Like China itself, Age of Wulin (also called Age of Wushu) is a game that doesn't go along with Western precedent, but you know what? We’re absolutely fine with that, as despite enjoying where MMORPGs have gone over the years, we’re still hankering for a studio of considerable size and wealth to imprint the genre with new ideas, principles and philosophies. That’s exactly where Snail Games come in, as this free-to-play effort has already taken China by storm, and if gPotato get their substantial localisation duties right then there’s no reason why Age of Wulin can’t be as popular in Europe as well.
That’s a bold claim to be sure, but Age of Wulin boasts a few stand-out features which should make developers fundamentally rethink whether they’re approaching this online gaming lark properly. What are they you ask? Well stop interrupting for two bloody seconds and we’ll tell you.
Age of Wulin seeks to emulate the sort of themes you’d expect to find in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon with a world set in ancient medieval China during the Ming Dynasty. This melding of fantasy and historical concepts leads to combat where warriors are able to run on water and jump buildings in a single bound, yet this mythical game-world still has a healthy dose of reality with a host of different crafting careers available to the player from mining to smithing. The game offers a much more immersive experience than other Chinese MMORPGs such as from Dragon Oath from ChangYou.
Age of Wushu Gameplay
This novel setting feeds directly into Wulin’s progression system which is classless and level-less. All players are able to train their character down any of the game’s 17 different professions – both violent and non-violent. You could become a blacksmith and make your own weapons, or learn calligraphy and inspire others to be better fighters with your art. This setting has been explored before in MMORPGs, most notably with Guild Wars: Factions, but Age of Wulin has a much more sandbox structure.
We were told that the combat system will rely purely on skill use, with time invested in a particularly skill tree not always promising success. That sort of philosophy hasn't been seen in this kind of game for a while, but it should lend itself well to compelling PvP bouts, as it’s impossible to glean the strength of a team, their skills or how long they've been playing when you first get into the ring with them, as there’s no level there to reference.
THE LONE WARRIOR
It isn't all about the social experience though, as Wulin has hundreds of different quests, seven different factions, or sects, to ally yourself with and a comprehensive reputation system which should lead to different quests unlocking in accordance with moral decisions you've made previously.
The really crazy thing though, and the feature that has us most excited, is that when players stop controlling their character, he or she will continue to exist in the game-world – only they’ll be controlled by an AI. There won’t be any way for players to schedule activities for their persona once offline, and when they log back in they may find that the AI has completed some menial activities for them, trained in a few more skills or gotten themselves kidnapped by a rival sect or player clan. That may sound frustrating, but to us it sounds like the coolest feature as it gives an element of frailty to every single player on the servers, regardless of their weapons, Armor or skills, and that component coupled with the skill-less progression system – where nobody knows how strong somebody is when they meet them – should result in an uneasiness and a platform which is ripe for telling fantastic stories much like EVE Online.
Like a true sandbox, Age of Wulin’s greatest stories won’t be what the developers produce, instead it’ll be tales of what the community has been up to and that’s very exciting. Snail Games and gPotato have already put a video editor into the game too, so instead of just hearing about this stories players should be able to see them in all their glory. There’s plenty more to find out about this ambitious game and some of its features prompt more questions then answers, but that doesn't mean we aren't excited to learn more.
