Otherland

About

Otherland is a multiplayer role playing game. It was developed by Drago Entertainment and was released on September 12, 2016. It received neutral reviews from players.

"Otherland: Next" is a massively multiplayer role-playing game based on Tad Williams' critically acclaimed novels, featuring a new storyline and spectacular visuals using the Unreal Engine. Explore diverse simulated worlds ranging from sci-fi to medieval, engaging in activities such as challenges, dungeons, PvP battlegrounds, and trading while fighting the NeoGrail to save the network's inhabitants. However, be prepared for some bugs in this virtual multiverse.

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42%

Audience ScoreBased on 479 reviews

story57 positive mentions

stability62 negative mentions

The game has a unique and visually appealing world, inspired by the Otherland book series.
The character customization options are diverse, allowing players to create unique avatars.
The developers are responsive to community feedback and are actively working on improving the game.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs and performance issues, making it difficult to play.
Combat feels clunky and unresponsive, with a lack of satisfying feedback during battles.
The tutorial is poorly designed, providing little guidance and leaving players confused about gameplay mechanics.

story
233 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
69%
7%
The story of the game is described as intriguing and visually appealing, drawing inspiration from Tad Williams' "Otherland" novels, but suffers from execution issues such as linear quest design and numerous bugs that hinder progression. While the aesthetic and world-building are praised, many players find the quests repetitive and frustrating, often involving escort or fetch tasks that detract from the overall narrative experience. Despite these shortcomings, some players appreciate the unique themes and potential of the story, suggesting that it could be more engaging with further development and polish.
- “The story of Otherland traverses these themes well, dealing with simulations that are collapsing, firewalls, changing your code, and many other topics perfect for a sci-fi MMO.”
- “The worlds in Otherland are unique, visually stunning, and all have incredible attention to detail.”
- “The story is immersive and very enjoyable.”
- “The quests are boring at best and slogs at worst, especially once you get a few worlds in and they stop being shy about it.”
- “The story had promise, but was kind of bland.”
- “But suffice to say this game lacks a coherent story - a reason for the player-character to exist in this world.”
graphics
119 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
54%
3%
The graphics of the game are often praised for their unique art style and beautiful environments, creating an immersive atmosphere that enhances the storytelling. However, many players report significant graphical glitches, performance issues, and a lack of optimization, which detracts from the overall experience. While the visuals are appealing, they are not consistently up to modern standards, leading to mixed feelings about the game's graphical quality.
- “Beautiful concept and artwork in so many ways, and interesting as hell story.”
- “The graphics, while not state-of-the-art, are very detailed and - together with some really nice music and sound effects - provide a very immersive atmosphere.”
- “I really like the graphic style and the colors which are so completely different from other games.”
- “Beyond broken though with graphical, audio, and terrain glitches.”
- “If it wasn't for the setting and aesthetic, I wouldn't have forced myself to play the time I did.”
- “The graphics are not really up to speed with today's standards.”
gameplay
74 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
71%
11%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players highlighting significant issues such as poor mechanics, hit detection problems, and frequent bugs that detract from the overall experience. While some find the combat mechanics enjoyable and the game visually appealing, others criticize it for being clunky, repetitive, and lacking depth. Overall, players suggest that the gameplay feels unfinished and secondary to the game's artistic and narrative elements, making it a challenging experience for those seeking engaging mechanics.
- “Otherland features a wide range of mechanics and activities such as challenges, dungeons, PvP battlegrounds, trading, player housing, and clan areas, just to mention a few.”
- “The universe is really well crafted, all graphic details seem to be perfected and refined to their peak, and the gameplay is quite enjoyable; I do like my marksman!”
- “I have to admit, the setting is what seduced me first about the game, but I also ended up liking the mechanics and gameplay, even though I'm usually turned off by the standard MMO experience.”
- “Most mechanics are really bad, poorly implemented, and sometimes it feels like the mechanics are changing in real time, which is very confusing.”
- “The hit detection is messed up, and regularly no damage is registered. This is not an official miss mechanic; it's a straight-up non-stop bug throughout the entire game.”
- “The gameplay even in the tutorial left much to be desired and a sour taste in my mouth.”
stability
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
97%
The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous users reporting severe bugs, glitches, and crashes that render it nearly unplayable. Common issues include graphical and audio problems, combat mechanics that often fail, and quests that can break or disappear entirely. While some players find humor in the game's flaws or appreciate its visuals, the overwhelming consensus is that significant improvements are needed for a stable experience.
- “The combat as a warrior isn't as buggy as I was led to believe, and the world is surreal, making it a perfect experience for me.”
- “The game runs great for me with none of the bugs and glitches I've heard regular mention of.”
- “Despite some initial lag in the tutorial, the overall stability of the game has been impressive.”
- “I see a lot of romanticizing of this game from some reviews, but take it from me, it's always been a buggy, unplayable mess.”
- “It was plagued with optimization issues, crashes, numerous bugs, disconnects, and other strange glitches.”
- “This game is full of glitches, bugs, crashes, and freezes.”
music
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
41%
9%
The music in the game is widely praised for its quality and variety, with each area featuring unique soundtracks that enhance the immersive experience. Players appreciate the atmospheric compositions, which range from smooth jazz to techno, effectively complementing the game's visuals and themes. However, some users noted issues with missing music in certain parts and expressed a desire for a more prominent soundtrack throughout the gameplay.
- “Every store and every area has a unique soundtrack attached to it, and these songs are full-length, complete quality songs. My favorite bar is Petals, but Permanent Ink has the best song.”
- “The soundtrack and ambience throughout the game is immersive, varied, and beautiful.”
- “The music was always suited to a region and appropriately complemented the ambiance.”
- “Can't get past the initial 'verifying' screen and so doomed to listening to really bad electronic music forever or until killing the running process with task manager.”
- “This game is awful past the login music; I understood nothing, nor did I care. Whoever made this needs to understand how to make a freaking MMO.”
- “The 'soundtrack' of the game is a single instrument (synthesizer) playing a few simple tones, and the sound effects feel very canned.”
optimization
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
67%
14%
The game's optimization has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many players reporting severe performance issues, crashes, and bugs. While some users note that optimization has improved slightly, the overall consensus is that the game remains a "buggy, unoptimized mess" that struggles to run smoothly even on recommended hardware. Players express hope for future updates, but current performance is a significant barrier to enjoyment.
- “Optimization has improved.”
- “Some minor graphical issues that I'm sure future optimization plans the devs have will fix.”
- “Just needs some optimization which will usually come after full release and NVIDIA (or the other graphics cards) get a hold of it to create the patches.”
- “It was plagued with optimization issues, crashes, numerous bugs, disconnects, and other strange glitches.”
- “It is a buggy, unoptimized mess, and to make matters worse, despite multiple developer changes, the base game seems to have remained the same throughout.”
- “The game is a hot mess of technical and performance issues.”
atmosphere
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
25%
17%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its unique, surreal, and visually striking qualities, with many players highlighting the captivating artwork, environment design, and haunting soundtrack that create an immersive experience. Despite some gameplay shortcomings, the atmospheric elements are considered the standout feature, making it a memorable and compelling MMO. However, opinions on the sound atmosphere vary, with some finding it less engaging.
- “But Josh's playthrough reminded me that the real treasure here isn't the MMO or the game itself, but rather the artwork, scenery, atmosphere, and acid trip of a story.”
- “Despite these issues, Otherland is a truly unique and captivating MMO, and I absolutely feel it’s worth overlooking the problems with it just to experience the incredible atmosphere, environment design, and beautifully haunting worlds that the game has to offer.”
- “The game uses its gorgeous visuals and musical soundtrack to create an eerie and unsettling atmosphere, which I find compelling.”
- “Sound atmosphere is rather boring.”
- “It's a different atmosphere than most other MMOs.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is initially entertaining, featuring some funny dialogue and colorful elements, but it quickly becomes repetitive and tedious for many players. While some appreciate the comedic aspects and inside jokes, others find the overall experience marred by disjointed storytelling and numerous bugs, leading to a mixed reception regarding its comedic value.
- “I have no clue how housing will work at this stage, but if it's as funny and colorful as the rest of the game, it should be a nice addition.”
- “The game itself is very funny and looks very cool.”
- “One: that's really funny because of an inside joke at work.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
83%
Players find the grinding in the game to be initially amusing but quickly devolving into a tedious experience, particularly due to the linear progression and repetitive quests. While the world design is praised as a highlight, many feel that the grinding detracts from the overall enjoyment, suggesting that the game would benefit from a stronger focus on its narrative rather than traditional MMO questing.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding and keeps you engaged.”
- “The grind is satisfying and offers a real sense of progression.”
- “It's hilarious at first, but quickly becomes tedious as hell.”
- “There is one thing that really pushes this game up and that is the world design; it is truly a spectacle and worth experiencing if you are able to suffer through some tedious quests and janky fights.”
- “The ones that exist give you a very linear progression up to about level 35, and quests are where the bulk of the experience comes from, so that's pretty much as far as you can get without grinding.”
monetization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game has been criticized as a cash grab, with players feeling that it lacks meaningful content and customization options. Many express frustration over misleading advertisements and the presence of merchants that do not offer any real items for sale, contributing to a sense of disappointment and stagnation in gameplay. Overall, the monetization strategy appears to detract from the overall experience rather than enhance it.
- “Bottom line: cash grab scam.”
- “Everything feels stale; there are merchants who don't actually sell anything despite being in a store advertising stuff. During my almost 3 hours, I've only seen one other player, and they have a focus on customization but nothing to customize with.”
- “The glare of advertisements and television screens obscures your vision when viewed from certain angles.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
33%
Character development is noted for its cool design, but overall feedback indicates that it lacks depth, with minimalistic elements overshadowing the potential for richer character growth. Additionally, issues with the HUD and controls detract from the overall experience.
- “The character design is pretty cool.”
- “The character development is engaging and adds depth to the gameplay.”
- “I love how the characters evolve throughout the story.”
- “Other than that, the HUD is all over the place, the controls are janky, and the character design is far too minimal.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report a strong emotional impact, with some experiencing profound moments of realization that evoke tears, while others express frustration and disappointment, leading to a negative emotional response.
- “Tears welled up in his eyes when he realized what exactly was at stake.”