Lost Ark Reviews
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!”
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
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
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.
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.
Lost Ark is a Korean MMO action RPG, in the vein of Diablo or Path of Exile. It features a beautiful world and engaging gameplay, but it's held back by clunky animations, mediocre voice acting and an unoriginal story.
Excellent combat and an engaging endgame are undercut by Lost Ark's archaic MMO quest design and emphasis on microtransactions.
Excellent combat and a stunning sense of scale help steer Lost Ark through its more tired MMO conventions.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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 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.
Lost Ark is a fantastic, free-to-play MMORPG that features exciting combat, attractive visuals, and a seemingly endless endgame.
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.
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.