Lost Ark Reviews

Lost Ark is ranked in the 86th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
9.2 / 10.0
Oct 3, 2021

Lost Ark is a wonderfully fun MMOARPG with a compelling story and unique gameplay. If you can wrap your head around it all, that is. The game itself is a breath of fresh air with its 2.5D style and fast-paced combat. However, for an "open-world" RPG, Lost Ark takes its time opening the world to you. A barrage of info-dumps for lore and tutorials make Lost Ark overwhelming at first. With some time, exploring, and no shortage of patience, you can see what Lost Ark really has to offer.

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8.8 / 10.0
Feb 8, 2022

Lost Ark is light on the MMO, and heavy on the action- RPG, taking all the elements from MMOs that make them great, and a few that make them a bit dull to fans of the genre. It's easy to get lost in the customization before you even set foot in the fleshed out world. The five main classes are the big star, each feels and plays differently enough making me want to replay the game just to try them out. Being able to tackle this game with friends will make for a better overall time with the game, but it isn't required to have a good time. Lost Ark warrants a look if you like action-RPGs, MMOs, or both.

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Feb 8, 2022

As with any MMO, Lost Ark is tricky to review on release. The most I can say is I enjoyed the mindless questing, beautiful locales, and great game feel. I can't speak on the endgame, but the fact that I'm excited to jump back in on launch day to do it all again with friends is a pretty good sign for now.

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Unscored
Feb 8, 2022

Excellent Diablo-like combat struggles to make up for a grind levelling process baked into a cookie-cutter MMORPG template.

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8 / 10.0
Feb 8, 2022

With so many studios trying to hit the coveted MMO market, one thing is clear if you want to succeed - your game has to be unique. You can make up for tonnes of mistakes if you can just carve out a market for it. Although it has its own issues of identity - with a Diablo-like fighting system and enough extra activities to feel full - Lost Ark is a game that I'm looking forward to seeing grow.

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Feb 8, 2022

So long as you're willing to play by its rules, Lost Ark it is an absolute blast thanks to its perfect blend of visceral ARPG combat and steady MMO progression.

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GameSpace
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Feb 8, 2022

A well-crafted and highly polished ARPG that is certain to fare better than Amazon's previous outings. If you want plenty of lore, a deep narrative tale, and combat that gets straight to the point then Lost Ark is worth your time.

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8.5 / 10.0
Feb 8, 2022

Lost Ark is fantastic, but like all MMOARPGs, it demands a massive time investment and a ton of extra reading to get the most from it.

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PC Gamer
Top Critic
78 / 100
Feb 8, 2022

Excellent combat and a stunning sense of scale help steer Lost Ark through its more tired MMO conventions.

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8 / 10.0
Feb 8, 2022

With some small setbacks like pay-to-win features and awkward movements, Lost Ark manages to stand out with its overall style, story, and game mechanics. Free-to-play is going to push this game to the top now that it's in the West.

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8 / 10
Feb 8, 2022

Visible effort went into nearly every avenue of the game, making it an easy recommendation even if it doesn’t bring much innovation to the space. The quality of the combat and the variety of content on offer elevates this ARPG experience to be a cut above the rest. The only thing you can stand to lose in trying out Lost Ark is time, and even in a gaming landscape defined by competition for said time, it’s absolutely worth giving a gander.

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7 / 10.0
Feb 8, 2022

While it’s clear that Lost Ark isn’t necessarily an ARPG, but rather a traditional Korean MMORPG with an isometric view, Smilegate is very clearly looking to cater to a specific audience. Lost Ark finds itself focused on a never-ending gear treadmill, and it does an extremely good job at it. Unfortunately, casual players who want to explore an interesting world or want diverse or more dynamic content will likely be let down. And while Lost Ark is fun, the arduous leveling process and repetitive endgame will likely lead to polarizing opinions about it, with most players either loving or hating their experience in the end.

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9 / 10.0
Feb 8, 2022

A massive time sink which needs an entire rainforest of sticks to shake at. Just grab it and jump in.

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PCMag
Top Critic
Feb 8, 2022

Lost Ark is a fantastic, free-to-play MMORPG that features exciting combat, attractive visuals, and a seemingly endless endgame.

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4 / 5.0
Feb 8, 2022

Lost Ark might be one of the most banal games you’ll ever come across if you’re just looking at it from a narrative point of view, but it’s a prime example of how good gameplay and combat can carry the entire experience. Sometimes, all it takes is the appeal of watching your tiny numbers gradually grow into big numbers for you to get hooked on a game.

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82 / 100
Feb 8, 2022

Lost Ark is a polished, solid, substantial, and engaging free-to-play MMORPG that is very solo-friendly and offers a vast amount of well-made content for just about everyone. The combat is exciting and fun, the classes are appealing and varied, and the world is colorful and lush, if not necessarily state-of-the-art. The story isn’t going to turn heads, but the number and range of quests and side activities will keep you happily entertained. I’ve only scratched the surface, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the end game has to offer and what kind of community coalesces around Lost Ark.

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9 / 10
Feb 8, 2022

If you want an MMORPG that respects the time of casual players, while also giving hardcore players plenty of content to keep them busy, then Lost Ark is worth considering. It's combat is wonderfully fun. The story is entertaining and packed with epic moments. Plus, there is a wide variety to the endgame content, including equalized arena PvP.

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95 / 100
Feb 8, 2022

Despite its brilliance, Lost Ark's ARPG nature won't be for everyone. However, if you've been yearning for a new free-to-play experience to explore, you won't get much better than this. The combat is exciting, the progression is quick and accessible, everything about Lost Ark screams a level of quality we've not seen in an MMO for many years.

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Feb 8, 2022

Overall, Lost Ark feels like a reward after so many hashed-out and rocky launches of new games. You know what you’re getting with Lost Ark, it’s an experience that has already been through the tests and tribulations of its first two years of content. Its story won’t speak to everyone, but the endgame experience is worth a few cutscenes here and there. Lost Ark is one of the most polished titles I’ve played for some time, especially an MMO. The game is free and will be hyped-up thanks to Amazon and Twitch. I can’t think of a reason why you shouldn’t try it.

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Paul Tassi
Top Critic
Unscored
Feb 8, 2022

I am incredibly impressed with the size and scope of Lost Ark. Even some of the later storylines started to resonate with me a bit, albeit there’s a ton of throwaway sidequest content that exists just to fill space. I am less impressed with the game’s loot system so far, but I know I have not fully mastered all its finer details at this point. But in a game like this I wanted to get excited about new drops, but other than things looking cool, that never really happened in the first 40 hours here. Another complaint is that because this is such a well established game that already got a number of updates over the years, dumping everything here all at once can feel overwhelming. It’s just a whole lot of stuff and systems and things to sort through, and it’s easy to feel lost.

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