PC Gamer - UK (2022-04)

Right from the off, Lost Ark’s mantra

is ‘why fight one enemy when you

can fight 20?’ and it gives you the

combat skills to facilitate this. You

start the game at level ten, with five

abilities already unlocked. For the

Paladin – the class I spent most of my

time with – this includes powers like

Spin Slash, a powerful

one-two punch of an

attack that puts a

massive dent in enemy

health bars, and Light

of Judgement, where

your Paladin thrusts his

hand forward, emitting

a beam of searing light

that sends enemies

flying back.

The game is structured heavily

around these meaty combat skills, to

the point that you’ll mostly use your

standard attack for mopping up

stragglers when the fight’s already

been won. Your powers only become

more impressive as you level up, too.

With higher-level powers unlocked, I

liked to open-up combat with Wrath

of God, a devastating attack. Then I’d

mop up any remaining foes with

Flash Slash, where your Paladin

moves slowly forward, cutting at the

air rapidly like an armoured

lawnmower.

The game’s massive

MacGuffin hunt of a

story is divided into

various continents,

themselves split into

different zones. Lost

Ark’s approach to

questing is like a

parody of MMO

design. You’ll be sent off to kill

monsters that respawn so rapidly that

it’s often quicker to wait for them to

reappear rather than explore, while

NPCs will ask you to carry objects for

them a whole ten yards across the

map. It’s rudimentary to say the least.

But what Lost Ark lacks in depth, it

makes up for in efficiency. Quests are

designed to push you quickly through

the map, showering you with rewards

in the process.

Moreover, these quickfire quests

build toward larger story arcs. Most

zones lead you to a dungeon that can

be explored with up to three other

players. These dungeons vary wildly,

ranging from ancient ruins to pirate

coves to catacombs filled with heretic

priests. They’re wonderful spaces to

explore, and unlike the more general

zones, aren’t populated by constantly

respawning enemies, which makes

combat a bit more satisfying.

ROYALS WITH CHEESE

Lost Ark’s highest highs, however,

come with its major story events. The

bulk of the early game takes place on

the continent of West Luterra, where

you attempt to help the errant King

Thirain regain his throne from the

usurper Lord Scheritt. The story sees

you help Thirain gather his forces

through multiple zones, culminating

in a colossal castle siege that looks

more like something out of Total War

than an ARPG. And what I’ve

mentioned here is only the start of

L

ost Ark is a game with zero chill. A Korean hybrid of ARPG and

MMO, it embodies the best and the worst traits of both genres.

Ambitious to a fault, it offers a vast and spectacular fantasy

adventure elevated by a stunning combat system and an

astonishing sense of scale, although its grand plans are

hindered by hackneyed storytelling and a repetitive quest structure.

FREE-TO-SLAY

LOST ARK’s blend of ARPG and MMO is a (mostly) successful experiment

By Rick Lane

The approach

to questing

is like a

parody of

MMO design

TOP: Black Friday, 2049

RIGHT: (^) Bosses are frequent, and massive.
NEED TO KNOW
WHAT IS IT?
A huge fantasy MMO/
action-RPG hybrid with
spectacular combat
EXPECT TO PAY
Free-to-play
DEVELOPER
Smilegate RPG
PUBLISHER
Amazon Studios
REVIEWED ON
AMD Ryzen 5 3600,
Nvidia GeForce 2080
Super, 32 GB RAM
MULTIPLAYER
MMO
LINK
playlostark.com/en-gb
Lost Ark
REVIEW