Best Chinese MMO games

MMORPG genre has been around for three decades, but until recently its most prominent representatives have been created in a limited number of countries. From the U.S. came a galaxy of hits, from Ultima Online to World of Warcraft, the Japanese released Final Fantasy XIV, and the Koreans have shown everyone how to do multiplayer, developing Lineage II. For a long time China was out of the gates of the club, but they have learned how to make popular games there, and so learned that probably only the lazy haven't heard about Genshin Impact. Today we are going to talk about Chinese MMO games that every gamer who uses PC as the main platform should try.

And let's start with the most successful imitation of Genshin Impact in the MMORPG genre. The free-to-play Tower of Fantasy is also anime-inspired, offering what fans call "gacha. You have to unlock different characters (some for free, others for money) as you go along and then swap them out based on the situation. But the important thing about Hotta's game is something else entirely: it is the unusual world created by the designers, which is interesting to explore. It does not look like a typical fairytale land, because the characters travel through a sci-fi universe.

In XXIV century there was a disaster on the planet Hades - with its consequences and the characters are struggling through eight story chapters and a number of additional quests. It is worth noting that despite the cartoonish graphics, the plot of the game is serious - there is a place and personal dramas, and the death of some of the characters. So here, too, the childish attitude of Genshin Impact was surpassed. Finally, the world is divided into locations with unique features - from a fantastic city glowing with neon lights to the desert where feral robots wait for travelers. Nuances like mini-games and flights with friends on gliders only add to the overall atmosphere. Since they give it all for free, why not join in?

The story continues with the iconic and even iconic project. Age of Wushu is one of the first games of the genre created directly in China. Snail Studios began its development back in the mid-2000s, and the beta test was scheduled for 2009. Working title "Guide Nine Scrolls", referring to the books by a popular Hong Kong writer, changed to understand the Western public - and released the game in 2012. As you can easily guess, it is entirely devoted to martial arts. And alive to this day, although now and then there is news on the Internet about the creation of a second part.

A special feature of Age of Wushu is that instead of classes, there are kung fu schools. Shaolin, Wudang, Imei, and other melee systems found in old Jackie Chan action movies are represented. So the battles in the virtual world are all hand-to-hand and require some skill from the user. On the other hand, there is a small splash of magic - like the flights from the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". Fans of such movies will also appreciate the scenery, created in the style of ancient China. In short, entertainment is not for everyone, but if you are close to the theme of martial arts, you will like the game.

Here's another MMORPG with a solid history, but much more popular in our area. It was released in China in the summer of 2005 - on the wave of fame of the Korean Lineage II. And then, a few years later, made its way to other countries, where it too was a success. The secret of the developers was simple - they took the best of the genre, added a lot of native folklore and polished the finished product to such brilliance that a mosquito can not shake a nose. As a result, the public got a cool game for a number of reasons, with a rich selection of races, classes, PvP and PvE-activities, but secondary in some aspects - for example, in the design of buildings and characters.

The merits of Perfect World include a large and seamless world where movement across land, air, and sea is available, as well as a detailed character editor. Not only does it offer a choice of six races and fourteen classes, but also any appearance settings you can think of. The combination of skills and unique features of the hero allows you to stand out from the other users and become a useful member of the clan. In addition the game gives you to design in the same way the riding animal and, for example, a personal estate, furnishing it to your liking. By the way, soon to be released sequel - Perfect New World, the release of which is announced on many platforms, including Steam.

Speaking of sequels to popular MMORPGs, the company responsible for Perfect World is also developing a spinoff in the same universe. The original Forsaken World was released in 2011, survived eight seasons, and in the fall of 2022 it was closed. But the sadness about this did not last long, because the public already had on hand the second part with the subtitle Gods and Demons, which is now available for free on different platforms, including mobile, on the official website and on Steam. Without support for the Russian language, but when has that ever stopped fans of the genre?

In general, the game was originally made for smartphones, which the Chinese have become very good at. And although the porting to the PC was not the best, for Forsaken World fans it was the only opportunity to stay in the beloved universe of Grand Mundo. Especially if the virtual world can be explored from a bird's-eye view, soaring on the wings under the clouds. Feature of Gods and Demons was a free switch between the classes to change the skills and attacks depending on the situation. If bored with the fighting, there is fishing, hunting, dungeons, guild activity - the gameplay of the mobile port is not inferior to the larger projects.

Chinese MMORPG with a venerable age includes Revelation Online, which the company NetEase started making back in 2005. But unlike the previous games in our selection, this one had a very hard fate. In spite of the well-known publisher, that produces World of Warcraft in China, the project got stuck and turned into the long-term construction. Only ten years after development began, the beta test began, and before the global release Revelation was dragged in 2017. And here you ask: was the result worth the effort? After all, in such a situation you have to stand out at least in some way from other games. To the credit of the experts from NetEase, they found a solution to this problem.

First, Revelation is free on all platforms. Secondly, the story is based on traditional legends, reinterpreted by the writer Jiang Nan. For example, there are twelve bosses in the form of creatures from the Chinese zodiac - rat, pig, snake, rabbit, tiger and others. Folkloric images gathered enough to prepare a single-player campaign for a hundred hours, and to add to it dozens of team raids and dungeons. The general spirit of the work affected the choice of classes, among which gamers will find the Swordsman Mage and Spirits Spellcaster. All this gives the project originality, and gives gamers a fresh experience.

Fox Legends is a new-generation online game that has little in common with the classics. It came out first on mobile devices, and then got a beautiful PC version, the roots of which, however, are noticeable in many aspects, from the graphics to the design of the interface. Users who do not want to perform unnecessary actions, can podkubit bot - he and the task for you will take, and the monster will win. There are four classes to choose from - Swordsman, Muse, Guardian, Archer - and all improvements add up to power points. There's no point in comparing items and choosing between two ways of development - just click with the mouse and watch the growth of the main index. It seems simple, but there is a nuance.

In fact, Fox Legends is much more than it seems. The developers came up with a large-scale story about a fox princess in the style of Chinese heroic fantasy "wuxia", drew a lot of story splash screens and added a funny mechanics with the pumping and changing of pets. The first one you get is a dragon (Moon), who has lost his power because of injuries in battle. And while the kid is recovering you can unlock other creatures to develop their unique skills - one, for example, attacks with fire, another is able to heal, the third increases protection. Then you only have to take the right creature with you to make it easier for the upcoming battle. It's these subtleties, not the "lazy" gameplay, that make the game attractive.

Sometimes Chinese developers do things that others cannot do. For example, they combine MMORPG and real-time strategy, and then turn this hybrid into a hit - Conqueror's Blade. The game offers not only to create your own hero, but also to take control of combat units to use them during battles and storming fortresses. And that's not counting controlling medieval siege machines. And if you go from the tactical level to the global level, you will open a huge world where alliances are competing for territory. Agree, it is not easy to find a similar set of mechanics, and even with a decent three-dimensional graphics, among the conditional-free projects.

Power over the virtual world is divided among the clans, or Houses, as in Game of Thrones. Their income depends on the territories they control, so the factions must constantly fight over resources. These battles take place in "Siege" and "Capture" modes, as well as PvP and PvE battles timed to different events. On the battlefield, each gamer controls the hero of the chosen class and his troops - you can use different structures, perform maneuvers, destroy enemy fortifications with rams, mortars and other devices. In general, perform several tasks at once - without preparation to dominate the game will not work. But the battle is free, so there is no obstacle for training.

Promoting national culture in Chinese MMOs is nothing new. We have already remembered Revelation Online and Age of Wushu, but by now these games are outdated - the graphics leave much to be desired in them, the gameplay is somewhat old-fashioned, and the difficulties, judging by the tastes of the current generation, are too much. But Swords of Legends, dedicated to kung fu during the Tang Dynasty, is very beautiful, modern and easy in those aspects, the simplicity that demanded spoiled choice entertainment gamers. Well, it's also free - how else could it compete with the developers from Korea?

The authors of the game paid a lot of attention to the ease of control of the character - it is made in the manner of single Action-RPG, so all the movements are under your control. Instead of eight classes, Swords of Legends features martial arts schools: arrows, for example, are trained in Chaoxian techniques, werewolves belong to the Yifan school, and swordsmen train according to Long Yin rules. A characteristic feature was the gamers' estates in the form of flying islands, on which you can build houses and equip your own farm. Naturally, such a property is not without flying sled animals.

It also happens that the developers are not chasing after fashion, and quietly imitate the classics of the genre, because it does not get old - and therefore does not grow old and their project. That is probably what the employees of KongZhong, who are responsible for the free MMORPG Blood and Soul, thought. One look at the game is enough to find in it some traits of World of Warcraft and Lineage II. Only the main conflict in it is not built on the showdown between the Alliance and the Horde or Orcs and Elves, but the confrontation of Hell and Heaven. After the invasion of demons into the world of Theos, the heroes gathered to stop the invasion of evil forces - and so began a war in which many gamers have participated since 2011 to the present day.

Despite the traditional look, Blood and Soul also offers original mechanics. Heroes, for example, can have several pets for different tasks - one serves to move around the locations, another collects loot from the defeated enemies, and the third helps in battle. You can create not only a clan, but also a family of up to 12 people - this gives bonuses for all related characters, and elf-defender, reinforcing his charges during dangerous tasks. Such solutions complement the regular activities - like hunting, fishing, and cultivating the land in your personal vegetable garden.

Finally, let's remember the most unusual, but at the same time beautiful game in the selection. Naraka: Bladepoint is a "battle royal" rather than an MMORPG. But it proves that the Chinese developers are not only brave enough to imitate someone, but also to create very original projects. After all, there is no usual rifles and building fortifications, as in Fortnite - all the battles are either hand-to-hand or conducted with medieval weapons. And the rules are familiar to everyone: 60 participants of the match get on the map and fight until the last survivor.

The action takes place on the island of Morus, where warriors practicing different styles of kung fu and magic, fighting among themselves for the title of the best. During the fight may change conditions, appear sudden enemies, but the characters do not stand still - they can develop some skills. To move through the air and ambush them helps to hook-cat, and instead of grenade launcher heroes use a small couleurin. In general, there are enough original solutions. The game, of course, costs money, but we can't give away such beauty for nothing! And what Chinese MMO games do you recommend to read?