Soul's Remnant is a 2D MMORPG that immediately gives me that old school feeling I get from games built around exploring a big world, grinding for better gear and slowly making a character my own. I can move through a huge collection of areas, fight monsters, complete quests, collect equipment and work on different skills without being locked into one traditional class. The game is also free to play and is currently in Early Access, so I am looking at it as a game that already has a lot in place but is still being developed.
The classless system is probably my favourite part. I can mix melee, ranged, magic and faith skills instead of picking one class at the beginning and being stuck with it. There are more than 72 skills across combat and life activities, along with different equipment setups and stats that let me change how my character plays. I like having that freedom because I can experiment with different builds without needing to start an entirely new character every time I want to try something different.
There is a surprising amount to do outside of fighting too. I can craft equipment, mine, fish, gather plants and work through hundreds of recipes, while the world itself has more than 200 maps, more than 150 quests, nearly 100 types of monsters and 19 bosses. There are also three dungeons at the moment, along with an auction house and player shops that give the economy a much bigger role. I really like this because the game does not make combat the only reason for exploring. I can spend time improving my equipment or working on life skills and still feel like I am making progress.
The social side is another thing I appreciate. I can form parties, join guilds, use player shops and work through dungeons with other people, while there are also villagers I can befriend by completing requests and giving them gifts. The pixel art is colourful and fairly simple, but I think it suits the old school MMORPG style. There is also a soundtrack with more than 40 original songs, which gives the world more personality than I expected from a small indie MMO.
The biggest issue for me is that the game is still clearly unfinished in places. Early Access means there are plans for more end game content, more bosses, additional areas, deeper crafting and gathering systems, better tutorials and more quality of life improvements. I can already see a lot of potential, but some of the systems need more polish before everything feels as smooth as it could. The amount of grinding can also become noticeable, especially because so much of the progression revolves around improving skills, equipment and stats. That is part of the appeal of this type of MMORPG, but I think it will need plenty of variety to keep that progression feeling worthwhile over a long period.
I also like the fact that the game is being built around a clear old school MMORPG idea instead of trying to copy every modern MMO system. The developer originally worked on the project alone for years, and I can see that there is a lot of personal effort behind the world and its systems. The free to play model is also fairly reasonable from what is currently planned, with optional cosmetic and convenience purchases rather than requiring payment to access the core progression. For me, that makes it easier to accept the rough edges because I can actually experience the game without having to spend anything.
Overall, Soul's Remnant is a very promising little MMORPG with a lot more content than I expected. I really like the classless character system, huge world, crafting, gathering, equipment progression and old school approach to social gameplay. The Early Access state, grinding and areas that still need more polish keep me from giving it one of my highest ratings right now, but there is a strong foundation here and plenty of room for it to become better. I think it is at its best when I take my time, explore different systems and slowly build a character instead of rushing towards the end game.
Rating: 7.7/10
