Oversoul Review: There’s More Behind It
By Vincent Haoson (Vincenthaoson), OnRPG Journalist
Oversoul is a 3D oriental game set in a world where there are two warring clans, the Drakhans and the Tantheons. Your part in all of this is to become one of the strongest warriors of your tribe and bring glory and honor to your clan.
Oriental meets gaming
Right from the get-go you are welcomed into an oriental themed MMO. The game uses a watercolor style in its visuals. This style is reminiscent of the watercolor style paintings you would see at places that have a heavy oriental theme.The game’s background music, audio and even the sprites also bring about the semi-authentic feel that you are in a mystical place somewhere in Asia.
The problem with the game in terms of looks is that if you have already been bombarded by F2Ps (free-to-play games) that have a more concrete and distinct look, Oversoul would look drab and poorly made. It would also take someone who is very familiar with Eastern style of art to fully appreciate how the game looks.
Graphics in Oversoul
When it comes to the game’s audio, Oversoul is not immune to the audio problem F2Ps usually have. The game’s soundtrack becomes redundant because there is a lack of variation to the game’s BGM. After playing the game for about half a day, you would rather mute the game’s BGM and would prefer to play your mp3s instead.
Job Classes
Like most MMOs, Oversoul uses the standard job classes you usually find. You have the melee character with the warrior and the necromancer meanwhile you have the ranged attacker with the Wizards and you have the hybrid job class of both melee and range with the guardians.
The Necromancer in Oversoul is the one class exclusively unique in the game. People who are familiar to the title necromancer in games would often think of characters that carry skulls and uses wands to summon the undead. Well, Oversoul blew past that stereotype and made its own.
The Necromancer without the dead
The most obvious difference Necromancers in Oversoul have is that they’re the melee type. They’re preferred weapon of choice is the fan and the eastern version of a harp. Necromancers in Oversoul still retain the concept that they’re also magic users however, in Oversoul their magic is more of the status ailments and of offensive skills.
Admittedly, I was surprised with Oversoul’s version of the Necromancer; I was expecting a dark character, with skulls and bones summoning undead creatures to do my bidding. What I got instead was a character that looks like a girl and who uses fans and string instruments to dish out major damage.
Though I did not really like that the job class title misled me to believe on the stereotyped concept of a Necromancer, I do like Oversouls version of it. I liked the idea of going past the preconceived idea of a necromancer and totally giving a job class that revolutionizes the art of fighting fashionably.
Double Weapon Goodness
Oversoul has a Diablo-like weapon system where you can switch your weapons with just a press of a button. Each weapon has a different skill set and you can switch between weapons in combat. Therefore adding more mixes in your move list which would be helpful against higher leveled monsters.
I like the idea of mixing and matching the different moves set per job class. This gives you more time to think where you should allocate the skill points you earn as you level. Plus, this removes the idea that Oversoul is just another mindless I-press-a-button-I-win type of MMO.
The ability to use two different weapons gives the game a more complex approach in the weapons and attack system. This coincides with the game’s adherence to skill-based gameplay.
Stats and Skills
Oversoul does not give you the power to allocate points to your character’s stats. The growth of your stats is determined by the job class of your character. That is why it is important that you are sure what kind of gameplay you would be using in the game or you could end up choosing a class which does not fit your gaming style.
Next to regular gameplay, you can also play mini-games!
Oversoul is a skill-based MMO. So basically it means that the one thing which separates your character from the rest would be how you play. This would mean that the game lacks the customization options for your character. This would also mean that everybody is basically on equal footing because there are no “ultimate builds”, which if you look at it is a good thing.
Unique Game Features
Oversoul has a lot of unique game features aside from the Necromancer class. One example is that there is an NPC of Divination. For a fee your player can get buffs from the NPC, providing you an increase in stats, drop rates and so on and so forth. You can only do this once a day.
Another feature of Oversoul is that it has fishing. You can fish in the pond in your town or outside while you are leveling. Fishing provides you an alternative gold source and even provides you food for your character. Speaking of food, your characters can starve in Oversoul. This is another feature where if your characters hunger reaches zero, your stats decrease, affecting your character’s effectiveness in battle.
Omok mini-game in Oversoul
Aside from the mentioned game features, Oversoul also has two mini-games that you can play with other people. They’re called Omok and Reverse. In Omok, your goal is to make as many lines that are composed of 5 pieces of either black or white in the board, while Reverse is like Othello where you have to make as many pieces of your enemies color into your own on a 8×8 board.
Leveling
When you start Oversoul, leveling is really easy. However, as with most F2Ps this is another grind fest especially if your character goes past the level 30 mark. The game does however make up for it by providing premium items that help you level and quests that you can do to give you that experience boost you need.
Conclusion
For a free-to-play game, Oversoul does provide a lot of game time for players. Surprisingly, the game’s features are also addictive even if they’re simple. The game has a lot to offer especially right now as it has just gone commercial.
So things can still go better or they can go worse for the game. However, as of right now I can say that the game does look good, especially if you want to have that semi-authentic oriental feel for the game. If you want a game that has a lot of nifty features that can take you away from the level grind then Oversoul is the game for you, however if you want something more out of your F2Ps there are far better games you can play.
Pros:
– The game has a lot of features that you can spend time on
– It provides the semi-authentic oriental experience in games
– The Necromancer class blows the stereotype away.
Cons:
– This is a level grinding game
– You would find the game theme to be dull
– Some of the mini-games would need another person to play with, which is hard to find.
