Crowfall

 PC
User Score
3.2

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 24 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 24
  3. Negative: 15 out of 24

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  1. Ragman0815
    Sep 12, 2021
    0
    Original Kickstarter backer here. I am not usually leaving reviews and I am seldomly angry at how a game turned out. But this time is different. I am astounded and appalled at how this game turned out. It's hard to find words, really.

    I was so excited for this game to come out. It had so many great ideas and a lot of talent to make it a reality. I mean, those were the guys that made    Original Kickstarter backer here. I am not usually leaving reviews and I am seldomly angry at how a game turned out. But this time is different. I am astounded and appalled at how this game turned out. It's hard to find words, really.

    I was so excited for this game to come out. It had so many great ideas and a lot of talent to make it a reality. I mean, those were the guys that made SWG, right? The delays never bothered me, as I thought they would surely just make it's as polished and great as can be. In hindsight, I really ask myself what they even did all those last years, because the game never evolved much from it's earlier versions ( which were met with a rather negative reception).

    We have been sold on a game with a vibrant lore-rich voxel world with interesting pvp and survival mechanics, a complex crafting system and reactive tactical combat with physics. All things supposedly fusing together to become a throne-war simulator, a modern eve in fantasy - as it were.

    Now, I do realise projects turn out differently than they were imagined at first. Especially in game development. A lot of features get cut, others redone. Sure no big problem, if it enriches the game and guarantees success in finishing the vision. But this, this is nothing like that.

    What did we get out of it? Nothing, really. It's dull, buggy, unfinished, uninteresting, unpolished shallow, boring and grindy as all hell. I've never been so uninterested and bored of any games combat before. Crafting is a grindy joke, pvp is not much more than a gankbox interspersed with certain uninteresting timed events (sieges) for zerg combat. The world is just stitched together from small generic world shards connected by portals. Add to that the complete lack of any kind of polish, balancing and the seemingly complete lack of proficiency on how to build essential systems/rules (i.e. in a faction-war you can switch factions anywhere on a whim) and you get a trainwreck of a game.

    I couldn't tell you of a single feature or mechanic that is at least "promising" at the moment, in my eyes. The greatest of them are serviceable at best. Some of them sound great on paper (i.e. the building of your character from class, race, talent tree, major and minor disciplines) but in the end it's just nothing I want to spend my time in.    … Expand
  2. Alb1
    Sep 1, 2021
    3
    This one could be good but suffers from lots of unfinished concepts and bad interface. A shame that all these nice concepts don't Integrate well together and feel unfinished. I cannot recommend the game in its actual state.
  3. Hewolog
    Aug 10, 2021
    6
    Hard core Game. I love MMO and PVP this game is one more of this.
    Nothing special, but isn't bad.
  4. MrCharacter
    Jul 26, 2021
    0
    Garbage, plain and simple. Almost everything that has been promised is not in the game. It looks like fortnite now with the worst pvp i've ever experienced.... and thats supposed to be a PVP FOCUSED GAME, you know where good pvp is essential. Ugh
  5. Leiros
    Jul 10, 2021
    6
    Updated Review:
    It's been a few weeks since my initial post. While I still enjoy the game, some of the mechanics are starting to get old. While aspects of the crafting still remind me of Start Wars Galaxies, that's about where the similarities end. Grinding for upgraded crafting disciplines gets old quick. Even with potions and food buffs if takes forever to get the epic and legendary    Updated Review:
    It's been a few weeks since my initial post. While I still enjoy the game, some of the mechanics are starting to get old. While aspects of the crafting still remind me of Start Wars Galaxies, that's about where the similarities end. Grinding for upgraded crafting disciplines gets old quick. Even with potions and food buffs if takes forever to get the epic and legendary disciplines and belts.

    As far as PvP goes, there are moments when it really shines. However, there are also moments where getting plowed by groups of 30 or 40 players roaming the Dregs gets old. Your only real hope is to have people with you all the time or to have a stealth character for grinding resources.

    I'm updating my score to from an 8 to a 6. I still think the game has a ton of potential and I will continue to support it, but it's just not there yet. 6/10 (looking forward to improvements)

    Original Review:
    I've been playing this game for the past week and having a blast! The game is reminiscent of old school mmorpgs like Star Wars Galaxies and Dark Age of Camelot. The best gear in the game is player crafted and the crafting system is in depth and unique. People can make a name for themselves solely through crafting if they choose as the crafting system stands on its own apart from combat.

    For those who enjoy realm versus realm combat, the game offers a robust RvRvR system that awards factions and players for capturing and holding keeps and world objectives. There are various levels of PvP available with different degrees of risk. Similar to other pvp focused games, the best crafting resources are located in the higher risk areas. This adds an additional element of excitement to making a harvesting run. There is a lot here to keep people busy and the game will only improve in time. The people who rate this game as a zero obviously didn't try to learn the game unique systems etc. One of the things that I've enjoyed so far is that there are not many guides available for the game yet, so it has been trial and error for the past few days as I have tried to learn how to craft higher quality items. I didn't realize how much I had come to rely on info from gaming sites until I played Crowfall. I have since joined a crafting guild and learned so much about the game that I am excited to continue my adventures in Crowfall.

    Please note: this game is not for everyone. You will die regularly when you first enter the pvp areas. In the lower risk pvp areas, you will lose half of your gold when you die. In the medium risk areas, you lose all of your gold on a death. In the highest risk areas (The Dregs) you can lose any items that you may be carrying at the time. In any of these areas, you can recover your lost items if you make it back to your corpse before someone else loots it. These rules also apply to PvE deaths in these areas.

    I gave this game an 8 because there are still a few performance issues that occur on occasion. However, I have really enjoyed this game and I recommend giving it a try if you like pvp MMOs. 8/10.    … Expand
  6. myndpyre
    Jul 21, 2021
    7
    Honest review from an "Earliest Bird" backer, as well as someone who dedicated a decade to Eve Online.

    This is a beautiful game with great concepts, implemented to stay true to it's core, and target audience. Therefore, it's not for everyone . . . just as Eve Online was in 04-05. People looking for a game that are not part of this group will review Crowfall negatively. As the    Honest review from an "Earliest Bird" backer, as well as someone who dedicated a decade to Eve Online.

    This is a beautiful game with great concepts, implemented to stay true to it's core, and target audience. Therefore, it's not for everyone . . . just as Eve Online was in 04-05. People looking for a game that are not part of this group will review Crowfall negatively.

    As the time of this review, there are only 2 servers available, Starter Worlds and the Guild Wars. Solo players and small guilds will feel very left out with only these two choices. You will only be able to do skrimishes for smaller outposts, and trade skills. Once Factional Wars start up, these players will find themselves a part of much larger teams . . . as long as ACE can figure out how to stabilize the server code for larger battles.

    I understand the frustration with trade skills, but Eve Online players are used to having advanced resources available to only those willing to risk (or pay) more. The system is easier to understand than tech 2 and tech 3 trade skills in Eve Online. With a true economy coming from item decay without repair, no "insurance", and lost items due to wars and wear, I see trade skills playing a greater role here than in Eve.

    Being in a very small guild (We can barely fill a single murder when everyone is online), we are still in the top 20 percent of conquest points on our guild war server. Small guilds absolutely CAN skirmish each other for "campfire" outposts at the last minute, leaving the larger rewards to the big boys to fight over. Discretionary warfare is absolutely needed, and expect to play stealth and ambush classes to have any chance at success. This is similar to taking stealth bombers or interceptor teams into 0.0 Eve Gates, as taking show fat battleships is a great way to get pod killed.

    ACE is doing this right, one step at a time, concrete core gaming systems, grow slow, and establish a core community. It's only a question of if the current generation of "instant gratification" gamers can stomach holding on for this game to reach full maturity.

    I am giving it an 7 because I am not sure ACE will be able to address the issues of 1000 person player battles without having to give into similar solutions such as time manipulation or population queues that other games have resorted to. Slide shows never make for good war stories.    … Expand
  7. Shadowpanzer
    Jul 20, 2021
    3
    As a day 1 Kickstarter of this project (upgraded to Silver) I had very high hopes for this game. I played here and there during development but ultimately decided to hold off and wait for the finished product.
    The problem with high hopes is that all too often they come crashing down (Cyberpunk 2077 anyone?).
    I was looking forward to an evolution of the World vs World vs World PvP of    As a day 1 Kickstarter of this project (upgraded to Silver) I had very high hopes for this game. I played here and there during development but ultimately decided to hold off and wait for the finished product.
    The problem with high hopes is that all too often they come crashing down (Cyberpunk 2077 anyone?).

    I was looking forward to an evolution of the World vs World vs World PvP of Guild Wars 2. While there are echoes, this is far from the advancement of the concept we were promised. GW2 WvWvW devolved into mobs of players roaming the landscape, this game pretty much does the same despite putting a lot of effort into creating a more involved fort system.

    The PC Gamer review gets it mostly right. The tutorial is PAINFUL, poorly crafted, and ultimately fails to teach many important elements of the end game, especially crafting. If their intention was to make one hate PvE they certainly succeeded. Seriously, you are better off jumping your toon to level 25 and learning the game from Youtube or Reddit Q&A.

    Once you hit level 25, you are now able to FINALLY get your teeth into PvP except the PvP zones are EMPTY. What few folks you find are either mobbing around or farming NPCs. The Good Stuff is all in the Dregs. So if you plan on playing Crowfall, joining a good guild is PARAMOUNT.

    Gear matters a whole lot less than one thinks considering how involved and demanding crafting is. So don't worry too much about your gear. One you won't find any major improvements between gear levels, and two, your gear will degrade to nothingness. Especially your harvesting gear! My god, it's like cut down a dozen trees, make a new ax. And that is the "upgraded" runic ax! I get that as one develops experience in the specialty it gets better but out the gate, it is a SLOG. You have to be a true masochist to think this process is "fun".

    Crafting, oh my lord. I do hope you LOVE grinding! I mean I spent many soul-crushing nights circling Sholazar Basin in search of enough Saronite to build my chopper in WoW, but at least THAT was worth it in the end. In Crowfall, you will find yourself grinding monotonously for insane amounts of raw materials only to rely on luck and RNG to produce something mildly better than the crap that drops off NPCs. Nothing like hours, and I do mean HOURS, of grinding only to wind up with a crummy product because RNGesus hates you. This is NOT as good as Star Wars Galaxies crafting by a long shot.

    The artwork catches a lot of heat but it is decent enough. I am an eye-candy whore. I play CP2077 with it ALL turned on, same with Assassin's Creed etc. But I also love Valheim. Crowfall's art style isn't the problem, it's the sameness of it all. Zones have NO flavor, no sense of place or wonder. Unlike WoW which has a similar aesthetic, one zone in Crowfall looks exactly like the next - instantly forgettable and dull. Heck, MINECRAFT does a better job of worldbuilding!

    Crowfall's UI is abominable. The chat is atrociously bad and feels like something from 1998. Inviting players and trying to build up parties and raid groups are exercises in frustration. This is a particularly unforgivable sin in a PvP MMO. I suppose the designers were content to let Discord do all their lifting on comms. Oh and NO MINIMAP! Ok so when every tree looks the same, when every rock formation is a variation of the same basic polygons and skins it becomes easy to get lost on the map and lose your references. If you have to keep opening up the map screen in a PvP game just so you can figure out where you are going then that is a huge problem.

    Ultimately there will be those who love this game, and I say more power to them.

    But for anyone who is considering buying Crowfall, be warned, it is a LOT of grinding, in a dull world, with PvP mechanics that are better delivered elsewhere.

    When all is said and done, the biggest problem with Crowfall, despite all I have written, is that in the end, Crowfall is BORING.    … Expand
  8. Varaben
    Jul 20, 2021
    8
    Highly recommend you try the game if you're into MMOs, PVP, and/or crafting. It has a steep learning curve, but the combat is intuitive enough to get into quickly. One of the best and most in-depth gathering/crafting systems I've ever seen. Reminiscent of SWG-level of complexity (though not quite). Definitely not a solo-friendly game, though I am OK with MMO games not catering to soloHighly recommend you try the game if you're into MMOs, PVP, and/or crafting. It has a steep learning curve, but the combat is intuitive enough to get into quickly. One of the best and most in-depth gathering/crafting systems I've ever seen. Reminiscent of SWG-level of complexity (though not quite). Definitely not a solo-friendly game, though I am OK with MMO games not catering to solo players. that said, you can play the game solo for a lot of the end-game activities you're going to do. But at the end of the day, you have to join a guild. If you want to really do end-game crafting, you have to focus HARD on it. Really enjoying it so far!… Expand
  9. Sambahrij
    Jul 18, 2021
    2
    long time backer, been playing as part of a guild since launch.
    people might pretend it's a pve issue, the games issues are extensive. PvP in basic combat with 6v6 is ok... nothing GW2 or any game with PvP hasn't managed. but when numbers swell the game falls over . the massive combat is nothing but a zerg in horrific graphical effect and I'm running a 3080
    outside of the PvP dregs (main    long time backer, been playing as part of a guild since launch.
    people might pretend it's a pve issue, the games issues are extensive. PvP in basic combat with 6v6 is ok... nothing GW2 or any game with PvP hasn't managed. but when numbers swell the game falls over . the massive combat is nothing but a zerg in horrific graphical effect and I'm running a 3080
    outside of the PvP dregs (main campaign) it's nothing more then any extended version of any PvP game with lack luster and missing mechanics making it boring and repetitive.
    sadly they've sold the game explaining a world...it lacks anything but the boring cookie cutter landmass

    without question avoid buying    … Expand
  10. MaxTheBard
    Jul 15, 2021
    0
    This game is probably the BEST example of how dumb people are. It is a money grab, it is an old Kickstarter that hasn't changed in visuals from it's concept to release. The only difference now is the amount of micro transactions and lack of support for the game. STEER CLEAR OF THIS TRASH!
  11. Random_Person
    Jul 14, 2021
    8
    I think you need to understand this isn't a pve game.
    What people call pve is just a long tutorial, thats why you can't instantly level a character to skip this content and go straight to the core game.
    Which is pvp and resource collecting, its less about the individual and more about the group (Guild). I was initialy out off, all the bad revuews and i looked kinda bad to play. But when    I think you need to understand this isn't a pve game.
    What people call pve is just a long tutorial, thats why you can't instantly level a character to skip this content and go straight to the core game.
    Which is pvp and resource collecting, its less about the individual and more about the group (Guild).

    I was initialy out off, all the bad revuews and i looked kinda bad to play. But when you get your hands on it, the moves make logical sense in pvp and it feels great.

    Its one of those games you have to try for yourself, don't listen to anyone else, i think alot of people had expectations, and it wasn't what they expected.

    There are odd quality of life decisions, and the servers can be unstable when things get crazy, so its not perfect, but it is fun and thats what a game should be.    … Expand
  12. jaythewise
    Jul 13, 2021
    0
    I dont understand how one can log into this game and say "Hey this game is really good I am going to give it an 8"

    Nothing about this game is fun in it's current state. It does not even have a chat system that is on par with 1999 era everquest. PVE is horrible. PVP is a weird guild wars 2 action system except much **** Mega guilds control the "dregs" which is the main PVP realm    I dont understand how one can log into this game and say "Hey this game is really good I am going to give it an 8"

    Nothing about this game is fun in it's current state. It does not even have a chat system that is on par with 1999 era everquest.

    PVE is horrible.
    PVP is a weird guild wars 2 action system except much ****
    Mega guilds control the "dregs" which is the main PVP realm
    The player count is non existent.
    A solo player or even tiny guild is toast.
    Even the "great" crafting system is complete crap.    … Expand
  13. pryans
    Jul 12, 2021
    0
    This game is 90% PvE and 10% PvP. You cannot play solo, it is guild vs guild at the core. The game strongly favors large guilds. Fights are all about numbers.

    The UI is pure trash. Necessary information isn't communicated. The map is also trash. The game engine is Unity and the performance is really bad, expect crashing, insane loading times, and massive fps lag in large fights which    This game is 90% PvE and 10% PvP. You cannot play solo, it is guild vs guild at the core. The game strongly favors large guilds. Fights are all about numbers.

    The UI is pure trash. Necessary information isn't communicated. The map is also trash.

    The game engine is Unity and the performance is really bad, expect crashing, insane loading times, and massive fps lag in large fights which make the game unplayable on a 1080 TI.

    Combat costs durability points on your gear, when it hits 0 durability the gear breaks and has to be replaced, you can't repair gear. This means you need to PvE grind for mob to drop gear, or gather mats to craft new gear.

    The PvE side is a huge grind.

    Dregs is probably the worst possible campaign to start with. Unless you have epic dis for gathering you won't be gathering anything in dregs.

    You need to focus on lots of alts. Better by VIP as well.

    Also the server is unstable, crashes in large fights.

    The game client still says "developer build" on the loading screen....

    The game is running about 3K players prime time eastern across all servers. Individual servers range from 50-500 players.    … Expand
  14. Forgotten
    Jul 11, 2021
    1
    Welcome back 2012!
    * Uninspired tutorial.
    * Thin lore that even if you read, won't comprehend. * Character creation is lackluster, everyone will look the same. * Armor-look is lackluster, everyone will look the same. * Harvesting is a pain in the ... welcome back to the grind! * Getting better gear is a pain in the ... welcome back to the grind! * Population lost in space, emptiness    Welcome back 2012!
    * Uninspired tutorial.
    * Thin lore that even if you read, won't comprehend.
    * Character creation is lackluster, everyone will look the same.
    * Armor-look is lackluster, everyone will look the same.
    * Harvesting is a pain in the ... welcome back to the grind!
    * Getting better gear is a pain in the ... welcome back to the grind!
    * Population lost in space, emptiness awaits you.
    * Play alone and you can't get anything done (outside the tutorial).
    * Join a guild and you can't get anything done (no one online).
    * Click on PLAY, go to your kingdom, where you can't do anything because it requires grinding with guild that isn't online.
    * Visit the dregs to die and lose all your stuff. This is fun, then you can grind again to get it back.
    * Want to be rid of the grind of leveling up? Pay VIP sub.
    * The graphics are worse than Ultima Online. And theres more bugs and clipthrough than you ever seen.

    Don't get fooled by people saying this is like SWG or DAoC. It's really not. If you VALUE your TIME. Don't play this game. I'm giving it 1 point because of the UI where you create your char and choose your world.    … Expand
  15. 0rigami_
    Jul 10, 2021
    8
    I only learned about Crowfall a few days ago. After watching some streams on Twitch, I decided to give it a go, the PvP intrigued me.

    All the advertising for the game doesn't really lean into PvE much, but the 3-5 hour tutorial definitely gets you used to your class, skills, UI and such in a PvE setting. The tutorial is, however, long winded. There's a point where you just next through    I only learned about Crowfall a few days ago. After watching some streams on Twitch, I decided to give it a go, the PvP intrigued me.

    All the advertising for the game doesn't really lean into PvE much, but the 3-5 hour tutorial definitely gets you used to your class, skills, UI and such in a PvE setting. The tutorial is, however, long winded. There's a point where you just next through the prompts unless it shows you a screenshot. By the time the tutorial is done, you will be at the soft cap of level 30. The tutorial definitely does it's job, but could use some streamlining.

    The UI attempts to be somewhat innovative in it's approach to menus, but ultimately feels a bit clunky and a step backwards. For instance, my hotbar disappearing when I open my inventory is frustrating. A friend invite or group invite forcing my inventory open, even while in combat, can certainly be abused. A majority of the guild implementation appears outside of the game, which would be a welcome feature if it were also inside the game as well. As it is, the guild joining/searching just feels tacked on, which is not great for a game claiming that guilds are a centerpiece. Chat is also a bit cumbersome, and doesn't make a lot of sense. There are tabs for different forms of chat (some examples are: general, faction, kingdom, group, etc.), but there's not a single tab where you can view everything. This makes watching faction/kingdom/group chat at once impossible. It's also frustrating that chat disconnects from the server at random, clearing out your chat history. Porting also clears chat history.

    Another sticking point is, when creating your character, you need to choose what kind of world to join. The game does a very poor job at describing these and I feel new players will simply join a campaign world without any idea of what that entails. That's what I did, after about 8 hours, I still can't tell you the difference.

    Factions. This is a fun mechanic, and is not something I knew about before getting the game. Everyone said you need to join a guild, or you simply won't have a good time. This isn't true. While guilds are definitely helpful and can expand your fun within Crowfall, the faction system by itself is reminiscent of realms in Dark Age of Camelot. The first time a group of us Moon faction members rolled up on a group of sun faction members and put them down was definitely a fight to remember.

    If you take the game for what it is, a $40 pay to play forever mmo, it's actually quite fun. Rough around the edges, definitely room for improvement, but would still get a recommendation from me. Especially if you have a group of people to play with already. I will probably be playing this until other titles I plan to try are released, and maybe afterwards as well, because it's still there, and I can play at any time.    … Expand
  16. Judge_Binary
    Jul 8, 2021
    1
    Crowfall is poorly optimized, clunky-feeling, and has little to no incentive to actually participate in what little content currently exists.

    Population is incredibly sparse, with the peak population (so far) only hitting ~3k, which is a problem in a PvP focused game. Player drops are currently lacking, but even if they implement inventory drops later on, it will remain lacking unless    Crowfall is poorly optimized, clunky-feeling, and has little to no incentive to actually participate in what little content currently exists.

    Population is incredibly sparse, with the peak population (so far) only hitting ~3k, which is a problem in a PvP focused game. Player drops are currently lacking, but even if they implement inventory drops later on, it will remain lacking unless they allow equipment to also drop.

    I would not recommend getting into this game until serious adjustments, improvements, and fixes have been implemented.    … Expand
  17. Lazyyawn
    Jul 7, 2021
    0
    Rushed cashgrab, scam and p2w, not even worth looking into it. It also looks so **** bad and the performance is even worse.

Critic Reviews

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No score yet - based on 3 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. IGN
    Aug 4, 2021
    50
    Crowfall is a hardcore PvP MMORPG that doesn’t do much to draw in anybody beyond its most loyal and dedicated players.
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  2. MMORPG.com
    Jul 29, 2021
    50
    The game lacks clear direction for players and relies entirely on its player base to help recruit new players. The problem with this approach is that you need players to bring players and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of those out there. In addition, Crowfall suffers from a dull combat system with rough animations and spell effects, a terribly paced end game progression system and the longest tutorial I’ve ever played. All of this coupled together makes it hard for players to want to stay engaged. I’ve been playing MMOs for almost 20 years. I struggled to keep playing Crowfall because of the issues listed. I can only imagine how a new player with little experience in the genre would feel. Crowfall wants to be more than it currently is and I do hope ArtCraft can work through some of these issues to present players to a solid PVP offering.
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  3. PC Gamer
    Jul 19, 2021
    64
    A deep but fragmented PvP MMO that's not nearly as original as its early promise suggested.
    Read full review