Black Gold Online is a free to play MMORPG developed by Snail Game. This game features a combination of Steampunk and Fantasy elements in the setting. The game is currently in its open beta phase and the below information might change over time. This game has a cash stop but never forces you to buy anything.
Character Creation
When you log into Black Gold Online for the first time, you are instantly taken to the faction selection screen. There are two main factions in the game, Isenhorst and Erlandir. Isenhorst is the steam punk faction and Erlandir in the fantasy faction. The next screen will take you to the class selection screen. There are 12 classes in the game, Punisher, Assassin, Spellsword, Blademaster, Skycaller, Pyromancer, Spectromancer, Geomancer, Gunslinger, Occultist, Thaumaturge, and Beastmaster. Once you have your class, you are taken to a very detailed character creation screen with lots of options and sliders.
Game Features
Black Gold Online has many different gameplay features, like Adventure System, Arena, Battlefield, Chambers of Greed, Energy Wall, Out Break, Instance System, Military Battlefield, and Mount based Combat or Mech Combat. Each mode unlocks at a different level. The Adventure system and Instance system are the main PvE systems, while Arena, Battlefield Energy Wall, Military Battlefield are PvP. Chambers of Greed is both PvE and PvE, it’s an open world dungeon that anyone can enter but you first have to discover it.
Black Gold Online also features a profession and guild system, as well as crafting and daily rewards. Most of these features are quite good but the game bombards you with them which can be confusing for the player. Similarly, the user interface feels cluttered.
Questing and leveling in Black Gold Online is quite easy. Most of the quests are “talk to this/that NPC” type of quests. Even though these types of quests are easy to do and help you level up fast, they become quite boring after a while. No matter which faction you pick, the quests up to level 10 are fast paced but really boring.
Black Gold Online is full of cut scenes; you get a cut scene when you create a new character and even while you are questing. However, none of the cut scenes has voice over and they look a bit outdated. Similarly, the graphic of the game look outdated but that could be because of the game being in a beta phase. Speaking of graphics, the game also features a model where you can farther lower your graphics setting to improve the games performances to have a better PvP experience.
Conclusion
To sum it all up, Black Gold Online is a free to play MMORPG that is currently in its open beta phase. The concept and features of this game sound promising but while playing it feels a bit dull and boring. Maybe it’s because its still in open beta testing and it might improve later on. I for one am really hoping that this game improves its quality as I truly like the idea of technology vs. fantasy.
