Heartwood Online

Heartwood Online is a free-to-play, cross-platform MMO available on Steam, Apple, and Android, with plans for console release. Explore a vast world, battle fearsome raid bosses, and choose your path through crafting, PvP and PvE battles, guilds, and player politics. Collect mounts, pick from four classes, and master various skills and equipment to enhance your gameplay experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Reviews

64%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,490 reviews

story9 positive mentions

grinding143 negative mentions

The game has a nostalgic feel reminiscent of classic MMORPGs, providing a fun and engaging experience.
The graphics and pixel art are well done, creating an enjoyable visual atmosphere.
The community is active and supportive, with developers responsive to player feedback.

The leveling system is excessively grindy, requiring a significant amount of time to progress.
There are numerous bugs and performance issues, including frequent disconnections and lag.
The drop rates for items are frustratingly low, making it difficult to obtain necessary resources for crafting and quests.

grinding
146 mentions
1 % positive mentions
1 % neutral mentions
98 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with players finding it excessively tedious and time-consuming. Many reviews highlight the high experience points required for leveling up, poor drop rates for essential items, and a lack of engaging content beyond repetitive monster killing. While some players enjoy the grind as a nostalgic element of MMORPGs, the consensus is that the current system needs significant adjustments to improve the overall experience.
- “I don't mind a game with grinding, but not grinding for basics that should naturally level with game progression; that's just frustrating.”
- “The idea is 5 stars, just missing something that isn't grinding dumb creatures the whole game.”
- “The game is generally enjoyable; however, a significant issue lies in the grinding and the level requirements for using weapons.”
- “Seriously, the grind to reach iron tier gear is nightmarishly long, tedious, and boring even with a party.”
- “Too much grinding is required to be at a decent level.”
story
105 mentions
9 % positive mentions
84 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The game's story is perceived as lacking depth and creativity, with many players expressing frustration over the simplistic and repetitive quest structure, primarily consisting of fetch and kill tasks. Reviewers highlight the need for more engaging missions, better quest tracking, and a clearer narrative to enhance the overall experience, as the current system leads to tedious grinding and unbalanced leveling. While some appreciate the graphics and potential of the game, the absence of a compelling storyline and varied quests detracts from its appeal.
- “I love this game; its story is very good, but there is a problem with leveling up that is a very slow process, and why can't we equip better equipment at low levels?”
- “This game has a lot of potential; I suggest adding a story to the game so that we don't just grind for stuff.”
- “Heartwood Online is an MMORPG with stunning graphics, immersive storytelling, and engaging character customization.”
- “No legit storyline, stats mean nothing, so grinding is for literally nothing.”
- “This game has a lot of potential, I suggest adding a story to the game so that we don't just grind for stuff.”
- “Game is grinding simulator, no quest etc just kill mobs, nothing else.”
gameplay
37 mentions
38 % positive mentions
54 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with players appreciating its intuitive combat mechanics and crafting system, but criticizing the slow leveling process and lack of engaging content. Many users expressed a desire for more quests and a better introduction to game mechanics, while others noted technical issues such as lag and crashes. Overall, while the game shows potential and has a vibrant community, it requires further optimization and content updates to enhance the overall experience.
- “The mechanics of this game are a lot better than other 2D MMORPGs. It's definitely worth a try for the long term, and my phone gets overheated; the game needs to be optimized 🙂”
- “A thrilling virtual adventure with immersive gameplay, stunning graphics, and a vibrant community.”
- “It's a relaxing game with beautiful gameplay. It's 100% free to play, newbie-friendly, and you can cut wood, gather plants, craft, kill mobs, hunt materials, and much more!”
- “I stopped playing after only 6 hours of gameplay.”
- “Good controls, effects, and combat, but the gameplay itself is very boring. There's almost no action because it's too much crafting/cutting down trees/mining concentrated. The classes have no name but have a description, and there's no menu to control which abilities you'll get.”
- “The constant bombardment of ads disrupts gameplay flow, making it frustrating to engage with the game for any extended period.”
graphics
29 mentions
59 % positive mentions
31 % neutral mentions
10 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received largely positive feedback, with many players praising the cute pixel art style and immersive visuals reminiscent of classic SNES RPGs. However, some users have reported issues such as frame rate drops and bugs that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the art style is considered well-executed and engaging, contributing to the game's appeal despite some technical shortcomings.
- “The graphics remind me of old SNES-style RPGs, but it's online, something that didn't exist back then for those types of games.”
- “Heartwood Online is an MMORPG with stunning graphics, immersive storytelling, and engaging character customization.”
- “Absolutely love the graphics and game concepts.”
- “Too much FPS drop while playing, aim sucks, graphics becoming worse, too many bugs and not phone friendly.”
- “All art style is really well-done but I couldn't play the game more due to server crashes and lag.”
- “Even though I can run other games full on graphics with decent FPS, this game just decided it would be a sideshow for its lifetime.”
monetization
17 mentions
53 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
47 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising the absence of intrusive ads and a non-pay-to-win model that only offers cosmetic purchases. However, others criticize it as a cash grab due to high prices for in-game items and a lack of meaningful content, suggesting that the game feels incomplete and overly focused on monetization. Overall, while many appreciate the ad-free experience, concerns about pricing and content depth persist.
- “No ads whatsoever and very minimal options for buying stuff; it's truly all about the grinding in this game, and I love it.”
- “This game has no ads; it's free with no pay-to-win system. All you can buy in the shop is only cosmetics without stats.”
- “No ads, just pick it up and play when I can.”
- “Lastly, it's a sad cash grab with an overpriced cash shop. 0/10, stay away!”
- “Find a better monetization strategy; that's truly disgusting.”
- “The constant bombardment of ads disrupts gameplay flow, making it frustrating to engage with the game for any extended period.”
optimization
13 mentions
15 % positive mentions
62 % neutral mentions
23 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with users reporting issues such as lag, crashes, overheating, and excessive battery drain. Many players express frustration over performance problems that hinder gameplay, including freezing and FPS drops, indicating a strong need for improvements in stability and overall optimization. Despite its potential, the game's current performance issues detract from the overall experience.
- “Mobile needs some more optimization.”
- “Improve game optimization and stability <3”
- “However, performance issues like lag and crashes need improvement.”
- “I want to give it 5 stars but its performance for me is way too awful to the point it's unplayable.”
- “This game is too laggy, overheating, and draining battery. I know it is a new game, but developers must improve the game performance first.”
stability
12 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant issue, with frequent freezing, glitches, and server disconnections reported by users. Many players experience prolonged loading times and random crashes, which detracts from the overall enjoyment and functionality of the game. Despite its potential, these stability problems have led to frustration and lower ratings.
- “This game is great but still freezes and disconnects from the server at random times even if the internet is stable, that is the only reason I didn't give a 5-star rating.”
- “It freezes while loading; it stays on the loading screen.”
- “Problematic game...only worth playing a few hours...took forever to log back in...buggy as hell...weak server...waste of time.”
music
8 mentions
38 % positive mentions
25 % neutral mentions
38 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed feedback; while some players enjoy it and find it enhances their experience, others note that it only plays once and then stops, leading to a lack of variety. Additionally, players have expressed a desire for background music to create a more relaxing atmosphere, especially during farming activities. There are also concerns about the inability to listen to external music or stories while playing.
- “Love the graphics, music, quests, pretty much everything!”
- “But please, I hope in the next update, add a music background so it will be relaxing while farming ☺️”
- “Grinding game, but it's fun; somehow the music stops after 3 minutes and there are only sound effects.”
- “Unable to listen to audible stories or music while playing.”
- “Can't play the game while listening to music or anything from other apps.”
- “Music only plays its song once then never repeats.”
humor
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Users find the humor in the game to be quirky and lighthearted, often highlighted by amusing character names and playful dialogue.
- “I love the quirky humor throughout the game; it always makes me laugh.”
- “The witty dialogue and hilarious character interactions kept me entertained.”
- “The game is filled with clever jokes and puns that add a delightful touch.”
emotional
1 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Users express that while the game has emotional potential, it requires improvements in gameplay mechanics, such as crafting and control responsiveness, to enhance the overall experience. Despite these issues, they acknowledge the game's good qualities and believe it can be further developed.