Here we go! An unbiased opinion of Bless Unleashed coming from two gamers who have not played the original Bless game, your ideal audience!
Oz’s Take:
I got to play as a ranger, which supposedly is the most overpowered class during PAX East where a person cleared the boss that was being showcased for the demo in about 2 minutes. For reference, it took me 5 minutes to complete this, and the dev guiding me said the person had waited in like 3 times over to achieve that time. Suddenly I’m thinking that poor soul waited in line for over 2 hours to beat the demo in 2 minutes? I’m sure at the convention there were plenty of better things to do, but hey, if you’re a fan…then you’re a fan and nothing will stop you from achieving your goals, you go mystery speed runner person!
The game played great, It has all of the elements that an MMO should have and the combat was not only action-packed but also it flowed flawlessly once the controls made sense. When I think of an MMO, all I think about is the lower third of my screen is absolutely covered in hotkeys for my skills. Luckily Bless Unleashed removed all of that and made it quick and simple to hot swap between your skills, which to be fair, there aren’t many, but enough to enjoy the game with a controller.
When speaking to the devs we got confirmation that there is NO plan on combining the original Bless game with the people of Bless Unleashed, it will be its own entity. We got to play private instances on our own which made me question a lot, were they hiding something? I’m still skeptical of how the “hub” will work, how the overall marketplace will be, and how they plan on monetizing the game. When asked if there were going to be loot boxes, the answer was no. They were going to have skins for sale, however, but nothing that would make the game Pay to Win.
Let’s see how this goes as Bless Unleashed releases Summer 2019 on Xbox One. Best of all? It’s free to play!
ACE’s Take:
The game looks good. Has the traditional structure of an MMO. Exploring the lands to unlock new places. Leveling up and crafting to strengthen your character. Classes determined by race. Elves are rangers.
Hack and slash combos from the crusader or heavy damage with berserkers.
If I heard right they are trying to get 1000 in a server. I can’t even imagine having 1000 people in a server for this. I would have to imagine the map will have to be huge otherwise they will be expecting players to go into battle and form a mosh pit. It’s meant to simplify the RPG elements and make them console-friendly again without the clutter on the screen.
BANDAI NAMCO’S Bless Unleashed
https://www.bandainamcoent.com/games/bless-unleashed
