Riders of Icarus

About

"Riders of Icarus" is a free-to-play MMORPG that allows players to capture and train mounts for combat and exploration in a vast fantasy world. The game features both PvE and PvP modes, with a heavy emphasis on aerial combat and epic boss battles. Players can choose from various classes, each with unique abilities and playstyles, as they uncover the mysteries of the world of Icarus.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

70%

Audience ScoreBased on 845 reviews

story20 positive mentions

grinding52 negative mentions

The game features a unique taming system that allows players to capture and ride a wide variety of creatures, including dragons and other fantastical beasts.
The graphics are visually appealing, with beautiful environments and character designs that enhance the overall gaming experience.
The combat system offers both traditional tab-targeting and action combat options, catering to different play styles and preferences.

The game suffers from various bugs and performance issues, including crashes and lag, which can detract from the overall experience.
There are concerns about the game's monetization model, with some players feeling that it leans towards pay-to-win mechanics, particularly regarding inventory and mount slots.
The questing system can feel repetitive and lacks depth, often relying on standard fetch and kill quests that may not engage players for long.

story
154 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
79%
8%
The game's story is generally perceived as a standard good-vs-evil narrative, often likened to typical RPG tropes like "saving the princess." While some players appreciate the engaging side quests and character development, many find the main storyline and quest structure to be repetitive and lacking depth. Overall, the story is described as decent but not particularly memorable, with mixed feelings about its execution and pacing.
- “I love all the familiars, I love the storyline, and I love the characters!”
- “It's a beautiful game, with a great storyline.”
- “It's got a lot of depth to it, with rich quests and a compelling storyline!”
- “The story and world (both visually and story-wise) is very, very typical good-vs-evil save the princess RPG/MMO fare (yeah, save the princess, literally).”
- “My biggest problems with this game are that mounted combat feels clunky, I couldn't get invested in the story (why are level 1 characters guarding the princess of the country as she travels across her kingdom? I can only assume they're all sleeping with their superior officers, because otherwise, you'd want at least a few of your best guarding her).”
- “Storyline is both forgettable and very much a theme park MMO - this is fine, but it's generic at best.”
graphics
134 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
37%
2%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players praising the stunning visuals, beautiful environments, and impressive creature designs, particularly in high fantasy settings. However, some users note that the graphics can feel dated or inconsistent, especially when compared to other modern titles. Overall, while the graphics are generally well-received, there are suggestions for improvement, particularly in optimizing performance across different hardware setups.
- “The graphics are amazing, and I love that the game involves using pets and mounts as a huge part of making the character tougher. What a great concept as I love animals.”
- “The graphics and environment are very pretty, the creatures look amazing, and the cutscenes make you feel like you're engaged in the story.”
- “Absolutely awesome game and the graphics are the best I have seen in a while.”
- “Graphics wise, it’s not an example of the most brilliant use of the ye' old cry engine (some awesome texture work in places, but sometimes the game looks as old as Lineage II to me, ehh).”
- “Graphics were horrible and I have an amazing PC where I can usually run everything on ultra, but with this I could run sometimes medium.”
- “I will say I am not big on the graphics, sometimes they feel kind of murky or they just look a little funky?”
gameplay
101 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
52%
10%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it to be average or derivative of other MMOs, often citing repetitive quests and a focus on a single mechanic, such as mounts. While some appreciate the engaging combat and taming mechanics, others criticize the clunky controls and slow progression, leading to a grindy experience. Overall, the game offers decent mechanics and visuals, but lacks innovation and can feel tedious over time.
- “I have been playing for around 3 hours and it keeps me engaged with interesting mechanics and lore.”
- “Riders of Icarus is an amazing free-to-play MMO, with a great combat system, two different gameplay styles (classic or action), cool classes to play, and tons of mounts to tame.”
- “But playing this game, I've loved everything about it from the combat, to the loot and farming mechanics, to the taming, which is incredibly fun and easy.”
- “Decidedly average overall, non-existent customer support and boring gameplay loops make this a hard pass.”
- “Pretty trashy game with horrible gameplay, stereotypical kill and collect quests, and a gimmicky mount system that does that thing games tend to do in recent years where they take one single mechanic... mounts for this game, artifact weapons for World of Warcraft, and so on.”
- “The one thing that stood out instantly was that the gameplay mechanics felt very clunky and slow.”
grinding
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the depth and excitement of farming for rare mounts and gear, others find it excessively tedious and repetitive, especially after reaching higher levels. Many agree that the grind can be rewarding, particularly with a 100% drop rate for quest items, but it can also lead to boredom and frustration due to the sheer volume of farming required. Overall, the enjoyment of grinding seems to depend on individual preferences for reward versus repetition.
- “If you enjoy grinding to get your rewards, then this is a good game, but it was far too grindy for me.”
- “Overall, the developers provide a nice product, but there is no fun if it's balanced just to keep the player grinding.”
- “It's overall really boring, grindy, pay-to-win, infected with gold sellers.”
stability
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is plagued by significant stability issues, with numerous reports of bugs, system freezes, and crashes, particularly during loading screens and combat. While some players find it playable despite these problems, the overall consensus is that the game requires substantial optimization and bug fixes to enhance the experience. Developers are acknowledged for their efforts to address these issues, but many users still express frustration with the current state of stability.
- “The biggest problem with this game is that it is so god damn buggy.”
- “Although I've had a couple of system freezes, normally when I've tabbed away during a long loading screen, which have required a hard reset to fix, just because the game seems to stay in front of even the task manager.”
- “Game crashes in ruins; when I run the game again, I am dead in the water, no water in ruins. I cannot revive; recall stone in inventory, hit inventory button, inventory empty... buggy.”
optimization
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
50%
30%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, including stuttering and FPS drops, even on high-end systems. While some users acknowledge that the game is fun and has potential, they caution against purchasing it until optimization improves, as it can be nearly unplayable for some. Overall, while there are moments of good performance, the prevalent bugs and optimization problems detract from the experience.
- “Performance is good; there are a few FPS drops here and there, but nothing too severe.”
- “Game is optimized well, which is a big plus when it comes to MMOs.”
- “Most of the negative reviews are about bugs and optimization, which tells me these people don't know what a beta is.”
- “The game is very fun, but the lack of optimization makes it hardly playable for a lot of players.”
- “Yeah, it's poorly optimized even with an i7 4790k, dual GTX 970s (yes, SLI works for me), and 16GB of RAM.”
- “The game does have a few optimization issues; it's a bit buggy at times with the font not being properly placed, so it's cut off, and some moves don't fire off after charging.”
music
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
42%
8%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players find it fitting and enjoyable, enhancing their experience, others describe it as somewhat underwhelming and bland. Overall, the soundtrack is noted for its pleasantness and suitability to the game's environments, contributing positively to the overall aesthetic alongside the graphics.
- “I love the music, I love the fighting, I played this for hours not realizing how fast time went by.”
- “The music and graphics are very pretty.”
- “The soundtrack is fitting for the area and pleasant.”
- “Voice acting and sound effects are adequate, but the music is somewhat underwhelming to me.”
monetization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The monetization model includes microtransactions and opportunities to earn in-game currency, ellun, through grinding, which currently does not disrupt game balance. However, concerns about the presence of gold sellers, bots, and potential future cash grab tactics suggest that players are wary of the game's long-term monetization strategy.
- “Unfortunately, not being a developer, I can see this is probably heading towards a cash grab for this company.”
- “So far it doesn't seem to be a cash grab, but they give you opportunities to grind ellun for the shop anyway.”
- “There are microtransactions, but no game balance breaking items.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the humor in the game to be amusing, particularly noting a specific sound effect that was humorously removed in a patch, highlighting the game's playful nature. Overall, the humor is perceived as a notable aspect of the experience.
- “Funny enough, this sound effect was removed in a patch.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its immersive quality and appealing aesthetic elements, contributing to an engaging overall experience.
- “Great atmosphere and aesthetic items.”