FREE-TO-SLAY
LOST ARK’s blend of ARPG and MMO is a (mostly) successful experiment
Lost Ark is a game with zero chill. A Korean hybrid of ARPG and MMO, it embodies the best and the worst traits of both genres. Ambitious to a fault, it offers a vast and spectacular fantasy adventure elevated by a stunning combat system and an astonishing sense of scale, although its grand plans are hindered by hackneyed storytelling and a repetitive quest structure.
Right from the off, Lost Ark’s mantra is ‘why fight one enemy when you can fight 20?’ and it gives you the combat skills to facilitate this. You start the game at level ten, with five abilities already unlocked. For the Paladin—the class I spent most of my time with—this includes powers like Spin Slash, a powerful one-two punch of an attack that puts a massive dent in enemy health bars, and Light of Judgement, where your Paladin thrusts his hand forward, emitting a beam of searing light that sends enemies flying back.
The game is structured heavily around these meaty combat skills, to the point that you’ll mostly use your standard attack for mopping up stragglers when the fight’s already been won. Your powers only become more impressive as you level up, too. With higher-level powers unlocked, I liked to open-up combat with Wrath of God, a devastating attack. Then I’d mop up any remaining foes with Flash Slash, where your Paladin moves slowly forward, cutting at the air rapidly like an armored lawnmower.
The game’s massive MacGuffin hunt of a story is divided into various continents, themselves split into different zones. Lost Ark’s approach to questing is like a parody of MMO design. You’ll be sent off to kill monsters that respawn so rapidly that it’s often quicker to wait for them to reappear rather than explore, while NPCs will ask you to carry objects for them a whole ten yards across the map. It’s rudimentary to say the least.
The approach to questing is like a parody of MMO design
But what Lost Ark lacks in depth, it makes up for in efficiency. Quests are designed to push you quickly through the map, showering you with rewards in the process.
Moreover, these quickfire quests build toward larger story arcs. Most zones lead you to a dungeon that can be explored with up to three other players. These dungeons vary wildly, ranging from ancient ruins to pirate coves to catacombs filled with heretic priests. They’re wonderful spaces to explore, and unlike the more general zones, aren’t populated by constantly respawning enemies, which makes combat a bit more satisfying.
ROYALS WITH CHEESE
Lost Ark’s highest highs, however, come with its major story events. The bulk of the early game takes place on the continent of West Luterra, where you attempt to help the errant King Thirain regain his throne from the usurper Lord Scheritt. The story sees you help Thirain gather his forces through multiple zones, culminating in a colossal castle siege that looks more like something out of Total War than an ARPG. And what I’ve mentioned here is only the start of
what the game contains. Once you reach the end of East Luterra, Lost Ark gives you a ship, and sets you off to explore the rest of the game’s enormous world.
In sights and sounds, Lost Ark is a captivating adventure. Which makes it more of a shame that the main story is simply not that compelling. The central cast of characters are largely one dimensional, a carousel of exhaustingly noble heroes and villains who look like they stumbled through the local S&M club on the way to battle. My other major gripe with Lost Ark is that the loot sucks. It’s all geared toward incremental stat-upgrades, with precious little that is unique or distinctive, at least along the main story path.
Yet every time I started to brush against Lost Ark’s shallower edges, the game would throw some wild scenario at me to hook me back into its depths. The combat alone is reason enough to give Lost Ark a go, and its ridiculous scale and many weird tangents succeed in overcoming its flat storytelling and by-the-numbers quests. It’s not quite a classic, but I had some fun watching it try to become one.