Online game "Bless Unleashed"

The fate of this MMORPG is not easy. Initially, the developers were preparing a remake of the popular Korean game for release on consoles, but then decided to shoot on all platforms at once. It's not hard to guess what the creative metamorphosis led to. Bless Unleashed became a typical PC port - with all the advantages and disadvantages of such projects. Without giving the release a proper promotion, the publishers announced the preparation of another one - in the same universe, but with the subtitle Global. This attempt almost immediately turned out to be a failure. It is high time to understand whether Bless Unleashed should be written off and what it is able to attract fans of the genre today.

To run Bless Unleashed just download the client and click Play Now. There is no need to register on any sites, no need to mess with additional programs, no need to pay money - everything is extremely simple and accessible. Then, before entering the server, you should create a hero. If the editor with customization of the character's appearance here is very meticulous, the choice of starting skills is organized in a goofy way. First you are offered to choose a class, then race from the available for him, and at the end - gender. It is impossible to see all the options for each section in advance. Although in some classic MMORPGs like Age of Conan, where there is also a direct connection between classes and races, this problem is solved in a very simple way - at the interface level.

There are six development paths: Crusader, Berserker, Ranger, Mage, Assassin and Priest. The first two are melee-oriented, the third is related to shooting, the fourth uses attack spells, the fifth relies on agility in battle, and the last is a specialist in magical defense and healing. Specialization, meanwhile, is tied to a race that offers special advantages, such as a bonus to intelligence or physical strength. Berserk, for example, can only be a powerful beast-like warg, and all rangers and assassins are exclusively pointy-eared elves, while priests and crusaders are represented by humans and fur-baby ippins. Gender, determined last, no longer affects anything other than appearance.

Speaking of questionable decisions, the whole interface of the game reminds us that it was originally developed for consoles. Everything is made in such a way that it was possible to navigate without a mouse - up to switching menu tabs with Q and E buttons, which will surely seem inconvenient to PC users. On the other hand, Bless Unleashed's console roots have had a positive impact on the combat system. The fights start almost from the first minutes, and it becomes clear that nobody intends to coddle you. Opponents attack painfully, pounce several times from different sides and punish you for mistakes in movement or choice of blow. It feels like you're playing a quality Action-RPG, sometimes similar in mechanics and intensity to something from the Dark Souls series.

To defeat the enemy, you have jerks, dodges and somersaults, as well as two basic weapon strikes and several special moves assigned to the number keys. All of these can be combined into combinations ranging from simple ones, like alternating left and right mouse button clicks, to complex ones that require memorization. You also have to keep an eye on your stamina scale and occasionally get free from knockdown with QTEs. But this MMORPG doesn't turn you into a pianist - you won't have to twist your fingers trying to press three or four keys at once, and your eyes won't run away from a dozen of different attacks. Bless offers very dense and spectacular fights, which can be called the main advantage of the game. Though not the only one, because there is also a story, multiplayer and role-playing system.

The story, which follows a brief training in the basics of combat, begins in the city of Telarion, all the inhabitants of which are preparing for the festival. You are also given to have fun - to dance with the gawkers gathered in the square, to play hide-and-seek and the local analog of "thimbles", when you have to guess which of the pots is hidden under which prize. But the guards are disturbed by rumors of a possible attack of monsters and a conspiracy of magicians. Your hero is drawn into this story. In the end the fears are confirmed: villains penetrate the gates, kill Demea - the high priestess of the god Teleos - in the temple, and then open portals to the world of monsters, from where nasty creatures begin to climb the streets. After a fierce but unsuccessful battle, the hero escapes in the saddle of a griffin with his new ally Don Diego.

We arrive near the city of Carzacor, where the forces of good are preparing to strike back and Don Diego is investigating the events in Telarion, and where, in fact, the real adventure begins. Here you buy your first riding animal and learn the rules of the virtual world. It is not completely open - it is divided into separate locations with unique natural conditions. But there are no narrow corridors - you can always turn off the path, which leads to the task, to search a chest hidden in the bushes or to appease a couple or three monsters. In addition, not all quests are reduced to killing or delivery - for example, there is a mission where you need to fix the cart of travelers in trouble. Or heal the very griffin that saved the hero from the city captured by enemies.

The unusually active multiplayer draws attention at once: already on the first difficult enemy, the Wolf King, you will be supported by passing characters under the control of other players. This is the custom here: if you pass by a fight, intervene. The technical part is also worth mentioning. On the one hand, the Unreal Engine 4 engine makes its presence felt - the virtual world looks quite nice, there are no complaints about the detailing of objects and characters. On the other hand, the code could use some polishing. The game has already been rid of critical bugs by patches, but slowdowns sometimes spoil the pleasure, so for uncompromising experience in battles it's better to have a PC more powerful than the values specified in the system requirements.

The main features of the heroes are related, as is customary in the genre, to classes. Each time you level up, your character automatically receives bonuses to the characteristics that are the basis of the role you have chosen. But the peculiarity of Bless Unleashed is that it's not so much the strength of attack or defense that matters here, but the active blessing and the amount of leveling points invested in it. Blessing, or Blessing, is something like a ready-made set of skills, which you can develop separately and at your own discretion. Such sets are unlocked as you reach new levels.

You can't use all of them at once - you have to choose what's more useful and what's not at the moment. Berserk, for example, has two of the most relevant blessings - Gift of Valor and The Lionheart: the first contains effective attacks on multiple enemies and single targets, and the second provides various bonuses like a hundred percent chance to make a critical hit. Mages will definitely benefit from The Crescent Moon, which has boosts for almost all attack spells. The Ranger, on the other hand, is most effective with The Lionheart and The Crescent Moon. Although this class ranks third in terms of damage, it can be used at a sufficient distance from the target to avoid most of the enemy's attacks.

Based on the active blessings, the collection of items worn by your character is also based on the active blessings. A berserker with The Lionheart doesn't need items to increase the chance of critical damage, although items that increase attack power will still be useful. The archer, on the other hand, needs equipment with yellow runes that increase the chance of critical damage. However, everyone is free to find their own way to pump and equip at the expense of any other blessings. In other words, the game's role-playing system allows you to create two different characters within one class - for example, turn a mage into a tank hero or give him the role of Damage Dealer. Rare role-playing MMOs offer the same flexibility of character development.

Of course, everything has a price. Whether you are improving your equipment or trying to kill the next boss, resources and power are constantly in short supply. Here will help what is called in MMORPG farming - you have to go to clear locations from monsters, chop trees, hit the rock with a pickaxe in search of minerals, search chests and take on optional tasks. You will also have to improve your own skills - you just can't do without it. You have to automatize dodging attacks, learn to press the button with healing potion in time, watch the rollback of special techniques and properly alternate them. Well, or reduce the many hours of labor, simply by investing real money. Each user will choose the option that he likes.

As already mentioned, you meet characters controlled by other players in the first stages of the game. They run around the same locations and help each other in battles with monsters, and then - and challenge each other. Even on low-filled servers, the multiplayer is very active. And whether you want to join any squads and guilds or not, you can't do without interacting with other gamers. Bless is created in such a way that you will definitely meet someone, fight with your rival in any of the locations and take part in a joint fight with a monster.

Throughout the world of the game are scattered points, where periodically another boss appears or other events occur - running by, you can take part in the activity together with the same random passers-by. Still, the effort is rewarded. Why not? Sometimes dozens of prize hunters gather around the monster - and then the battle resembles a coordinated raid, although it was started on an even ground and all the heroes in it are random, not selected with the distribution of roles.

You are allowed to start your own guild at level 10. You do not need to be a member of any other guild and you do not need to be an exile. The Guild Registrar character in the central square of Karzakor takes care of the rest. Once you have a group of friends, you'll have access to the usual genre activities like wars and dungeon raids. At some point, once you've developed your character to a high level, you won't be able to do without guild activities, because they will provide you with further upgrades and rewards that you can't get on your own.

Bless Unleashed is anything but one of the failures that the game was written up as at the beta stage. It really doesn't have much in common with the original Korean Bless Online, which is actually a good thing. If the original was closed due to technical problems, the Unleashed version, despite some rough edges, turned out to be much better in this respect. And its main advantage was the combat system, designed so well that it is worth traveling through the virtual world at least for its sake. Other aspects can be called standard for the genre - no discomfort MMORPG fan will not experience.

Zarium. August 2023