Filipino MMORPG players can now take in the splendor of the Elyon world thanks to PlayPark servers, which made the game available to the general public on July 8, 2022.

The game was created by Bluehole Studios, which is currently known as Krafton Inc. It was first released in South Korea in 2020 before being made available to Western audiences the following year. Sadly, it is currently declining in these areas, but with a fresh opening in the Southeast Asian scene, it might enjoy a resurrection.

Why wasn’t it a success when it was first released? TERA Online, one of Bluehole Studios’ best games, was frequently compared to this game, which, according to reviews and player feedback, hurt it. Elyon felt inferior to TERA Online, a downgrade, according to many.

We chose to investigate this free-to-play steampunk action adventure PC game in greater detail, putting aside the game’s past and the comparisons to TERA Online.

Elyon has a promising beginning

Everything about Elyon was a blast the moment you loaded the game. Players can explore and experiment with a ton of options available for character customization.

As of today, gamers have the option of selecting between humans, elves, orcs, or eins, a type of furry. They can then decide amongst the warlord, elementalist, mystic, assassin, gunner, slayer, and archer classes. The game’s different clothes and poses provide players a ton of opportunities to change up their overall appearance and practice the finished product.

Beyond character customization, the plot has an engaging opening as players experience a peculiar narrative with an action-packed scene within a huge airship. The scale of this prologue makes you feel like you are in a superhero or fantasy movie’s climactic conflict.

The fighting system of the game, which is one of its centerpieces, is also accessible from there.

The left and right click buttons will be your default starting point, but as you go, you can further explore with other skills or attributes that are simple to spam because of the controls’ simplicity, making it a rewarding experience.

You can also improve these skills to add some extra flavor and gain other effects like crowd control.

You can see every nuance of the lush, vibrant surroundings, which is a testament to the graphics’ strong and solid quality. The game’s high memory requirements and outstanding visuals may cause some frame rate problems, so even though it sounds appealing, make sure your PC is up to speed.

Additionally, there were times when I was searching for my mission marker when the environment’s overwhelming brightness gave me a nightmare.

Where it gets problematic

The game’s general evolution or progression has problems, despite the fact that the first few levels would make you wonder at the overall quality of the game.

The story turns into a tedious narrative after it reaches Harth’s open world. The prologue of an epic fantasy series gave you the impression that you are on a great assignment, but the voyage into Harth was more like a chore around the house.

Depending on which faction you picked, the tale shifts to the player supporting the Vulpins or the Ontaris, and in some situations, players will be required to complete side tasks before moving on to the next chapter of the narrative.

Do these side quests merit your time? It can be enjoyable at first as you get to learn more about your skills, but as you advance, it gets tedious and repetitive as players are made to kill a lot of the same kinds of enemy creatures over and over again. This finally turns the game into a grindfest, which may turn off players, especially those who prefer fast-paced gaming.

Then, after you reach a specific level, you can move on to the following section of the narrative. The story does not make us care about the sides we select, thus reading the narrative feels a little underwhelming.

This distinguishes the main narrative from the prologue. While there was a sense of urgency in the prologue, in the main tale it feels more like we are basically foiling the plans of the Vulpins or the Ontaris because we are being instructed to or because we are finishing a tutorial lesson.

A compelling incentive for our choices would be preferable.

Further complicating matters, there are problems with the voice acting as a whole. The majority of NPCs simply speak the first word or two before going silent, which forces me to read or skip the rest of the chat because the voice over cuts out. They are also fairly quiet in the game’s sound mix.

Conclusion

Elyon is a freshly released MMORPG in the Philippines that has received mixed reviews from players there.

This game might be your cup of tea if you enjoy hack-and-slash action RPGs with the classic grinding mechanics.

However, if you prefer fast-paced, narrative-based games, you probably won’t find Elyon to be fun.

Additionally, the game could be a confusing experience for those who are unfamiliar with the genre. It contains a ton of features, a lengthy tutorial session, a 60 GB install, and cutting-edge visuals, which may make it difficult for PC gamers on a tight budget to use. While this could be intimidating for beginners, they are fortunate in that the combat mechanics of the game are simple.

Overall, it is a passable MMORPG for devoted players, though I would not call it a revolutionary masterpiece.

The big question: Is Elyon going to stay in the Philippines for a while? Southeast Asian MMORPG enthusiasts may likely experience firsthand why TERA was more praised than Elyon because PlayPark has previously revealed plans for TERA Online for local gamers.