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Kritika Online has just entered open beta in North America and Europe and it’s about time – you can download it right now. This is a pretty addictive anime brawler that appeared doomed to never seeing a western release until En Masse Entertainment, TERA’s publisher, stepped in. It took a few years to happen and we all know how sometimes this delay can make a game look heavily dated and clunky, but this is not the case. Kritika Online still stands up nicely today, it’s a no holds barred, no bullshit instance-based action MMO game with fast-paced, skill-based combat. When we first saw it we immediately associated its flashy combos with the Devil May Cry series, but you’ll be better off by comparing it to Dragon Nest or Vindictus. Gameplay is mostly focused on PvE, running dungeons – now called Danger Zones – but there’s also small-scale PvP with 1v1, 3v3 or capture the flag, to name just a few.
En Masse’s Kritika Online is releasing with four classes: Reaper, Gunmage, Warrior and Rogue. All classes have three job advancements, apart from the Reaper which has only two. These advancements totally change how the game is played, as your character will gain very different skills or even a companion to fight along with you. Judging by the Korean version, more classes will be making their way into the game sooner or later: Eclair, Nobleria and Monk, with an eight class already being teased.
Character creation is far from in-depth to begin with, but it’s enough to give your character a distinct look, mostly based on the color possibilities for the costumes. Later on you’ll get the usual fashion items that should make your character stand out, or just go completely crazy with weird hats and other things. You should also be ready for a fair dose of fan service, as Kritika is one of those games where women wear very little in the way of proper armor.
While Kritika Online isn’t visually outstanding nowadays, the graphics are pretty decent, colorful and bright, with animations and special effects still top notch. You’ll barely notice any weaker textures when you’re in the middle of the relentless action, but that’s not saying that there aren’t better looking MMOs out there. TERA, for one, looks better, but the nice cel-shaded anime style of Kritika Online has very few true competitors.
Gameplay in Kritika Online is incredibly satisfying and fluid. Things start easily to get you acquainted with the game, with mobs after mobs going down with just a few hits. The end of Danger Zones brings a dangerous boss, initially just a slight pain in the behind, with more health than you can shake a stick at, but things change after a couple of hours, when you have to clear dungeons in higher difficulty levels. There are some different mechanics here and there to spice up the gameplay, but nothing that massively diverts your attention from the overall gameplay: use your awesome combos to dispatch mobs one after another, level up your character and unlock even more awesome abilities.
Kritika Online knows perfectly well what it is and it’s all the better for it: a pure brawler that will charm you for its focus, won’t distract you with countless lame activities. However, there’s the usual crafting or fishing, but hey, are you really playing Kritika for the fish or to punch countless mobs and bosses on the nose?
During the making of our next Kritika Online video we’ll be offering some codes for an exclusive red costume, so meet us in-game and stick around. Download the game through the link in the video description and start practising.
That is all from our Kritika Online overview gameplay video. We’ll see you soon in a danger zone near you.
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