Despite not being a F2P mobile MMORPG, Antaria Online is everything you'd expect from one - it's grindy as hell; it basically has no storyline; and it has all the typical uninspiring MMO quests where you kill stuff over and over and at huge, (in-game) population-decimating numbers - Want me to kill 20 evil bankers and 40 corrupted bankers? Gladly! - ... just because the quest givers told you to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klzz4CGKaTY
- Within my 2-hour stream, the game glitched out 4 times or so and every time it glitched out, I had to exit the game and start it back up again. On the bright side, you don't lose any progress and the game loads impressively-quick for an MMO.

The game also has a crafting/upgrading system where you can gather items like logs and ores from the "wild" and turn them into more usable materials to upgrade your gear. This is good and all until you realize that the essential tools you'll need to gather these materials cost like 2k gold each! Considering that I'm usually getting between 1 to 5 coins per mob I kill, I had to kill some extra mobs AFTER completing all the quests leading up to level 19 and still be a couple hundred short of the getting my axe (I got my pickaxe though!)

P/S: I should also mention that I ran out of quests while having more than half of my level 19 exp bar empty and the next dungeon only opens at level 20. So, I'll definitely have to put in at least 30 minutes more of mindless grinding of mobs just to unlock the next part of the game.

Crafting materials are also in limited supply in this game since I don't see them respawning as fast as say.... the pile of coconuts in the game, and the game requires you to have a lot of these materials just so you can smelt out a single metal bar to use. It's gonna be as grindy - or even more so - as the quests here just to get all of your gear upgraded enough so you can take on tougher mobs.

Not to mention, despite being an MMO, the game doesn't seem to have any multiplayer content that truly requires teaming up with or battling other players. There are no raids to do or arenas to PvP in. So, it's MMO aspect is limited to being able to see other players run around doing their own quests and maybe chat with them if they are up for a chat.

There are also other jobs that you can "take" - a.k.a. you can switch classes - but you'll have to pay a whopping 5k coins to do so; a player's trade market where you can sell your loot to other players and vice versa; a bank to store items you don't want to lug around while questing, and a locksmith that opens locked loot crates for you for FREE 😃 There's a reputation system as well and some exclusive cosmetic items that go with it - keep an eye out for the rep vendor in Port Aria West.

Funnily enough, Antaria Online is free on browser and mobile (freemium to be specific since there's an in-game store selling premium currency which you can use to buy loot chests that randomly drops cosmetic items) , but they charge you $1 to buy it on Steam... so what gives? The game is the same on all platforms after all. So, unless you have $1 to burn, you might be better off playing the game on the platforms where it's free.

Some other stuff that I think are missing from the game:
- A "loot all" button
- A legend for the map
- Considering that the game's so grindy, maybe auto-combat?

In addition to the nice graphics and sound, generous bag and bank inventory space, and the many nice-looking cosmetic items, there is another (somewhat) good thing that I can say about the game - it's surprisingly "relaxing" to play since all you need to do is to use your mouse to select our targets (double click) and spam the number 1 key on your keyboard until it's dead. My mind gets to wander as I move from enemy to enemy, culling them all down into mere loot, but this ends up being a bit of a con for me because I spammed the number 1 key so many times, I think I got carpal tunnel in my left arm now 😣

I would also like commend the developers for not abandoning their game and still rolling out patches and events and stuff from time to time. Great job making the game loads incredibly fast as well. It was a very pleasant surprise and a sorely-needed change from all the other games I've played that has frustratingly long loading times.

Although my review may come off as somewhat sarcastic and pretty negative, I still think Antaria Online is just a typical (read: very grindy) mobile MMORPG that bugs out from time to time that may end up growing on you despite all its frustrating flaws. I really have nothing against it since some players might love playing the game - I know a much younger version of me would have, but not the adult version who has very little time or patience for unnecessarily-grindy MMOs.

That is not to say that I would recommend you to buy the game on Steam though... no, not at all. Instead, I'd recommend you to check out the game yourself on Kongregate[www.kongregate.com] and just let your mind wander as you play. All the repetition makes for an oddly relaxing experience... well, at least for me.

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