MMOs have always been about the numbers. Oh those sweet numbers, gradually creeping up, each passing integer another ripple in your muscles, another arrow in your quiver, another hit point you can expend against that massive werebear thing that just won’t bloody die.
But the problem that can arise from that dependence on growth is one of balancing – how do you make sure the grind, the constant back-and-forth of fetch quests and mob farming doesn’t become overwhelming? That’s a question that MU Online doesn’t quite have an answer to, but it shouldn’t be enough to put you off from giving it a try, especially since the latest update adds some exciting and shiny new things for you to play with.
Old dog, new tricks
MU Online has been kicking about for a good long while now, first releasing way back in 2001. That makes it something of an elder statesperson in the MMO world. The fact that it’s still around, and still getting updated, should tell you that it’s been getting things right. It’s not quite right to say there’s an old school flavour to proceedings here, though, since the proceedings of the MMO genre haven’t really changed enough to make OG entries into the canon feel twee. But, there is a charm here, from the slightly angular graphics to the text-based communication – MU Online isn’t so much stuck in the past as it is part of it.
You shouldn’t mistake that charm for softness, though. There are shades of Monster Hunter in the way the game expects you to learn for yourself. There are a vast number of stats, currencies, energy metres and more that you need to figure out, and if you try taking on a monster that’s out of your current range, you’re going to get beaten down quicker than you can say “wait, how do I get back to town?” And that’s where the grind comes in. You’re going to spend a lot of your time in MU Online hacking and slashing things to pieces, completing the quest, and then doing the same thing all over again.
Hands-free
Thankfully the game will take a lot of this out of your hands – a pretty decent helper will take you where you need to go, deal with the combat and pick up your loot. This is a game that you can have on in the background, checking in periodically to see what’s going on and whether or not you need to intervene. And it sort of works – you pop away for a while, come back and your stats have increased. You chuck in a few skill points, sell the vendor trash you’ve picked up, then set out again.
When things get tougher, or when you want to quest with friends, you can team up and take control, but the slightly mind-numbing part of the MMO experience has been squidged into something you don’t really need to be there for. There are plenty of different character styles to choose from, with the Grow Lancer getting some love in Season 19 – a powerful attacker with a massive magical stick and some cool tricks up their sleeve.
Season’s greetings
Sure, some might balk at the lack of customisation options, but MU Online rarely rests on its laurels. Every couple of hours you’re powerful enough to get some shiny new armour, to pick up a ridiculous new mount or take on even stronger enemies. As your level increases, there’s plenty more to do as well; you can take on players from other servers to show off your skills and your magical gewgaws, there’s a kind-of battle royale in the shape of the Chaos Castle, epic instances and dungeons like the wave-based Devil Square and loads more.
Returning players are going to find a lot to love in the latest season, and it’s good to see a game that’s been running for more than two decades is still regularly adding new goodies and game modes for its dedicated fans.
MU-sic to some ears
MU Online is a strange one, then. It’s a game that you often don’t need to pay any attention to, but one that’s packed with deep and arcane systems that need you to dig in and discover for yourself. For those numbers crunchers among us, there’s a compulsive beat to proceedings that’s likely to turn MU Online into your next obsession, offering a constantly scratchable itch to make the numbers go up and the weapons even shinier.
If you’re looking for something a little more mechanically complex, there are definitely better options, but as a window to the past and present of the MMO, MU Online and the goodies in its new season have definitely passed the test of time.
Conclusion
It might not be the prettiest, and it might not be the most interactive, but MU Online is packed with the sort of compulsive play that made the MMO genre such a smash hit in the first place. You can play the game by clicking here.
The good
- Compulsive gameplay loop
- Offers a healthy challenge for those who look for it
The bad
- Visuals aren’t top of the line
- Some may be annoyed by some lack of interactivity