Mad World Alpha Impressions | Post-Apocalyptic HTML5 MMORPG

Hope you’re not scaredy cats, because today I want to discuss a game that I’ve been following for so long. That game is called Mad World and it piques my interest because it’s not your traditional medieval fantasy or anime MMORPG; instead, it goes full-on gruesome and disgusting body horror, in a way that seems to be a new normal for the poor, distressed good guys in this videogame world – if there are any at this point, that is. Mad World just had an alpha this last October and it was a good time to see how it is shaping up, and I believe it’s also the first time that the game features English language, with a global launch already confirmed, and there are hints of being a “play to earn” game, with cryptocurrency and NFT. We'll see.

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Be warned that some of the footage from the video above may be a bit over the top, and I’ve tried not to include some of the more cartoon horror parts.

I haven’t seen an MMORPG going all in for the despair and gruesomeness that developer Jandisoft is aiming to achieve. My previous experience in an alpha test took me across a region filled with hanged bodies and piles of corpses, something that you must admit you don’t see every day in an MMO. Although created with hand-drawn graphics and in a colorful style that almost mimics Flash games, there’s a visible talent to the artists and a will to take risks and be provocative. The beginning of the game is quite shocking, as a thug uses a knife to… well, I’d better not go into detail, or this video may raise tons of red flags.

Instead of relying in a dedicated client, Mad World is in development using the HTML5 technology and the proprietary engine Jandi Engine, with the advantages that this brings. The most notable is that it can be played in any device that has a browser, which means a PC or Mac computer, mobile phones, tablets, and probably a potato, if it is modded. There’s full cross-platform support, allowing you to switch between devices and keep your progress intact. I have tried the alpha in a couple of browsers and could see it performing smoothly on Chrome, while it was a bit sluggish on Firefox, and some crucial functions such as picking up an item didn’t work. This should be fixed before release, though.

First of all, a bit of context to this miserable world. Civilization as we know it was destroyed by demons and they now rule the land. The main story features some interesting cutscenes made in the same hand-drawn style, with creepy characters and grotesque monsters throughout, capable of giving you a few frights – I’m not exaggerating here.

Mad World doesn’t bind you to a specific class; instead, it uses a classless system where you become whatever weapon you choose. You can change weapons whenever you feel like, adapting to the requirements of each specific combat situation. You can move around while attacking, in a hybrid action and tab-target combat system that remains as one of the best choices for MMOs in these days. A massive mastery tree will allow you to customize your warrior’s skills in unique ways, assuring that many regrets and mistakes will be made, hopefully fixed by means of a respec.

Boss raids against sickening giant creatures who are animated in analogous ways are part of the adventure as well. The world is divided in areas, which are small to begin with, but there are dungeons for you to explore with a few party members. Real-time PvP combat will be a feature as well, although we need to know more about exactly how it unfolds, but you can count on guild PvP for sure.

In a day and age where games with low requirements remain very important for a large demographic, it looks like Mad World can nail that aspect, along with originality, cool graphics and, hopefully, a chilling and enthralling story. Personally, I’m a fan of the extremely adult atmosphere, and if the grotesque characters and gruesome environments are backed up by some solid lore and events, it could turn out to be a sleeper hit. We’ll learn more about it when it launches next year… if we’re lucky.