During the gaming exhibition G-STAR 2023, many members of the Korean media were able to try out the in-development MMORPG RF Online Next. Therefore, a lot of previews with first impressions appeared on the network. We decided to study some of them and make a short summary with all the most important information.
- Players will be able to choose from six unique bio-suits and freely switch between them depending on the situation. Only three were featured in the G-STAR demo.
- Depending on the chosen biosuit, the control method changes dramatically. For example, Punisher specializes in long-range attacks, so its gameplay is reminiscent of a first-person shooter, while Phantom specializes in close combat, so you can enjoy dynamic battles at close range.
- Regardless of the biosuit, the battles always feel dynamic.
- There is no option to select a race in the character editor.
- You can summon giant robots to help you in battles or control them in battle.
- There is a free flight system, including altitude change, acceleration, dynamic landing and hovering. This allows you to quickly move and explore the world, and can also be used as a strategic element.
- There are many bosses that can appear throughout the world of the game.
- The game also features Realm vs Realm elements highlighted by the previous entry in the RF franchise, which will allow players to engage in large-scale battles for key resources. Didn’t show it in the demo.
- The storyline includes high-quality cinematic videos.
- The story mode begins with the protagonist’s backstory, telling about his childhood. The action then moves into adulthood, where he meets and interacts with key figures in the Novas faction as he fights to resolve the crisis facing the region.
- Key characters from the original RF Online appear in the main plot.
- The difference from the original is that instead of three warring races on one planet, the universe is expanded into a cosmic dimension to show a larger scale.
- RF Online Next features an event mode that includes Roguelike elements. In it, players need to survive for eight rounds, which take place in a specialized arena with portals from which monsters emerge.
- Before each round in Event Mode, players can select upgrade cards presented at random.
- According to thisisgame’s journalist, the demo didn’t allow him to fully enjoy the game due to the time limit (10-20 minutes for each of the two modes), but showed a sufficient level of quality to make him look forward to the full version.
- He also praised the graphics created on the Unreal Engine 5 for the highest level of realism.
- A representative from the Inven portal was more critical of the game. According to him, even though he played on a PC, he still couldn’t shake the feeling that this was a mobile game.
- The clunkiness of the control system resulted in decreased immersion in the game. It only took him a few clicks on the “auto” button to advance through the story to the final part of the demo build.
- Unlike the story, the event mode required “a little” manual intervention.
- To summarize, the journalist said that RF Online Next gives him more feelings of anxiety than anticipation. He didn’t like the controls and the fact that they didn’t show the RvR mode. However, he found the battles using the summoning mechanics interesting.
RF Online Next will be released in 2024 on PC and mobile devices running iOS and Android.
Sources: gematsu.com, gamemeca.com, thisisgame.com, inven.co.kr
