The Best Free To Play Anime MMORPGs To Play RIGHT NOW In 2018!

So all the way back in May of 2017, I made a video titled “The Best Free To Play Anime MMORPGs To Play RIGHT NOW In 2017!”. It has since gone on to gain almost 800,000 views, thousands of comments, and thousands of likes.

Over the course of the year my likes and dislikes in terms of MMORPGs have changed quite drastically. I recall listing games like Maplestory, Eden Eternal and Twin Saga as Anime MMORPGs I thoroughly enjoyed, when in reality I believe those games no longer hold any semblance of relevancy. Stix did do a video on upcoming Anime MMORPGs just last month titled “4 Upcoming Anime MMORPGs You Absolutely NEED To Play In 2018 And Beyond!” if you’re interested in a few Anime titles to look forward to as well.

Now, regarding what I believe should be listed..

Alright, so starting off at number 10 is Bless Online. Graphically speaking, Bless Online looks great. It does. There’s no denying that. It has giant beautiful open world landscapes, and some great looking character customization. Bless also sports a fun feature similar to Dragon’s Prophet or more recently Riders of Icarus, where you’re given the ability to capture and tame monsters in the wild, ultimately turning them into either a companion or mount. One of Bless’ drawbacks though is its terrible combat system. It’s clunky and incredibly boring, really detaching you from the game if fun fluid combat is something that attracts you to a game. The other problem is that it’s published by Aeria Games, a publisher known to royally screw over their playerbase in favor of its cash shop.

At number 9 we have the crowdfunded MMORPG Crowfall. Yes, crowdfunded. The team behind Crowfall raised over $1.7 million dollars for its upcoming Game of Thrones inspired epic, wherein you are required to join a faction and fight for control over the land. Unlike most MMORPGs you don’t start at level 1, grind, or do quests. Instead, you’re instantly thrown right into endgame where you’re given the option to literally do anything you feel like doing. Also unlike other MMORPGs, Crowfall’s world dies. After a certain amount of time passes, Winter approaches and the world you’ve been inhabiting begins to die. When this happens, players need to find a new world to move on to. Each world has their own unique campaign that plays out through the worlds life. This should help keep the game feeling alive, as the world will likely be constantly changing. Crowfall’s combat isn’t anything great nor are its cell shaded graphics, but they definitely feel high enough quality to not detract from the overall game.

Coming in at number 8 we have Twilight Spirits. Taking inspiration from the Devil May Cry series, Twilight Spirits has a fairly strong focus on fast paced action combat. According to NetEase, the developers behind Twilight Spirits, the game is going to have a strong PvP presence at endgame, featuring arenas, battlegrounds, and guild vs guild wars. Twilight Spirits is set to be a dungeon based MMORPG in the vein of Vindictus, spouting over 60 unique dungeons to make your way through over the course of the game. Graphically, the game couldn’t look better if it tried. Judging by what I’ve seen so far, the game looks amazing. China has recently been knocking South Korea off the top spot with attention to character customization, and if Twilight Spirits gives you the option to create your own character, you’ll understand why. Overall, the game is absolutely gorgeous, and I cannot wait for it to come out to the West!

At number 7 we have the upcoming MMORPG Soul Worker Online. Another game taking inspiration from Vindictus, Soul Worker Online sports over 100 unique dungeons to battle through with friends in fast paced action based combat. Soul Worker Online features multiple different classes to choose from, with the exception of each class being gender locked. Some people may be turned away by this, as I’ve personally seen it happen before with games like TERA, but for most of you it shouldn’t really be a problem. Unlike most of the games in this list, Soul Worker Online unfortunately does not offer you much in the vein of character creation, however, it does offer quite a few unique outfits that are obtainable through dungeons. Graphically speaking, Soul Worker Online isn’t the most amazing looking MMORPG in our list, however, it does have a very “Anime” feel to it which is something lacking in todays MMO scene. Most MMORPGs released nowadays tend to be either Chinese or South Korean, so it’s nice seeing another Anime inspired MMORPG come out!

At number 6 we have another crowdfunded MMORPG: Chronicles Of Elyria. Having raised over $1.3 million dollars, Chronicles Of Elyria is setting itself up to be a very different kind of MMORPG. Not only are the resources around its world finite, but it has a fully destructible environment, player driven economy, and most importantly: Your character ages, inveitably dying. While this doesn’t necessarily spell the end for your journey, as Chronicles of Elyria has a functional marriage system that allows you to have children that you can play as, it does ultimately mean that you are required to plan your characters life out if you want it to have any meaning. This gives Chronicles of Elyria a very different sense of playstyle, since instead of leveling from level 1-whatever the level cap is, then spending all day running dungeons or raiding, you instead have to think about what you’re plan is in that life. Deep, right?

Next up at number 5 we have Lost Ark, a top-down isometric MMORPG similar to Diablo III. While the graphics have been notably downgraded since its original announcement, the game still looks pretty amazing. From what I’ve seen, Lost Ark’s combat seems good enough to be fun but generally nothing too groundbreaking as it’s still similar enough to other MMOs released prior to it. Not much has been revealed about it yet though – so unfortunately we’re unable to go too into it.

Coming in at number 4 we have a personal favorite of mine – Moonlight Blade. I’ve been a fan of Wuxia themed movies ever since I saw Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon when I was a kid. Since then, I’ve wanted to try a game that captured the wuxia style martial arts that I saw in subsequent movies first hand. Moonlight Blade seems to partially bring that to life, as I have personally played through multiple hours of the game, and even though I’m unable to understand any of it, I’ve found that the game captures quite a lot of the fun I saw in the movies. Graphically speaking, the game is gorgeous. But what do you expect? It is a MMORPG out of China. Although the character creation can be a little limited compared to other MMORPGs out of both China and South Korea, you are able to make some outstandingly beautiful avatars.

We’re now closing in on the top 3 MMORPG’s coming out in 2017! At number 3 we have the ridiculously hyped successor to the Lineage series: Lineage Eternal. Although not much is known yet regarding Lineage Eternal, what we’ve seen is a more polished, faster version of Lost Ark’s combat system that both looks and feels visually superior. NCSoft have also cited that similar to Guild Wars 2, Lineage Eternal will feature open world dynamic events, along with large, powerful world bosses.

Number 2 is one of the few high quality Japanese releases in recent memory. Peria Chronicles is an absolutely beautiful looking Anime inspired sandbox MMORPG that offers players the option to not only create their own houses and towns, which in itself is a very unique aspect to the game, but also quests that other players are capable of accepting (similar to Neverwinter). Peria Chronicles offers players a fast action combat style that utilizes unique pets that you’re able to obtain throughout the game. Although not a lot of information has been released around the game, it’s cute Anime style, action combat, and unique features make this one of my most looked forward to MMORPGs. I’m also an Anime fan as well, so that makes me part of the demographic that’ll enjoy this.

I’m sure this is a HUGE SURPRISE for all of you, but if you haven’t already guessed it by now, then coming in at number 1 is Revelation Online. We have yet to try it out personally, but it is going into beta testing on November 3 2016, and we plan on being one of the first players on the server. Revelation Online has a huge open world, which is a key selling point for me personally, having heavily enjoyed open world games like the Elder Scrolls and World of Warcraft when I was younger. Another key selling point is the fact that it gives players the option to fly, exploring the large open world without penalty, similar to what people believed Aion allowed you to do before being disappointed with its restrictions. Revelation Online boasts a large amount of unique dungeons completable on different difficulties (similar to World of Warcraft), along with solo dungeons for foreveraloners out there. Revelation Online features battlegrounds, arenas (5v5, 10v10, 20v20), open world pvp, sieges and more for people that want to enjoy the PvP aspect of the game. The graphics for aren’t groundbreaking, but they are definitely pretty great, along with the open world you get to explore, what I’ve seen of the character creation. Revelation Online also allows marriages between players for you lucky bastards out there that play with their girlfriend, boyfriend or spouse! Lastly, and most importantly, the combat seems nice and fast paced. It seems reminiscent of TERA for those of you that have played it, so if you enjoyed TERA’s combat, you’ll likely enjoy the combat in Revelation Online as well. The one single concern I have with the game personally is who it is being published by: My.com, the group behind Allods Online and Skyforge. Although I’m sure this has been brought up many times by a multitude of reviewers, I want to voice my concerns and do hope that it doesn’t end up Pay 2 win.

Now, this is my list of Anime MMORPGs I believe you should potentially try out in 2018. It is a follow-up to my very first Anime MMORPG video released almost a year ago, and has changed quite a bit. The Anime genre itself is dying – Stix did a personal video addressing that – and I’ve found that these are probably a handful of the only ones left playing. And even then.. these are drying up as well. So I suggest getting in and trying them while you have the opportunity to!