vasus

Already mentioned my favourite in the last thread, so I'm gonna talk about the worst: Metin2. I played it back during it's peak years circa 2011 or so? Here in Czechia it was incredibly popular, as well as in some other EU countries - no surprise given that basically no MMOs bothered to offer translations to the local languages so it was almost entirely without competition.

I have two problems with the game - first, it was incredibly pay to win (obviously, being a korean title) and second, it's bland as can be - it didn't even try to differentiate itself from the other grindfest korean games out at the time. It has a place in the cultural zeitgeist now and a lot of people are nostalgic for it but I really don't see why, it's one of the few MMOs I barely remember playing since nothing about it stands out

The OST is a banger though, that's for sure.

I'm a huge fan of Project:Gorgon, I try not to recommend it too much but I have to mention it since you've said you used to play Runescape. The game's only slightly similiar but I've heard some Runescape players say it scratches the same itch. I'd classify it as a sort of mix between Runescape and a more usual MMORPG - you have a ton of skills that interact and build off of each other on one character, and you also have classes, builds and some group content.

Since you mentioned character expression - have you considered Path of exile? That game is well known for it's massive skill tree and build variety. Alternatively you could check out the Ascension private WoW server - it's based on being able to pick skills and passives from any class when you level up.

If you've enjoyed Albion, why not try EVE online too? Those two games are in a league of their own honestly, nothing else had got my hands shaking and heart pounding quite like sitting on my ass in the comfort of my home playing a spaceship game hahaha.

If you want something with nice graphics like Black Desert, that's going to be tough, generally newer MMOs on modern engines are few and far between. Maybe New World is your best bet.

Wurm online kinda fits if you can stomach a game this dated. Other old games like Old school runescape or Star wars galaxies (playable on a private server) might also scratch that itch? All three of these titles have combat but allow you to ignore it completely AFAIK.

I also want to mention Book of travels just because it puts so little focus on combat, however it doesn't have much in common with Palia and I have no idea how the population is currently.

In your position I would unironically look at some Minecraft servers first, those can give you a very similiar experience.

There are more potential companions in the game than just the ones available as origins, don't worry about being stuck with those three

If you don't directly pay for a product but engage with it, you are still supporting it. You are driving up user metrics, generating ad revenue, creating content for others (videogames, social media). It's complete nonsense to claim you are against something but then continue to use it

This does apply to the current Reddit situation but I formulated this view a while back after quitting Gacha games, people playing those titles looooooove talking about how they would never pay a penny due to the evil monetization but they have no qualms about recruiting friends, writing positive reviews, being content for paying players to lord over, creating guilds etc.

My first ever D&D character from my edgy teen phase. A dark elf wizard named Raphael the Dark, originating from R'lyeh, chaotic ~~evil~~ stupid with a penchant for world domination.

The campaign he was in lasted about 20mins as I've immediatelly attempted to kill my party but I've kept fond memories of it & when I was browsing the character creation options I realized I can make that character almost exactly - a Drow elf warlock with the eldritch patron, Dark urge origin who always chooses the dumbest evil dialogue option. It's going to be a blast

Huh? "titles" absolutely is interchangeable with "games" in this context. You can see it on steam too, they write "popular titles" in some places.

Cool! I enjoy Unarmed due to the animations, I've been trying to pair it with Ice magic because I like playing with skills that few people use. Still not sure if the combo is any good but I like the fantasy of it!

Good to see a fellow Gorgonite on here! How long have you been playing?

Liked:

• Lost Chapter: an 18+ hentai Slay the spire clone. It's been out for a while but didn't have an official english translation, which will come with the Steam release. Nothing groundbreaking here but it seems worth picking up if you enjoy the art.
• Absorption Battle Racing: another 18+ hentai title, this one's a racing game. The tutorial leaves a lot to be desired and with 30 characters per track it feels like a total clusterfuck... but I think the animations are well done & the characters look good - and that's what matters most.
• Trepang2: If you played F.E.A.R., this game's for you. The combat is really, REALLY good, but the story, setting and characters seem super barebones. Game has come out already during the event and is getting 90%+ positive reviews.

Disliked:

• Heretic's Fork: a tower defense card game. I was super confused on what to do after the first few rounds, there's a bunch of unique mechanics like only having 2 tower slots, starting towers with super unusual attack patterns or the way you're supposed to sacrifice cards to cycle them.
• Acolyte of the Altar: A lovecraftian Slay the spire-ish roguelike card game. Love the visuals but there was nothing unique about the gameplay that made me want to keep playing.
• Quasimorphosis: A singleplayer turn based extraction shooter. This one has NO tutorial currently and so I was completely lost trying to figure out how to correctly approach combat. Kept feeling like I have no idea what my opponents are capable of, when I need to take cover, how to ration healing items etc. The combat seems super simplistic as you have no abilities to use.