Return of Warrior Game Review

Alternate Title: Risk Your Life
Developer: Youxiland Digital
Publisher: Youxiland Digital
Type: MMORPG
Model: Free-to-play
Platform: PC
PvP: Open World PvP
PvE: Monster Hunting Quests

I know, I know. This is an interesting looking one.
I was a little on the fence with regards to accepting this when I was approached to do a video on it as well because we’re so used to flashy, breathtaking graphics in this day and age that when something looks less than what we would expect, we automatically jump to the conclusion that it must inherently be bad.
Return of Warrior just launched into open beta on January 10th and naturally, when any MMO launches I feel an innate need to jump right in and see what it’s like.
Originally, the game released way back in 2004 under the title “Risk Your Life” – It was, and still is a 3D action MMORPG that, in all honesty.. plays surprisingly well.
Yes, Return of Warrior lacks the fast-paced action combat of something like BDO but I’m gonna be real with you all here… the game’s action combat is better than the vast majority of MMO combat systems from the early 2000s.

There are two races in Return of Warrior: Generic Humans and Cat people also known as the Ak’Kan. I wanted to go as generic as I possibly could so I opted to go for a.. gelled back, heroic looking blonde knight- not at all reminiscent of Jaime Lannister.
I turned out looking pretty awesome. Well, except for that hair. I wouldn’t expect them to have the product to achieve such a marvel in that day and age.

There are two different modes employed in-game: Mouse mode which offers players the ability to point-and-click to move and cycle through monsters using your mouse to fight.
Then you have Keyboard mode, which offers a faster, non-targeted combat mode allowing for you to AoE and mow down enemies without the need to have a target.

The latter mode can admittedly lead to a variety of awkward situations, admittedly.
The game utilizes a “stat” system that allows you to input the stats you want and craft your character how you want them.
It also uses an older inventory-style where gear actually took up more than a single slot per piece – often taking anywhere from 1 space for items, 4 for helmets, gloves and boots, 6 to 9 for armor and 6 to 12 for weapons and shields.
I’ll admit that I actually miss that system just a little bit… then I recall how bad my inventory management is.

As I mentioned earlier, the action combat allows for both the grouping of and massacring of monsters just like this.
I’ve always loved AoE classes, so knowing I can run head-first into a horde of monsters and wreck them all makes this class an instant-like for me. Even if occasionally.. I might bite off a little more than I can chew.

Speaking of classes, Return of Warrior actually offers several base classes that each diverge into additional “advanced classes” as you continue to level through the game.
This makes for a hefty sum of customization.

From what I experienced over the course of playing the open beta up until level 20, you can take quests but questing isn’t the primary way you should be leveling.
The XP gain isn’t ideal if you compare the substantial difference between grinding monsters, which often net you anywhere between 200-800 XP per kill, and quest completion that rewards roughly the same XP as a single monster kill.
Thankfully grinding isn’t an issue for me, I’ve done it many a time in older MMOs and BDO is actually completely focused on the grind so clearly players aren’t averse to having to.

I was also surprised by the large selection of monsters I came across. Every 30 seconds I’d encounter new models, not the same, recolored, renamed monsters in each new area: Fresh, new monsters ready to tear into my ass.
And that happened often. The tearing into my ass, that is, as the monsters, if more than a few levels ahead of you are quite formidable. So most encounters actually left me running for my life.

Now, I’ve touched on the combat, and I’ve noted that you shouldn’t judge the graphics at first glance because it actually looks pretty good for a game released back in 2004 – like the Lineage games.
But one thing I haven’t made note of yet is that the game is actually heavily focused around PvP. Return of Warrior has open-world PvP, meaning players are fully capable of engaging one another in unrestricted PvP.
That means while out, questing, farming, grinding or whatever it is you wanna do, you’ll have to keep an eye out for potential competition as PvP is a crucial and very prevalent part of the game.
I never got to participate in it myself unfortunately, but I’m hoping that I’ll be able to explore the game more thoroughly and bring some fun PvP content for everyone to view next time.

Anyway guys, that’s pretty much it. I had a lot of fun: Return of Warrior isn’t a flashy, breathtaking MMORPG released in 2019.
It’s an old-school MMORPG for players that enjoyed their games more difficult. Things were difficult back in the early to mid 2000s and the popularity of Lineage 2: Classic and WoW: Classic is proof old school MMORPGs can do well in this day and age.