The MMORPG genre has been in a rather strange state in recent years. On the one hand, new games come out almost every month. On the other hand, most of them exploit the same ideas and are sometimes too heavily tied to microtransactions. Therefore, the very appearance of such a project as Tarisland can already be called a real miracle. What was the final game that many were looking forward to? Having reached the current maximum level of 40 and having studied all the main content, I am ready to share my impressions in this review.
Back in my review of Tower of Fantasy, I complained about the strict level restrictions that prevented me from leveling up at my own pace. To get to the “cap” without any obstacles, you had to wait a full 88 days. Tarisland also has something similar, but the limitation is not so serious. The maximum level here opens on the 6th day, which means now beginners will be able to level up much faster. This point should have been pointed out at the very beginning, since there have been disputes about this mechanic since the first beta tests.
In general, Tarisland has quite a bit of daytime content, which may be a plus for some, but a big minus for others. You can complete all available activities in less than two hours and go about your business. This is good for busy and working people, because they can be sure that at their pace they will not fall far behind the rest. However, if you want to spend a lot of time in the game, you risk leaving disappointed.
You go through elite dungeons twice a day, but the limit stacks up to six. In other words, if you don’t log into the game for two days, you can catch up on the third day. At the moment, Tarisland has only three high-level dungeons that give purple equipment of 90 power. They are quite simple, and the mechanics are not very sophisticated, so even with “randoms” they can be completed without much difficulty. The so-called “Mystical Kingdoms” look much more interesting. These are the same dungeons, but with some additional conditions. You are also allowed to complete them twice a day, and as a reward you are given equipment of 100 power.
There are also full-fledged boss raids in the game, designed for 10 players, which are completed only once a week. When fighting them, it is important to take into account the mechanics of the enemies. They are simple in themselves, but ignorance of them can lead to the destruction of the entire team. The reward is again equipment of 100 power.
Overall, the dungeons and raids turned out pretty good. It’s not the stupid clicking of enemies like many cross-platform MMORPGs, but it’s not even close to the level of my beloved Final Fantasy XIV and other major projects. I would say that Tarisland is somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. Bosses have different mechanics, but they are simple and there aren’t many of them. Locations rarely have a strong wow effect, and the musical accompaniment is rather banal and unmemorable, despite the fact that the World of Warcraft composer participated in its development. However, if we consider Tarisland solely as a mobile game, then without exaggeration it has the best dungeons (in my subjective opinion, of course). If I preferred to play on a smartphone or tablet, I would probably be happy about the release of such a project.
There is also a local analogue of the Tower in Tarisland, called the “World Hall”, where players need to defeat bosses in single player mode, rising to higher floors and thereby increasing the difficulty. To be honest, I never understood why this mode is added to every MMORPG in a row, since I never liked it. It didn’t impress me here either, even though I played it for the awards. There’s not much to say about it: you need to fight various bosses without a team, and if you want, you can strengthen them to get more final points. Perhaps this is a matter of taste, but I always found it strange to add single-player content (other than the story) to an MMORPG.
What simplification has only benefited is definitely the system of professions. It is stress-free and directly connected with the auction, thereby increasing the social component. There are four professions to choose from: Forging, Jewelcrafting, Tailoring and Alchemist. Each of them can only create certain items and materials, so players must buy what they need from other people through the auction. The old saying “All professions are important, all professions are needed” fits perfectly here.
Tarisland is primarily focused on PvE content, but PvP is also present in it. Two modes are presented: “Battlefield” and “Arena”. In the first, you fight on large maps in a 10 vs 10 format, completing additional objectives such as capturing points and destroying towers. In the second, two teams fight until all opponents are destroyed. Needless to say, there is no balance in PvP? Rather, this is just another activity to diversify your leisure time in the game and spend a little more time in it, but not one of the main types of content.
There are 9 classes to choose from in Tarisland: Shadow Swordsman, Mage Ranger deal damage, Priest, Bard and Soul Catcher are healers, and Barbarian, Paladin and Warrior are tanks. However, healers and tanks have a separate damage specialization. The combat system in the game is a classic target one, which means you can specify a target with the mouse or the Tab key so that all attacks and skills reach the target. At the same time, there are not many skills on the panel, which greatly simplifies control, but makes the battles less varied.
What Tarisland definitely deserves praise for is the absence of rigid Pay-to-Win elements. Basically, the in-game store sells cosmetic items, and the subscription and battle pass only make the gameplay a little more comfortable (but it plays perfectly well without them). Yes, investing real money will allow you to get more gold and use it in the auction, so there is still some impact. However, the progression here is quite balanced and does not force microtransactions. When compared with other free MMORPGs (not only on smartphones, but also on PCs), then this is simply heaven and earth.
Graphically, Tarisland turned out to be quite average, which is especially noticeable when showing the characters in close-up. However, due to the cartoon style, this is hardly noticeable during gameplay. The Russian translation is clumsy in places, and the default font is simply terrible. Fortunately, fans have already made alternative versions – I myself installed fonts from The Witcher 3. The interface is also poorly designed. There are a lot of icons and tabs typical for mobile phones, which are sometimes difficult to understand.
Although many people consider the plot to be completely unnecessary in MMORPGs, for me, oddly enough, it is one of the most important components of the genre. Without a good story, it’s difficult to immerse yourself in the game’s world, which needs to evolve over time. It’s interesting to see where the protagonist’s adventures lead and how they affect the environment.
Unfortunately, Tarisland cannot boast of an even slightly interesting plot. He’s about as bad as it gets here. The story does not evoke any emotions, the characters are banal and sterile, and the constant “unexpected” turns with betrayal only cause laughter. Obviously, the story was added here “for show,” since there’s no MMORPG without it. I actually read the dialogues and tried to understand them, so I can safely recommend that everyone skip them to save time.
Tarisland leaves behind mixed impressions. It seems that the game does not offer anything fundamentally new, and many things are done at a fairly average level. However, even so, the final result was much better than most of what has come out in the genre in recent years. The project does not require you to grind for many hours, it is quite interesting to go through dungeons and raids, and microtransactions do not interfere with enjoying the gameplay at all. And this is only if we consider Tarisland as a PC game. On mobile devices, this is a truly excellent MMORPG that is far ahead of its competitors. Therefore, the correct answer to the question “A worthy representative of the MMORPG genre or a passerby?” will most likely be “Both.”
Tarisland rating:
- As a PC game – 6/10
- As a game for mobile devices – 9/10
