. The combat and perspective may fool you initially, but this is a theme park MMO with all the good and the bad. If you’re willing to put in the effort and sink potentially hundreds of hours into a game, you will find that Lost Ark has almost too much content, and more importantly, loads of content still to come that hasn’t been released from the Korean version. It’s hard to ignore the mediocre early game content that isn’t done any favors by the lackluster story and characters but anyone willing to stick around for the 15-20 hours required to reach the endgame will find genuinely one of the most fun and addictive MMOs to hit the market in years.
A fun - if unoriginal - fantasy hack'n slash game both good for a single player experience and a multiplayer adventure- The free to play elements feel fair and the end game content is hard enough to pose as an interesting challenge.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Amazon Game’s second run at the MMO market is very impressive. The years of content already created for Lost Ark provide an enticing package filled to the brim with fun activities and exciting locals to explore. Each class is wonderfully unique, and the customization systems allow for an abundance of freedom to tailor to a variety of playstyles. I’ve had a great time with Lost Ark in these early days, and I’m looking to sink many more hours into it with friends over the coming weeks and months. Those looking to scratch an Action/RPG itch or sink time into an MMO won’t go wrong giving this adventure a fair shot.
Action-packed dungeons make Lost Ark's early stages a real romp, but without a convincing hook beyond the combat, things get a little stale.
Lost Ark's biggest fault is that it's trying to be everything at the same time. This means that instead of a "good system", there are "many systems that are average or above average".
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Excellent combat and an engaging endgame are undercut by Lost Ark's archaic MMO quest design and emphasis on microtransactions.
Dragged down by a dated and boring campaign, Lost Ark is saved by an engaging and visually attractive combat system. Although it has payed elements, it's a good choice for an MMO with tons of content.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Anyone discouraged from those popular concerns of free-to-play MMOs will find that Lost Ark is gentle in its pay-to-win leanings. There are predictably seductive premium purchases to be had, but most of them revolve around time-savers and special mounts/skins, and hopefully there's some more free Lost Ark content to come. The architecture of the game seems geared towards dutiful endgamers with decent daily rewards that won’t require dozens of hours a week to maintain. Past that, the early stages of its arrival look promising and there’s considerable content to devour at launch, all for free. Lost Ark is easily worth the download and feels remarkably fully-formed, but it should really thrive with new world events and additional endgame content.
Lost Ark is a title that lives on ups and downs, but that manages to entertain the player thanks to a frenetic and rewarding combat system that is in fact the beating heart of this MMORPG.
Review in Italian | Read full review
With an outstanding variety of places to visit and a strong combat system, Lost Ark is an extremely generous free-to-play action-RPG-MMO that draws a lot from Diablo – including its well-worn story about humans and Heaven teaming up against demons.
Lost Ark is a great MMO for those willing to put up with a bit of grind. As long as you have friends at your side you should be fine.
It's too early to have a final verdict on Lost Ark, but the game feels deep and surely its growing day by day. We are having fun discovering its world and we appreciate that it actually is free-to-play way more than it is pay-to-win.
Review in Italian | Read full review
There’s a lot to see and experience in Lost Ark, and the asking price to try it is just your time. It’s very clear that this game is a juggernaut, and even friends of mine who aren’t into the genre have had their interest piqued enough to give it a go. Here’s to hoping Smilegate, Amazon, and Tripod Studios can capitalize on an incredibly strong start and fulfill the promise buried under all these screens.
Lost Ark tries to be an MMO however and features a shared world (with multiple “channels”, similar to WoW's controversial “shards”). But with a limited amount of NPCs and resources at any given time this is probably for the best. For a free to play game, the graphics are fairly good for an action RPG.
Lost Ark, at the end of the day, is a very good ARPG with MMO mechanics. The way the game funnels you through the initial content is like an amusement park ride with side quests. After that ride, though, you get dumped out at this giant, unexpected playground full of stuff to do. If sailing around the map, hunting giant monsters, and chasing upgrades sounds like a good time, then this might be the game for you.