AFK Journey

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донатная помойка

AFK Journey is one of those RPGs that looks like it should be a simple idle game at first, but there is actually quite a bit more going on. I play as Merlin in the fantasy world of Esperia, travelling through different areas, completing quests, collecting heroes and dealing with enemies along the way. The world is probably what caught my attention first because it has a storybook look that makes the whole game feel much more colourful than the usual mobile style RPG. I can explore forests, mountains and towns instead of just sitting on menus waiting for numbers to go up. The combat is much more interesting than I expected too. I can build a team from different heroes and position them on the battlefield, while terrain, faction bonuses and enemy placement can affect how a fight goes. I also have to decide when to use my heroes' ultimate abilities, so there are times when I am actually paying attention to the battle instead of just letting everything happen automatically. I like experimenting with different formations because a team that works in one fight is not always the best choice for another. The combat is still fairly accessible, but there is enough strategy here to make team building worthwhile. The shared progression system is one of my favourite things about it. Once I have improved my main progression, I do not have to completely level every new hero from scratch. Equipment and levels can be shared, which makes trying different characters much less annoying. There is also a large collection of heroes from different factions and classes, so I have plenty of options when building teams. I like this because collecting a new character actually feels useful rather than immediately becoming another character I have to spend hours grinding before I can even test them properly. The open world gives the game another big advantage. I can wander around Esperia, find treasure, interact with different parts of the environment and come across little activities that are not directly related to combat. There are things like fishing, ice skating and other small interactions that make the world feel more like somewhere I am actually travelling through. The story is also presented with proper voice acting, and the seasonal structure means the game can keep adding new adventures and characters. I think this is where AFK Journey separates itself from a lot of basic idle RPGs because there is a genuine world around the progression systems. The biggest weakness for me is still the free to play structure. There are in game purchases and chance based recruitment, so collecting every character can become a much bigger commitment than simply playing through the story. I like how generous some of the progression systems are, but I can still feel the usual pressure that comes with a game built around collecting characters and constantly adding new content. The AFK systems are also a mixed thing for me. They are useful when I do not want to grind, but they can sometimes make parts of the game feel like I am managing progress rather than actually playing. I also think the game can become overwhelming once I start looking beyond the main adventure. There are heroes, factions, equipment, formations, upgrades, recruitment systems, seasonal content and plenty of other things competing for my attention. I like having options, but sometimes I just want to explore and enjoy the story without having to think about whether I am using the perfect team. The game does a decent job of keeping the basic progression simple, but the deeper I get into it, the more obvious the live service design becomes. Overall, AFK Journey is a much better RPG than the name initially made me expect. I really like the storybook presentation, open world exploration, tactical positioning, shared progression and large selection of heroes. The free to play recruitment systems and the sheer amount of long term progression stop it from reaching the level of my highest rated RPGs, but there is still a lot here that I genuinely enjoy. For me, it works best when I treat the AFK features as a convenience rather than the main attraction, because the exploration and team building are where I get the most enjoyment. It is a polished and surprisingly substantial RPG that manages to make the idle side feel useful without completely taking over the experience. Rating: 7.8/10