Pantheon Rise of the Fallen First Impressions
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is a high-fantasy MMORPG that’s been in development for nearly a decade. My interest in the game was piqued by its focus on dungeon and group content, and I was eager to see if it could live up to its promise. Recently, the developers opened the doors for a testing session, gearing up for the game’s early access launch in December. I managed to secure a key and spent about three hours exploring this world.
This isn’t my first time in Pantheon; I won access last year and, frankly, my initial experience left me extremely disappointed. Despite my past reservations, I jumped in again to give it a fair shot, hoping to see some significant improvements.
Visuals and First Impressions
Visually, Pantheon has ‘improved’ since I last played. The graphics have received an upgrade, and the game now looks far more modern than its previously outdated appearance, but it has lost it’s retro visual for a more modern Fortnite-like atheistic. This visual improvement is a good sign, showing that the developers are actively working on enhancing the game’s appeal, although I personally don’t love it.
Starting Out and Questing
Upon loading into the game, you find yourself in a town area (it varies between characters). After a bit of wandering, I located an NPC who handed out some quests. Unfortunately, these were mostly fetch quests, and the game doesn’t provide clear directions on where to find the required items, which is very much the style of the game.
It took me over an hour and a half just to find my first Maple Tree for one quest. I hope they scale up the availability of materials in starter zones for the launch; otherwise, with thousands of players on the same quest, progression will be painfully slow.
Navigating quests is challenging due to the lack of an in-game map. While there is a compass, it doesn’t offer much guidance. Initially, this was frustrating, and I found myself jotting down notes on what I needed for each quest. Over time, this system encouraged exploration, which I began to appreciate, although I’m more accustomed to games providing clear guidance, being a fan of classic MMORPGs I was ok with it after a while.
Inventory Woes
One major roadblock in Pantheon is inventory space. Starting with a mere 10-slot inventory is frustrating, especially when you’re tasked with gathering numerous items, and I like to craft and horde! Buying additional slots from the quest NPC is prohibitively expensive early on. This issue is compounded by the fact that enemies drop a lot of loot, making it hard to manage what to keep. Frequent trips back to NPCs to sell or store items are necessary, which disrupts the flow of gameplay. However, killing goblins occasionally rewards you with bags for extra storage and sometimes new gear, which is a small consolation but defiantly look for them.
Combat Mechanics
Combat in Pantheon starts off incredibly slow since you don’t have many skills initially. Additionally, some skills require a resource to use, which you need to build up first. This made early combat dull and difficult, as I often had only one skill that I couldn’t even use due to the resource requirement. Initially, combat was manageable, but suddenly I found myself dying repeatedly, unable to defeat any enemies. I guess this is where it’s time to group up.
After some frustrating deaths, I noticed multiple buffs in the top corner of my screen during my second attempt at trying Pantheon. These buffs made a significant difference, and had been applied to me in town by another player. These allowed me to defeat enemies and level up, unlocking more skills. I discovered a portal to a new area with plenty of enemies and fewer players, which helped me progress significantly faster. Despite these improvements, I found some skills redundant and combat animations lacking not to mention a range of bugs and crafting materials placed behind invisible walls making them inaccessible.
Final Thoughts
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is set to enter Early Access in four months, after almost a decade in development. Given this timeline, I had high expectations for a polished experience. Unfortunately, Pantheon feels more like a rough sketch than a masterpiece. My second playthrough was more enjoyable, and I made substantial progress, but the game still feels very unfinished.
The beginner experience needs significant improvement, as it currently feels tedious and unenjoyable, even for those expecting a retro-style MMO. As a long-time player of MMOs and RPGs, I want to see Pantheon succeed, but there are too many pain points early on. The game lacks polish, a coherent story, and essential features that could deter new players.
I remain hopeful for Pantheon’s future but cautiously so. The developers have shown they can make improvements, but they need to address these fundamental issues to ensure the game’s success.
