Mad World - Age of Darkness - MMORPG | Game Brain

Mad World - Age of Darkness - MMORPG Game Cover

A Desperate, Hardcore MMORPG with an Open World Setting There is a deep sense of despair in Mad World right now. This is a story about shuddering with rage and struggling with madness, to which we invite you to experience as well. Blood and bodily fluids from gigantic demon corpses have contaminated this land. 'Shadow Children' must work together to save this hopeless world. And it is necessary t…

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Play Modes

Reviews

45%

Audience ScoreBased on 284 reviews

graphics38 positive mentions

monetization11 negative mentions

The art style is unique and visually striking, reminiscent of graphic novels.
The dark and mature storyline is engaging and offers a refreshing departure from typical MMO narratives.
The community is generally helpful, and the developers seem to be responsive to player feedback.

The game suffers from severe technical issues, including lag, crashes, and a problematic tutorial that is overly difficult.
There are significant pay-to-win elements, with multiple currencies and monetization strategies that feel predatory.
The controls are clunky and unresponsive, making combat frustrating and less enjoyable.

graphics
66 mentions
58 % positive mentions
38 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their unique and striking art style, often compared to titles like "Darkest Dungeon" and "Don't Starve." Players appreciate the hand-drawn aesthetics and the gritty, immersive atmosphere, which enhance the overall experience. However, some users have noted performance issues, particularly in crowded scenes, and expressed that while the visuals are impressive, they cannot compensate for the game's shortcomings in gameplay mechanics.
- “The artwork is stunning, showcasing the undeniable talent of the artists involved.”
- “Graphics for me are really great; I love this style of gruesome apocalyptic setting. It seems like a really well-thought-out scene of hell on earth with well-drawn characters and biomes.”
- “The art style is gritty and unsettling, adding to the overall eerie atmosphere.”
- “I like it, but it's laggy when it comes to crowded monsters in pillars even on minimum graphic settings. Please fix it.”
- “Unfortunately, despite its unique art style and setting, this game is held back by poor controls and bad combat.”
- “However, some may find the visuals overwhelming, and the novelty may wear off for players seeking a more vibrant or varied aesthetic experience.”
story
65 mentions
42 % positive mentions
54 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The game's story is characterized by a dark and mature narrative that captivates players, featuring rich world-building and engaging characters. While some find the storyline compelling and well-crafted, others criticize its execution, including poor grammar and excessive dialogue. Overall, the story is a significant draw for those who appreciate depth and complexity, though it may not appeal to players primarily seeking gameplay.
- “The story is actually engaging.”
- “The dark, mature storyline is compelling and well-crafted, offering a refreshing departure from the more traditional, fantasy-themed MMOs.”
- “The storyline is actually pretty fleshed out from what I've played so far.”
- “The plot twists and turns in ways that often feel random and unnecessary, leaving the player feeling confused and unsatisfied.”
- “The excessive violence and darkness, combined with the lackluster story and gameplay, make it a game that is not worth the time or effort to play.”
- “There are parts in dialogue/story that made no sense as well as systems that don't have tutorials to explain them, and even the few 'help' text boxes that pop up are not helpful because of the bad translation.”
gameplay
39 mentions
15 % positive mentions
69 % neutral mentions
15 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its engaging combat mechanics and dark narrative, while others criticize it for being basic, poorly polished, and reminiscent of other titles like Diablo and Lost Ark. The lack of a robust dodge mechanic and the presence of monetization elements have also drawn negative feedback, leading to concerns about the overall enjoyment and depth of the gameplay experience. Despite its appealing art style, many feel that the gameplay mechanics are not sufficiently rewarding or innovative, making it a challenging choice for players seeking a polished MMO experience.
- “The art style is quite nice and properly gory; the gameplay isn't mind-blowing but is action-packed enough to keep you engaged. Doing even a simple click for the standard attack makes the game feel much more enjoyable than just an auto attack and abilities with global cooldowns.”
- “This game is rather unique and out there, from art style to atmosphere and surprising depth of various mechanics.”
- “Overall, the gameplay seems quite interesting, although there is quite a lot of kiting and AOEing of packs.”
- “The dodge mechanic is poor to the point where you will barely use it.”
- “The excessive violence and darkness, combined with the lackluster story and gameplay, make it a game that is not worth the time or effort to play.”
- “Absolutely horrendous, bad battle mechanics and keybinding is very limited to make it feel even somewhat manageable.”
monetization
19 mentions
16 % positive mentions
26 % neutral mentions
58 % negative mentions
The monetization in this game has received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing it as predatory and reminiscent of typical Korean cash grabs, featuring aggressive microtransactions, daily energy limits, and loot boxes. While some argue that the game remains playable without spending money, the overwhelming presence of ads and multiple currencies has led to a perception of it being a shameless pay-to-win scheme. Overall, players are divided, with some feeling that the monetization detracts significantly from the gameplay experience.
- “The monetization system is much better than in most similar projects.”
- “It has in-app purchases for cosmetics, but the game is completely playable with the gear you find from the monsters and bosses.”
- “The microtransactions work great though, who would've guessed?”
- “Pretty unique top-down hack and slash open world with dodging and jumping like in Dark Souls, set in a dystopian dark fantasy world. However, it suffers from very bad Korean monetization (as always) and unstable servers.”
- “They just took an awesome idea for a game, with a very interesting setting and visuals, and turned it into garbage by adding every awful monetization scheme they could find.”
- “This game is a huge gacha rolling, loot box peddling, daily energy limiting, shameless pay-to-win cash grab.”
grinding
10 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game is widely described as extremely grindy, reminiscent of other Korean MMOs, with players noting that significant time investment is required to progress, especially in terms of building character strength and overcoming DPS walls. While some players find enjoyment in the grind and the game's dark storyline, others express frustration with low drop rates and the necessity of grinding for hours to obtain decent items, particularly in a sparsely populated MMO environment.
- “Another life-destroying Diablo-like endless grinding game.”
- “The game is very grindy and has a Black Desert Online grind feel to it.”
- “Droprates are super unfun; you could be grinding for hours to get one decent item.”
music
9 mentions
44 % positive mentions
22 % neutral mentions
33 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised for its emotional depth and atmospheric quality, drawing comparisons to soundtracks from titles like Diablo IV and Metro 2033. While the soundtrack effectively complements the game's dark and gory themes, some reviewers suggest it could benefit from a more pronounced doom-like sound to enhance the overall experience. Overall, the voice acting and sound design contribute significantly to the game's immersive presentation.
- “The voice acting conveys a lot of emotion, and the soundtrack is just brilliant.”
- “The atmosphere is really nice; the sound effects and ambient music create a dreary vibe, reminiscent of music you might find in Diablo IV or maybe even Metro 2033.”
- “Music and sound design are well done.”
- “Soundtrack is fitting, but, in my opinion, could use more doom-like soundtracks due to its gore and sinister style.”
- “The music is touching, and the dialogues between characters feel quite natural and enjoyable.”
- “This MMO has a decent presentation, art similar to those seen in Darkest Dungeon, soundtrack similar to Diablo, and a dark, grim, gory world.”
atmosphere
8 mentions
50 % positive mentions
13 % neutral mentions
38 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its dark fantasy elements, complemented by immersive sound effects and ambient music that evoke a dreary vibe reminiscent of titles like Diablo IV and Metro 2033. The gritty art style and strong world-building contribute to an eerie and unsettling environment, making it a compelling experience for fans of mature, atmospheric games. Overall, the game's unique aesthetic and depth enhance its captivating atmosphere.
- “The atmosphere is also really nice; the sound effects and ambient music create a dreary vibe, reminiscent of music you might find in Diablo IV or maybe even Metro 2033.”
- “The art style is gritty and unsettling, adding to the overall eerie atmosphere.”
- “What the game gets absolutely right is the atmosphere; it's really dark fantasy and the game is very mature.”
- “This game is rather unique and out there, from art style to atmosphere and surprising depth of various mechanics.”
optimization
8 mentions
38 % positive mentions
25 % neutral mentions
38 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it performs well on various systems, many players report significant lag and performance issues, particularly in crowded areas and during large events. Some users find the game poorly optimized, leading to a frustrating experience, despite occasional stability.
- “The game is well-optimized for various systems, but players might encounter occasional bugs or lag, especially in densely populated areas or during large-scale events.”
- “Madworld MMO's performance is generally stable, but not without issues.”
- “If you were having performance issues before, try turning this off and try it again.”
- “Interesting game, runs terribly for what it is (not optimized at all)”
- “Even that aside... the servers are very laggy and the game is horribly optimized.”
- “A lot of people are having performance issues and I believe this is the main culprit.”
stability
3 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been criticized for clunky controls, frequent bugs, low frame rates, and server issues, leading to audio glitches and stutters. Players have also reported frustrating experiences with the tutorial, including being booted out and forced to replay it. Overall, the game's performance is marred by a lack of communication from developers amidst ongoing requests for microtransactions.
- “Clunky controls, unreasonably designed tutorial, buggy game with low FPS, and it booted me out of the tutorial, forcing me to replay it.”
- “Servers are busted, audio glitches and stutters, and the translation is barely serviceable, while the devs remain silent as they ask for microtransactions.”
character development
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is praised for its depth and potential, with players noting that it offers a rich experience that encourages exploration and engagement with quests, as evidenced by the slow progression to level 25 after 38 hours of gameplay.
- “It has a lot to offer in terms of character development.”
- “Character development has great potential; I've only reached level 25 after 38 hours because I take my time to read the quests.”
emotional
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its touching music and natural dialogues, which enhance the overall experience. However, some users feel that certain choices can come off as awkward, potentially detracting from the emotional impact.
- “The music is touching, and the dialogues between characters feel quite natural and enjoyable.”
humor
1 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game features a dark narrative that hints at rich humor, but the poor grammar significantly detracts from the overall experience, making it difficult for players to fully appreciate the comedic elements.