Wildstar isn’t attempting to reinvent the wheel; in many respects, it’s just another MMO on the market. Carbine Studios’ production, on the other hand, is loaded with enchantment that allows you to forget about the patterns that have been repeated for years and appreciate the obstacles that await you along the path.
In the game, we take on the role of a settler attempting to conquer the planet Nexus, the birthplace of a great, ancient civilization. The Dominion, a strong empire, and a gang of exiles from the planets they capture struggle for possession of the world’s wealth and secrets. When developing a Wildstar character, we must select the game style that appeals to us. We choose the road we will take after deciding the hero’s race and class. As an explorer, we will have to explore the most remote corners of the Nexus; as a soldier, we will face elite opponents; as a scientist, we will have the opportunity to study the planet’s flora and fauna; and as a settler, we will make improvements that will benefit us and other faction members. The gaming environment is filled with items that are only visible to representatives of particular routes. A common stone, useless to a soldier, may be used by an explorer to clear a path to an unclimbed mountain, while a correctly prepared plot of land allows a settler to construct a medical station or a taxi rank. Wildstar promotes teamwork, allowing you to make greater use of Nexus resources and find mysteries that you would not have discovered if you worked alone.
The speed of character development is sluggish, and the mechanism through which our characteristics and talents grow may appear hazy at first. Interestingly, at no time in the game do we get the sensation that the authors are racing us to achieve a higher level as fast as possible and go onward, since there is very intriguing stuff hidden beyond the next mountain. Already in the first areas, we will encounter several difficulties, skill tests, and hidden prizes, making earning experience points secondary. At the same time, each accomplishment is highlighted with a beautiful animation, demonstrating that we have accomplished something incredible. The battle system is also quite good, with each assault accompanied by a symbol indicating the range of its impact. To dodge the assault, we must move out of the attack zone – but our opponents have a similar choice, so the fights include dancing about the adversary, waiting for a moment to keep him in place and bombard him with the most devastating skills. This function is especially useful during confrontations with other players, as it might be difficult to hit an opponent who is hopping sideways. It takes some time to become acquainted to the control scheme. The keyboard is used to move the character, and the mouse is largely used to alter viewpoint and use items. Because to camera alignment issues, we occasionally have to do a rain dance before we can chat to an NPC or activate an improvement made by the settler. Wildstar has a robust crafting system in which players may serve as raw material suppliers and equipment manufacturers. The mini-game that allows you to find new dishes by properly combining food and spices is quite enjoyable. Trying to make beef sweet can be expensive, but the thrill of discovering the proper balance of sugar and cinnamon more than compensates for the money spent.
We can obtain a house early in the game, which we may extend and upgrade as we see fit. When looking for a new, prettier fence for the property or attempting to find certain decorations for the living room, we forget about the need to acquire levels and hurry towards the final content, but the authors did not fail in this regard either. When we achieve the maximum level, we obtain the power to design our own battlefields for up to eighty people. Wildstar’s cartoonish aesthetics complement the game’s cheerful mood, which is full of exaggerations and hidden gags. When you see the bloodthirsty hamsters serving the Dominion or the stone warriors with a cigar stuck in the corner of their mouth, it’s difficult not to smile. The sound design is significantly inferior – the sentences said by the autonomous characters are frequently uninteresting, despite the voice performers’ best efforts to create the mood of Nexus’ untamed borderland.
It’s difficult not to be impressed by Carbine Studios’ production’s plethora of options. Wildstar mixes tried-and-true answers with novel concepts in a way that should keep it on the market for a long time.