Skyforge is a free to play MMORPG developed by Allods Team and Obsidian Entertainment, of Fallout: New Vegas fame, and published by My.com. Skyforge has been available on PC and the Xbox One and PS4 since at least 2017 but has now received a launch on the Switch. Skyforge is similar to most other free to play MMORPGs in many ways but the gameplay of it makes an underwhelming and clearly undercooked port somewhat bearable. Unfortunately, Skyforge may not be the fix for those who are looking for an MMORPG on the Switch, especially given its many issues present on the Switch that probably nonexistent on its native home on PC.
A Beautiful Game…Somewhere
I really like the art style and the aesthetic of the world. It’s very fantasy with a lot of sci-fi elements. It reminds me of Star Wars a lot and I’ll be making some comparisons between this game and another MMORPG I’ve played a bit: Star Wars: The Old Republic. The main menu music is amazing. That’s it. I love it a lot. It could honestly earn a whole point just for how great that track is. Unfortunately, that’s about all of the positives I have at least when it comes to the presentation of Skyforge.
I just want to make it clear; this is a review for the game on Switch. Some of these problems are probably nonexistent on other platforms. Cutscenes seem to be running at a lower FPS but look fine. Graphics can be a bit pixelated at the edges, similar to a PC game tuned down to low settings. This is a bit disappointing but to be expected of a PC game that has to be ported down to a Switch. Some weird visual glitches on my initial start of the game – The character customization wouldn’t even load in the character. I can feel the Switch struggling to process and render the game, even when it’s docked. Expect regular texture and enemy pop ins. The end result is a game that probably looks great on a more powerful system but looks terrible on a Switch. It reminds me a lot of when I tried to play Star Wars: The Old Republic on my old 2010 Thinkpad laptop. Unlike then, Skyforge is at the very least, playable.
In game cutscenes are fine. The frame rate itself is stable but the simplistic animations mean this isn’t some technical marvel. The frame rate during normal play, however, can vary. Moving into new locations is guaranteed to send the frame rate crashing down. Generally, however, the frame rate is acceptable. Voice acting can be a bit cheesy sometimes and most of it is pretty average. I doubt any of the acting in this game is going to or won any awards. Ultimately, this is a port of a game made for more powerful hardware. If you came to this game expecting next gen graphics, you’ll be disappointed. I would recommend playing in docked mode as much as you can. It’s nigh on unbearable in handheld mode.
Gameplay
Thankfully, the gameplay of Skyforge is good, nearly great. If I had the same amount of time I had back during my World of Warcraft days, I’d be excited to sink all those hours into this game just for the gameplay. There’s a pretty extensive character creator on par with excellent modern-day RPGs. There are a lot of different options for your build, height, facial features, body dimensions, etc. You can even customize your run and stance!
General gameplay, the nuts and bolts of the game, is pretty standard for an MMORPG. Each class has their own unique fighting style with abilities that reflect their roles. There are a lot of classes so there’s definitely a class for every player’s unique playstyle. Some classes have to be unlocked later, with 3 basic ones available from the start. What’s great about Skyforge is the flexibility it allows the player to have. You can change your class at any time so I would recommend spending a few hours with each class until you find the one you love. The abilities are super flashy and look awesome. Using your Divine Form as a Paladin feels amazing and sawing monsters in half as a Berserker and seeing a giant explosion of blood fill the screen is super satisfying. The flexibility in being able to change your class freely makes combat engaging even when playing solo, although the most fun classes are, like many other MMORPGs, the ones where you just get to kill everything with a giant sword. The gameplay is nothing new, but the cool animations and flashing lights trigger that primitive part of your brain that just goes ooh shiny.
The dialogue reminds me a lot of Star Wars: The Old Republic. The player character is not voiced, and the conversations definitely lack a lot of the “role playing” in a role-playing game. The story itself is also relatively generic but the gameplay was what would keep me going even if I might’ve skipped over a lot of the boring NPC dialogue about what monsters were ahead or how great I am. Quests and missions are relatively simple, and the enemies act as standard MMORPG enemies do. The fun in the gameplay of Skyforge is squarely in your combat abilities and not necessarily complex enemy design. The graphics definitely suffer as I’ve mentioned earlier, but the gameplay manages to stay relatively smooth and fun. The graphics could be hand drawn stop motion, but the gameplay could still make that fun.
Fun, but not for the Switch
Skyforge is a pretty typical MMORPG. If you’ve played World of Warcraft, TERA Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic, or the whole host of MMOs that always pop up on Steam’s front page, you’ve basically played Skyforge. What Skyforge does great compared to many other MMORPGs is the feel of gameplay, the visceral animations that happen when you attack and when enemies get hit by your attacks. The art style and the world are incredibly interesting, and I love the designs of the characters and classes. A particular favorite of mine is just the hub world; it reminds me of Coruscant from the Star Wars movies but lit with a heavenly, ethereal glow. Unfortunately, Skyforge was simply not intended to be played on Switch so that’s where many of this version’s positives ends. Loading and processing the game is clearly a burden on the Switch’s paltry processor and it shows. The graphics suffer a lot, even when docked, and the game isn’t necessarily unplayable on handheld mode, but I definitely wouldn’t recommend ever playing Skyforge in handheld mode.
Skyforge is a perfectly adequate MMORPG with enough fun bits to make it worth experiencing at least once. However, the Switch’s limitations mean I would look elsewhere to play Skyforge. I want to emphasize that there is a fun and even beautiful game here, it’s just that the Switch is most definitely not the right platform to play it. If you own a Switch and are looking for an RPG or a multiplayer game, there are better games for the Switch that are better optimized that might have what you’re looking for. For Switch owners, this game is definitely a skip, at least until the graphics are fixed.
5/10
Check Out the Skyforge Nintendo Switch Trailer:
For more information, please visit: https://switch.skyforge.com/en
Nintendo Switch Review
My name is Matt Tran and I have been playing video games since I could remember holding a controller. I've always been a hardcore gamer growing up, from the hectic MW2 and Halo 3 lobbies, my many journeys through several Halo clans and my current exploits with my Destiny 2 clan. I love shooters and RPGs and overanalyzing every component of every game I've played, from weapon stats to ideal perks. When I have time to play other games, I currently play Genshin Impact and Star Wars Squadrons.
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