There’s Early Access, and then there’s extremely Early Access that you’re low-key unsure about whether or not it constitutes at the current point in time as a game. The Yellow King is decidedly hailing from the camp of the latter, for better or worse. We have on our hands another MMORPG (there simply isn’t enough of them) crafted from polygons. The standard fare is all present (or planned, at least) with dungeons, PvP, boss raids, guilds, and everything else you’d expect.
An interesting note is that dungeons are allegedly endless and infinite, meaning you’re free to farm to your heart’s desire; beyond that, it thus far seems to be somewhat lackluster, even for an Early Access title. Purchasing the title while it’s in Early Access will give players a lifetime subscription (meaning that the developers at Spellbook plan on having some type of subscription base), so if it interests you at the current price point of $25, it’s a gamble that you’re free to take.
The Lovecraft-styled plot and bosses are an interesting take as well, although they cannot carry the title alone. The primary point of reviewers is that the titles saving grace is that it’s Early Access, and the developers have absolutely been a vocal part of their community from launch on February 6th.
The Yellow King – new MMORPG has launched in early access on Steam – https://t.co/y0LKjvYzEC pic.twitter.com/Cv03yco8XM
— Cyber Saber (@Cyber_Saber) February 8, 2020
The amount of content that is consumable at the moment is beyond bare-bones, and that’s been frustrating other, yet equally vocal, consumers.
The Yellow King currently features two attacks that will be used until your fingers fall off. The attacks aren’t necessarily flashy, but they connect well enough against the limited number of enemies that are currently in the title. The drop rates are a different story, entirely; farming for an hour straight will net you only a handful of gold, about 50 pieces if you’re fully committed to the grind. Items in shops cost tens of thousands of gold, stretching up to hundreds of thousands, meaning you will need to farm for 100 hours straight to afford the cheapest piece of gear in the shop.
It’s simply not plausible to purchase, and item drop rates are equally low.
The camera is tied to your movement, and at an odd angle, meaning it’ll constantly jostle around as you’re making your way through the dungeons (or overworld), which can make positioning difficult for boss fights.
All in all, many find it tastes far more like a tech demo than an Early Access title, and development studio Spellbook has a gargantuan mountain ahead of them if they plan on making something worth visiting.
