Rend

Rend is a fantasy role-playing game that combines survival elements with competitive and cooperative play. Choose to play solo or join one of three factions in Faction War mode, battling enemy players and taming creatures in the harsh world of Nordic myth. With deep talent trees and skill systems, players have the freedom to choose how they want to play and fight, earning metaprogression and rewards as they ascend to legendary heights. Despite some bugs, Rend boasts awesome game mechanics, perfect graphics, and a phenomenal soundtrack. However, be prepared for a lot of grinding.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Reviews

52%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,874 reviews

gameplay60 positive mentions

grinding206 negative mentions

Unique concept combining survival and faction-based gameplay
Beautiful graphics and immersive world
Active developer support with frequent updates

Severe balance issues leading to one faction dominating
Griefing and trolling affecting gameplay experience
Lack of meaningful solo play options and reliance on teamwork

gameplay
278 mentions
22 % positive mentions
73 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Rend is characterized by a blend of survival, RPG, and faction-based mechanics, offering a unique experience that encourages teamwork and strategic planning. While many players appreciate the depth and creativity of the mechanics, some express concerns about balance issues, exploitability, and the need for further refinement, particularly regarding catch-up mechanics and the overall pacing of progression. Overall, the game shows promise with its engaging systems, though it still requires significant updates to address existing flaws and enhance player experience.
- “Absolutely love the reckoning mechanic and its scheduled postings of when the events occur.”
- “The systems, mechanics, crafting, building, pets, mounts, and combat feel fleshed out already and this game is still in early access.”
- “The gameplay feels great, good movement, lush environment, a lot to do to progress as a member of a faction.”
- “My biggest issue with the game are some of the game mechanics.”
- “Game focuses far too much on extremely tedious and boring gameplay mechanics.”
- “Community has been ravaged by its poor mechanics, desync problems, griefing, elder abuse, overpowered factions and a host of other issues that will drive you away after about 50-100 hours in.”
grinding
206 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Grinding in the game is a prominent and polarizing aspect, with many players noting it as both a core mechanic and a source of frustration. While some enjoy the cooperative effort and sense of accomplishment that comes from grinding for resources and gear, others find it excessively tedious and time-consuming, often leading to burnout. Overall, the game caters to those who appreciate a grind-heavy experience, but it may not appeal to players seeking a more balanced or less repetitive gameplay style.
- “It's a grindy mess whose simple UI and charming art style hide several obtuse and barely functional game systems.”
- “This game is a waste of time; you spend 4 days farming and getting resources, then the reckoning happens and you lose everything because a faction is further along than you.”
- “The game is extremely grindy, combat is relatively poor, menus are extremely unintuitive and unfriendly to new players, and nothing in the game tells you how to do vital things.”
graphics
164 mentions
57 % positive mentions
35 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the beautiful and vibrant art style reminiscent of cartoon aesthetics, while others criticize the outdated animations and performance issues. Despite the appealing visuals, some players note that the game struggles with technical execution, leading to lag and frame rate drops. Overall, while the graphics are often described as stunning and unique, they are overshadowed by gameplay and server-related concerns.
- “The graphics of this game are amazing, and the music is as well.”
- “Beautiful and unique art style.”
- “The graphics are gorgeous, albeit the AI skeleton/animations can be a bit wonky sometimes, they look beautiful being that.”
- “Outdated graphics, animations, literally everything. The worst survival game I've ever played.”
- “Runs like a potato on my PC, which is a pretty great machine and can run plenty of games of similar graphical quality.”
- “Doesn't matter whether my graphics are on ultra or lowest with 720p, it's always at 9fps.”
stability
70 mentions
3 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
97 % negative mentions
The game is widely criticized for its numerous bugs, glitches, and stability issues, which significantly impact gameplay, especially in core areas like PvP and pet mechanics. While some players acknowledge that these problems are typical for early access titles, many express frustration over the lack of communication and responsiveness from the developers regarding fixes. Overall, the game's stability is seen as a major drawback, hindering its potential despite some enjoyable features.
- “Greatly fleshed out system for early access, runs great!”
- “It's current state is a buggy mess with no populated servers, a direct result of their decision to rush early access and ignore the critical feedback that resulted.”
- “Terrible game full of bugs, glitches, exploits, and has no balance.”
- “Fun and interesting under the right circumstances, but buggy, prone to crashing, terribly unbalanced, and cursed with uncommunicative devs.”
optimization
64 mentions
16 % positive mentions
63 % neutral mentions
22 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed feedback, with many players noting significant performance issues, bugs, and glitches, particularly on lower-end systems. While some praise its smooth performance and overall polish for an early access title, others express frustration over memory leaks and lag, especially in later stages of gameplay. Overall, while the game shows potential, it requires further optimization to enhance the experience for a broader range of hardware.
- “Let me tell you that this game is amazingly made. This game is extremely well made for an early access; not only does it look beautiful, it runs smoothly with no framerate drops whatsoever. You will rarely find game-breaking bugs. I have spent 20 hours straight and not encountered one bug that frustrated me, not once, and the class system is balanced. You level up by doing whatever you want: material farming, gathering, killing enemies, building, anything.”
- “I have played almost every single early access survival game that has come out, and this is by far the most polished and optimized this early into the game.”
- “Each update (approximately every 2 weeks) they manage to not only address performance issues noted by the players but actually implement planned content as well.”
- “There are also many bugs, lags, glitches, and optimization issues.”
- “The farther into the game you are, the more memory leaks and unoptimized issues you have to deal with, so odds are you will make it just far enough for most of your friends to get beyond the refund time limit and then the game becomes unplayable.”
- “I spent at least an hour just trying to get the game to work, about 5 hours playing and enjoying it, and the rest trying to figure out ways to avoid the insane lagfest and unoptimized issues that infest everything except early game.”
story
34 mentions
6 % positive mentions
85 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The game's story is minimal and primarily revolves around faction-based survival and conflict, with players engaging in events like "reckoning" to progress their faction while thwarting others. There is a lack of structured quests or deep narrative elements, leaving players to navigate the gameplay largely through trial and error. Overall, the focus is on survival mechanics rather than storytelling, which some players find lacking.
- “Let me tell you the story of my first ever reckoning event I had a part in, since that was the selling point of this game for me, and I'm guessing it might be for you: so this time it was the second reckoning of this circle of the server and we (the order faction) were prepared and expecting an attack from the revenant faction since they were the ones dominating the server because they had their armory upgraded. The armory is a structure on every faction base that supplies you with armor, a bow, and 100 arrows, and the quality of these items is increased every time you upgrade it, and the revenant had it pretty upgraded. We were in our positions of high ground, the wall was 4 floors tall, we were 12 vs 10 revenant, we had 3 sentry turrets in different positions, and in every corner of the top of the walls was a ramp, Fortnite style where we could comfortably shoot from. Everyone was on their toes since we were waiting for the enemy faction.”
- “Your mission is to progress your faction through a season, while stopping the other factions from succeeding.”
- “While some things are obviously going to make more sense when tooltips, story, or any of the actual substance makes it into the game, other parts seem like they're going to stay bizarre or dull for a long time to come.”
- “There is no quests to follow, you need to guess what you need to do.”
- “There's no storytelling or complex character creation to find here which is fine; it's a survival game at heart where your whole faction is trying to survive.”
music
28 mentions
50 % positive mentions
39 % neutral mentions
11 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its quality and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere, with many players describing it as fantastic and evocative, particularly in relation to the Norse theme. While some find the soundtrack to be repetitious, it still contributes positively to the gameplay experience. Overall, the music is considered one of the standout features of the game, with several users declaring it among the best they've encountered.
- “The music adds to the ambience and accentuates it.”
- “Best music in any game I've ever played.”
- “The norse-based theme is fun, both aesthetically and in their choice of background music.”
- “The soundtrack, although repetitious, does help further this.”
- “As an example, the 'top played music songs of the year' - and like all markets, popularity wins.”
- “The game could use VoIP as it is team-based, but let's be honest, we would all mute it when someone played their music over it.”
monetization
26 mentions
4 % positive mentions
4 % neutral mentions
92 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has been heavily criticized, with many users labeling it a "cash grab" and expressing disappointment in the developers for not supporting the game adequately after its release. While some players acknowledge they received value for their money, the overall sentiment is that the game lacks longevity and community support, leading to a dead player base. Despite the absence of microtransactions, the game's monetization strategy has left a negative impression, with calls for accountability from developers.
- “There are no microtransactions (thank you, Frostkeep Studios).”
- “Please do not buy this game or support this company. Although they can fashion a great game, they choose to not stick with it and instead just cash grab and run.”
- “It was a cash grab; do not buy it, it's an unplayable dead launcher.”
- “Dead game, only like 8 official servers even up. Companies that make 'cash grab' titles should get banned from Steam.”
emotional
6 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players express a deep emotional connection to the game's events, particularly during intense moments like the reckoning event, which evoke feelings of anticipation, heartbreak, and camaraderie. The narrative highlights the tension of defending against a powerful enemy while dealing with internal conflicts, such as the disruptive behavior of an elder, which adds layers to the emotional experience. Overall, the game's storytelling fosters a strong sense of investment and emotional resonance among players.
- “It's a little heartbreaking.”
- “Let me tell you the story of my first ever reckoning event I had a part in, since that was the selling point of this game for me, and I'm guessing it might be for you: so this time it was the second reckoning of this circle of the server and we (the order faction) were prepared and expecting an attack from the revenant faction since they were the ones dominating the server because they had their armory upgraded. The armory is a structure on every faction base that supplies you with armor, a bow, and 100 arrows, and the quality of these items is increased every time you upgrade it, and the revenant had it pretty upgraded. We were just anticipating an attack, nobody said it but it was obvious. Two days earlier, a revenant guy was roaming in our part of the map killing people and then running away. Then the two chieftains of the revenant faction attacked on that same day... We were in our positions of high ground, the wall was 4 floors tall, we were 12 vs 10 revenant, we had 3 sentry turrets in different positions, and in every corner of the top of the walls was a ramp, Fortnite style, where we could comfortably shoot from. Everyone was on their toes since we were waiting for the enemy faction. A guy runs to the portal that teleports players to both enemies' part of the map and dies, he screams that the 2 most powerful players are advancing to our base. It is late at night, with no lights on the ground, only on our base, the enemy just starts shooting and poking.”
- “It's a little heartbreaking.”
atmosphere
6 mentions
67 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its gorgeous landscapes and immersive settings, particularly noting the eerie ambiance of the swamp. Recent patches have improved the overall experience by addressing issues with greifers, enhancing the game's atmospheric quality. While the graphics are considered decent, many players find certain views to be strikingly beautiful.
- “The landscape is gorgeous and the atmosphere feels just right.”
- “The graphics are decent, some of the views are actually really great (and the atmosphere in the swamp is kind of creepy).”
replayability
4 mentions
50 % positive mentions
25 % neutral mentions
25 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the ascension system, which significantly enhances the game's replayability, making it more engaging compared to similar titles like Ark or Dark and Light. However, some reviews have turned mixed as players feel the game hasn't been given a fair chance.
- “I truly like the ascension system; it really adds to the replayability.”
- “This is a lot more playable than Ark or Dark and Light in early access; it's a shame it's gone from mostly positive reviews to mixed due to people not giving it a chance.”
- “This is a lot more playable than Ark or Dark and Light in early access. It's a shame it's gone from mostly positive reviews to mixed due to people not giving it a chance.”
humor
4 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is derived from the chaotic interactions between players, particularly during base raids, where stealing resources leads to amusing encounters and laughter. However, some users express frustration with the game's optimization, which can detract from the overall experience.
- “Raiding bases, outposts, and having hilarious interactions while raiding people's houses for loot.”