A Beautiful Coat of Paint on a Bland Package
Relative newcomer studio GameArk Global has exploded into the mobile games market with its second game: The Legend of Neverland. Players will find themselves in the the role of an aspiring adventurer plagued with dreams of an ancient evil and a lost sword. To avid gamers, these opening moments will inevitably feel familiar, like many other fantasy MMOs.
New Paint Over Familiar Ground
The Legend of Neverland’s personality shines in its gorgeous presentation. The game opts for an anime aesthetic that allows for unique designs on both player and non-player characters. Players will spend their first moments selecting their primary class. Players will later be break this class down into one of several sub-classes, and designing their character model.
Customization options are robust with a wide enough variety that players will be able to create models that can differentiate themselves from other players on their chosen server. They can select options for their various facial features, initial clothing options and a basic color scheme.
The game has limited fully animated cutscenes that it reserves for significant moments within the game. These moments are accompanied by solid voice acting that immediately draws players into the game’s universe and atmosphere. This atmosphere is varied enough to never get dull for players, and each new area’s feel is quickly identifiable.
A Familiar Opening
Once the player designs their character, they immediately dive into the dream sequence, mentioned above. Wherein they discover to the ancient sword and evil that will drive most of the main quest. This is also where The Legend of Neverland’s intense gameplay is finally allowed to shine.
Players are equipped with four special attacks and a basic attack that can be combined into various devastating combos. In addition to an array of attacks, players are accompanied by spirit guardians that grant them flashier super moves. These can output a higher level of damage in exchange for longer cooldowns. All these abilities are granted beautiful animations that benefit significantly from the game’s anime style, allowing for more panache than otherwise blander realistic-looking games.
Customization and Experience
After players familiarize themselves with the controls and combat, they will arrive in the game’s first area. They will be able to investigate to various places where they can customize their loadout, including armor, special class skills, spirit guides and weapons. Where lesser mobile games will hold these unlocks behind numerous microtransactions, The Legend of Neverland makes its name by allowing players to loot either items or the relevant currency to retrieve a number of these items.
In addition to selecting their abilities, players must choose the guild with which they want to take on the various co-op dungeons. This is where Legend’s multiplayer aspects get to shine. There is a strong balance between content that Players will enjoy alone and with friends.
A Positive Take on a Familiar Experience
While The Legend of Neverland has many cliché elements that will be familiar to long-time gamers, its take on them is impressive. By avoiding overbearing ads and having frequent combat sections, players can jump onto the game for quick sessions. This quick play style makes it a strong match for the market, where players are not looking for long sessions.
The impressive anime aesthetic makes it memorable to look at and play, creating an immersive atmosphere that will draw players into its opening moments. The designers knew where the strengths of the game lie: in responsive gameplay and strong graphics, and were wise enough to lean into these strengths creating a fun experience for players looking for a mobile take on the MMO experience that has been popular on PC for decades.
