Age of Conan: Unchained

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Age of Conan: Unchained is a multiplayer role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Funcom and was released on February 22, 2013. It received positive reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

Age of Conan: Unchained is an award-winning and critically acclaimed massively multiplayer online game set in the sexy, savage and brutal world of Conan the Barbarian. Tread in the footsteps of the greatest fantasy hero of all time, and explore the vast reaches of Hyboria. Choose between twelve different classes, from Barbarian to Demonologist, and fight your way to riches and glory as you battle …

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65%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,466 reviews

story80 positive mentions

stability35 negative mentions

Engaging combat system with unique combo mechanics that require player skill.
Rich atmosphere and lore that immerses players in the world of Conan.
Variety of classes and character customization options, allowing for diverse playstyles.

Frequent login issues and account management problems, making it difficult for new players to access the game.
Low player population, leading to challenges in finding groups for dungeons and raids.
Outdated graphics and technical issues, including bugs and performance problems that detract from the overall experience.

story
272 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
65%
6%
The game's story is a mixed bag, with many players praising the rich lore and engaging quests, particularly in the initial Tortage zone, which features fully voiced dialogue and immersive storytelling. However, as players progress, the narrative quality tends to decline, becoming more grind-heavy and less focused on story-driven content, leading to a sense of repetitiveness and disconnection from the plot. Overall, while the game offers a compelling narrative experience for fans of the Conan universe, its execution can feel lacking in later stages, with many quests feeling uninspired or overly familiar.
- “The starting zone, Tortage, offers one of the best early-game experiences in any MMO, with a fully voiced storyline that feels engaging and personal.”
- “The narrative design in these first 20 levels is immersive, with personal quests that help you feel connected to the world.”
- “The story is set in a great lore-based world, and this would be the only reason to recommend this game to anyone.”
- “The story and the quests seem to have potential, but the execution of that potential is poor and boring; I can't say it really took my interest at all.”
- “However, after Tortage, the narrative quality starts to dip, becoming more of a traditional MMORPG structure, with less emphasis on story-driven quests and more on grind-heavy objectives.”
- “Now even the starter zone is broken; there are huge gaps between main quests where you just run around doing a billion fetch quests or grinding a billion low-level crocodiles just so you can get to the next level requirement to continue the real story.”
graphics
217 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
54%
11%
The graphics of the game, originally released in 2008, are generally considered decent but show their age, with many players noting that they were impressive for their time. While some aspects, like character models and environmental details, still hold up well, others feel outdated compared to modern standards. Overall, the visuals contribute to an immersive atmosphere, but many reviewers express a desire for a graphical update to enhance the experience further.
- “For a game released in 2008, Age of Conan’s graphics still hold up remarkably well.”
- “The graphics are still damn good and I'm very pleased with them.”
- “The graphics are beautiful even after a bunch of years, and the combat system is good, balanced, and easy to get used to.”
- “Graphics are definitely dated and the game is not very intuitive.”
- “The graphics are bad.”
- “The graphics look as dated as is to be expected from an MMO nearing its 10th anniversary, with the single worst character design feature in the history of bad character design features.”
gameplay
130 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
62%
10%
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, with many players appreciating its unique combat mechanics and engaging lore, while others criticize its outdated systems and lack of innovation. The combo-based combat and class variety offer depth, but some find the mechanics clunky and the overall experience lacking in polish, especially in group content. Despite its flaws, the game retains a dedicated player base who enjoy its challenging gameplay and immersive world, though many feel it could benefit from modern updates and improvements.
- “The gameplay is fun and engaging, and for the time, 2008, it would be considered revolutionary.”
- “There are plenty of quests to keep you interested, challenging combat, and addictive gameplay.”
- “Unique combat mechanics unlike any other MMO, war mammoth mounts for PvP wars, and plenty of PvE and dungeons for those who aren’t interested in the PvP.”
- “Sad to say, it's really outdated for an MMO after 15 years, with annoying quest mechanics and a really low player base (roughly around 50-70 these last years).”
- “Over a decade and nothing in the way of any real updates to the engine or the gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is not satisfying and the characters are poorly written.”
music
96 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
68%
29%
3%
The music in the game is universally praised as one of its standout features, with many reviewers calling it "top tier" and "the best soundtrack in gaming." The orchestral score effectively captures the dark fantasy atmosphere of the Conan universe, enhancing the immersive experience with epic and haunting melodies. Overall, the soundtrack is described as a masterpiece that significantly contributes to the game's lore and ambiance, making it a memorable aspect for players.
- “The game’s orchestral soundtrack is fantastic, capturing both the epic and tragic nature of Conan’s world, with tribal drums and haunting melodies that perfectly fit the tone of the game.”
- “I couldn't start a review for such a game as Age of Conan without making this clear at once: this game has the best music I have ever experienced in any game, by far!”
- “The soundtrack is the best in gaming, to date.”
- “Fatalities and the music cannot save this game.”
- “+ decent soundtrack but it's mostly looped and annoying if you're in the same place for a while.”
- “Although the music is not quite like the movie soundtrack, it comes close.”
atmosphere
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
35%
8%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and gritty portrayal of the Conan universe, featuring beautiful landscapes, detailed environments, and a strong sense of lore. Players appreciate the unique blend of dark, mature themes with cozy elements, enhanced by a masterful soundtrack and engaging storytelling. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered one of its standout features, creating a captivating experience that resonates with both long-time fans and newcomers alike.
- “The gloomy and harsh atmosphere of the world of Conan is perfectly conveyed in the game.”
- “The entire art direction of lighting, textures, color palette, weather, and surface step sounds are all fine-tuned to convey the atmosphere.”
- “Immersion and atmosphere are stunning; the music and sound are some of the best I've encountered.”
- “Especially the day and night mechanic was kind of interesting in making a night single-player-like experience, meanwhile day is staying as multiplayer, but it's too simple to change the whole atmosphere and doesn't even have any impact after level 20.”
- “The lack of cartoon graphics creates a harsh and gloomy atmosphere, which makes the game more realistic and attractive.”
- “It just sucks because it's such a great IP and atmosphere, but Funcom is just not the right company to keep something going long term.”
stability
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
97%
The game's stability is a significant concern among users, with many reporting frequent bugs, crashes, and server latency issues that detract from the overall experience. While some players acknowledge the game's potential and enjoyable content, the persistent technical problems and lack of developer support have left many feeling frustrated and skeptical about its future. Overall, the game is described as "very buggy" and "awkward," making it difficult for players to fully engage without encountering issues.
- “Still runs great!”
- “The game maintains a smooth performance without any crashes.”
- “I've experienced no bugs or glitches, making for a stable gaming experience.”
- “Freezes, crashes, just does not work.”
- “The game freezes up constantly then there is this random server latency that out of nowhere goes from 40 ms to over 4,000 ms latency.”
- “It's a super buggy game and it's nearly dead due to its age so you can't be confident they'll fix anything at this point.”
grinding
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
3%
93%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and repetitive, especially in the early and mid-game stages where manual button mashing is required for combat. While some appreciate the social aspects and the sense of progression through grinding, others criticize the slow leveling and excessive fetch quests that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game is deemed enjoyable for those who are willing to invest time into grinding, but it may not appeal to players who prefer a more streamlined progression system.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Honestly, core combat seems alright for an MMO made in 2008, but there are some serious problems like not having an auto attack, and this makes early and mid-game especially tedious and annoying because you literally need to mash the button to attack. After playing for even a short amount of time, your fingers will hurt like hell.”
- “After a certain level, all you'll be doing is grinding to reach the next required level to move on to the next worlds and actually progress with the game. If you're into that, then it's a really fun game, but the question is for how long?”
- “I played until level 15 and could not do any more as it felt more tedious than a manual labor job.”
optimization
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
53%
29%
Overall, "Age of Conan" is criticized for its poor optimization, with players reporting frequent bugs, crashes, and significant performance issues, particularly during large-scale PvP battles. While some improvements have been noted over the years, many users still experience lag spikes and frame rate drops, even on modern hardware. Despite its engaging story and atmosphere, the game's technical shortcomings detract from the overall experience.
- “Apparently it's still as good, better optimized of course but very little marketing if any and a small player base.”
- “The DX9 v3 is nearly the same quality, but the game is much better optimized compared to the DX10 client.”
- “Age of Conan’s performance has improved over the years, but it still suffers from occasional bugs, crashes, and optimization issues, especially in large-scale PvP battles like sieges.”
- “Though at one time I mostly enjoyed this game, despite its flaws, the frequent lag spikes, poor optimization, and ridiculously common frame rate drops have not been addressed.”
- “There is terrible stuttering and FPS drops when using the DX10 client.”
monetization
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
55%
27%
The monetization model in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing it as overly aggressive and reminiscent of a cash grab, particularly due to the prevalence of microtransactions. While some users find the monetization easy to ignore, others feel it detracts from the overall experience, especially with high prices for additional content and character slots. Despite these concerns, players note that the game is not pay-to-win, but rather encourages spending to progress faster.
- “Sure, there are microtransactions, and they can be a little shoved in your face at times, but it's still not pay-to-win; it's rather 'pay to get levels a lot faster.'”
- “Funcom... microtransactions should be micro; over £10 is not micro. £5 is a reasonable price to pay for a character slot; more than that and you are just gouging.”
- “While the exact reasons for his departure aren't clear, it felt like a cash grab, and it didn’t seem like he cared much by the end.”
- “I can't suggest anyone pays money for the additional content, boosts, microtransactions, etc., but you don't need to.”
- “Too many microtransactions.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in "Age of Conan" is characterized by its dry wit and bitter undertones, reflecting the cunning and subversive nature of its characters and intricate plots. Players appreciate the clever dialogue, which often elicits genuine laughter amidst the darker themes of power and intrigue. Overall, the game's humor adds depth to its storytelling, making it a notable aspect of the experience.
- “In terms of lore, Age of Conan never ceases to surprise you with how cunning and subversive some characters are. The dry humor, the bitter moods, and the complex, interwoven plots and courtly intrigues add to the experience, highlighting the pettiness of the stabs and counter-stabs driven by lust for power, wealth, or flesh!”
- “I found myself laughing several times at the dialogue.”
- “Funny thing is that they state that Age of Conan and The Secret World were the major contributors to the revenues.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players highlight the game's high replayability due to its top-tier music, engaging quests, and a wealth of activities that ensure there's always something to do.
- “The music is top tier, the quests are engaging, and the replay value is incredible; there's always something to do.”
- “Every playthrough feels fresh, thanks to the diverse choices and outcomes available.”
- “The game offers multiple paths and endings, making it a joy to replay and discover new experiences.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, with some experiencing moments of deep impact, such as tears during pivotal scenes. However, others find the story lacking, leading to disengagement and a diminished emotional experience. Overall, the emotional resonance varies significantly among players, influenced by personal attachment and narrative engagement.
- “Admittedly, I am emotionally attached to this game, but let me try to stay objective.”
- “Tears welled up in his eyes when he realized what exactly was at stake.”
- “The story was boring; it might have been okay, but I lost interest while constantly adjusting my settings.”
- “The emotional depth was lacking, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
- “I felt no emotional impact from the events in the game, which left me feeling detached.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The character development in this older theme park MMO is praised for being engaging and commendable, despite the game's dated graphics and some questionable design choices, such as the controversial character attire. Overall, players appreciate the depth of character progression, even as the visual elements reflect the game's age.
- “A nice older theme park MMO that has commendable and engaging character development.”
- “The graphics look as dated as expected from an MMO nearing its 10th anniversary, with the single worst character design feature in the history of bad character design - weird paint on thongs, which seems to cater to childish prudes.”

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81%Critics’ scoreBased on 3 critic reviews

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45h Median play time

423h Average play time

10-294h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 17 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Age of Conan: Unchained is a role playing game with fantasy theme.

Age of Conan: Unchained is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 423 hours playing Age of Conan: Unchained.

Age of Conan: Unchained was released on February 22, 2013.

Age of Conan: Unchained was developed by Funcom.

Age of Conan: Unchained has received positive reviews from players and positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its stability.

Age of Conan: Unchained is a multiplayer game.

Similar games include EverQuest II, Dungeons & Dragons Online, RIFT, The Elder Scrolls Online, Fallen Earth and others.

Age of Conan: Unchained

Platforms

PC Review - 'Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures'

Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures

Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures review

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