Mind you these are first impressions and don't reflect the full scope of a game, but first impressions are important and leave a lasting impact on one's overall experience and willingness to stay. I have played all of these before, but long enough ago that I do not remember them very well, and long forgotten why I ever stopped playing them. Number ratings reflect my opinion and willingness to push forward with the games in question.
Also I'd love to hear your recommendations for MMOs to try, and thoughts on the ones I've mentioned on this post, positive and negative! I'd love to believe I'm just being unfair in some cases, but sometimes an experience speaks for itself.
Okay so, some more thoughts now that I've dug into each game a bit more:
DC Universe Online - I've gotten at least through my first story dungeon, and I like what this game is trying to go for, I do genuinely feel like I'm playing a superhero and combatting comicbook villains and their minions, but there's an inherent disconnect and weightlessness with each action or interation that just makes the experience of playing this game really jarring and disorienting, and made the boss fight feel like I had very little control over what was happening. Overall I'm feeling better about this game than I was before and I'll keep pushing forward, but that's gonna be hard for me to get past.
Guild Wars 2 - Alright this game just straight up fucking rules, there's littlle platforming challenges EVERYWHERE and questing is so fun and I just got so caught up exploring the opening area and unlocking everything that I forgot I had story content to play through. When I did get around to it, I found it to be a real treat on it's own! While I think the dialogue writing is kinda flat so far, there's a personality to all of it, and the story and it's presentation far make up for any shortcomings. Now that I'm at a level where combat can really show it's colors, I find myself having a lot of fun getting into the flow of it. I still have a lot to learn, but I DID choose the most complicated class in the game so that's no surprise. I really like that the ability layout is largely dictated by what weapon(s) you have equipped in what hands. If you don't like one set of abilities, just swapping out to a different weapon gives you a fresh new suite, and there's a button to quickswap weapon loadouts on the hotbar. This is a game that's sticking around with me, I'm firmly invested.
Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis - I genuinely wholeheartedly dislike this version of the game. Thankfully I unlocked the original PSO2 content by completing the tutorial, but I decided to give New Genesis a fair shake and it just straight up was not for me. It feels like it's trying to lazily copy some of genshin impact's notes and the game overall feels blander for it, and that's highlighted that much more by my time spent reacquainting myself with the old game. I love original PSO2! It feels GREAT to play. It's got it's jank but it's all the more charming for it and I really wanna keep playing it. Everything I like about Phantasy Star is in it, every mechanic I've come to love from the series, and all of it is flowier and flashier and smoother than previous entries. But. I can't justify the storage size on my harddrive because it's 120gb right now and half of that is a game I straight up do not like or want to play, and cannot get rid of as it's treated as the BASE GAME. Maybe when I have a bigger drive and can sneeze some gigs its way, but for right now I'm gonna clear the space for experiences I will enjoy the entirety of thank you very much.
Planetside 2 - Yeah this game's pretty much been what I expected lmfao. I join a firefight, spawn in, get sniped from three miles away. Or blown up. Or hit by a truck. It's. A Lot. But from what I gather from looking up guides on the game, this is actually the general experience of the game, even for the old blood. Time to Kill is low, and there's, and I cannot stress this enough, DOZENS of people on both sides of the conflict. It really does feel like armies coming to blows. Everyone is dying constantly and the aim of the game is to make whatever small advancements you can as an individual, or as part of the larger mob as you try to push in or defend a region. Which! Is not fun for everyone, but I'm actually kinda vibing with it for now and like having a game like this I can just casually pop into.
Elder Scrolls Online - Admittedly I haven't gotten around to spending more time with this one because I got caught up in some other stuff, but I am fondly remembering story progression I made on an old character and how rewarding it felt to play through it. This game, I can't stress enough, gives me the same happy chemicals as Guild Wars 2, I thoroughly enjoy just finding and doing everything in a given region, especially with the fact that the sidequests aren't just "go here do this", they're mini storylines that pull you deeper into the overall narrative of the region. Not to say GW2 does a bad job of this, just that I feel the unique way ESO approaches it (by MMO standards that is) makes the experience feel all the richer. I can't wait to spend more time here as well, this is gonna be a mainstay for me I can feel it in my bones.
