'Prime World' Review: Not Quite A Brave New World

Daniel Tack, Contributor

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Nival’s Prime World (PC) is a MOBA/ARTS title that combines elements of traditional persistent role-playing games and sim-building social games into a modern lane-battler.  In a world where many developers are making MOBAs and the vast majority adhere to the model popularized by Warcraft III mod map Defense of the Ancients, there’s something to be said for titles like Prime World that try to do something different.

This is at the same time Prime World’s greatest strength and weakness – The maps that go against the standard model aren’t compelling or interesting, and people end up playing the same core map, even if the systems behind things are markedly different.  The PvE encounters only serve to divide the community, and the maps that don’t play by the standard “three-lane-two-base” methodology exist in the shadow of the genre-defining template.

Prime World’s customization system separates it from many MOBAs by letting players build their characters outside of the game environment.  There are no weapons or armor to purchase during gameplay, only talents to level into.  It’s an interesting system and there are so many talents to pick and choose from that players can create unique ways to play each character.

Some Prime World characters are slightly generic with their base skillsets, but others are unique in play style.  If any aspect about Prime World sets it apart, the talent customization system is it.  It does distinguish the title from the rest of the MOBA pack, credit where credit is due.  Many of the characters come with some distinctive flavors not found in simple genre copycats – The woodsman controls an army of tree-traps, the alchemist can do wild things with alchemical teleport circles, and the pied-piper is a pure crowd-control support specialist.

Prime World’s talent system is a double-edged sword.  Talents are acquired through gameplay, and the power level of talents varies greatly by rarity and upgrade level.  This can place players on uneven ground in matchmaking and lane battles.  While one can argue that having a bit of power discrepancy in a given match can liven things up, issues can arise when team values are wildly out of whack.

A few players being up or down a tier doesn’t make much different, but when a purple tier player is in a game with yellow (beginner) tier players, there’s not much of a match to be had.  This doesn’t happen all the time, but a new player may be turned off losing to a purple-clad prearranged team.  It’s worth noting that some of these issues may clear up with the game’s official launch and presence on Steam this week, as a larger playerbase may produce better matchmaking results.

This is also an area where the multiple game modes can cause issues.  If the playerbase is split up among several maps at a time, finding “fair” matchmaking games can be difficult. The official game launch along with its appearance on Steam this week may solve some of the title’s matchmaking woes.

Prime World employs a system where new characters can be unlocked by either microtransaction or in-game currency.  This is similar to several other genre offerings.  New players have access to a fair selection of characters and many of the “beginning” picks are viable picks against the most expensive ones, so there isn’t too much of a pay-for-power issue here. Skins and boosts are also available for purchase.  As far as monetization goes, players who opt to pay can have immediate access to expensive characters and gain extra resources every battle, but it’s not overbearing.  A free-to-play player can certainly compete and can unlock access to a diverse selection of heroes with just a few hours of gameplay.

Currency and talents are acquired through gameplay, as well as via actions taken within one’s castle.  The castle is a sort of Farmville experience; it’s a side game ideal for mobile devices and something to tinker with while talking shop with teammates or waiting for a game to start. It’s a simple, fun way to add a bit of engagement and an additional sense of progression to the title.

Here’s the issue.  The talent system is actually quite wonderful, in theory.  The other bells and whistles, the multitude of maps, the PvE and PvP division – these muddle the title’s focus.  It’s trying to be too many things and casting a wide in an attempt to attract and retain a diverse audience.  Steam guarantees that a good number of eyeballs are going to land on Prime World this week, but there may be too much to eat at this buffet for many to settle in and feast.  If you’re interested in MOBA/ARTS titles, Prime World is worth a look as it’s free-to-play, but temper your expectations.

Prime World

Platform: PC
Developer: Nival

Publisher: Nival

Released: Oct 4, 2013

Price: Free-to-play, in-game purchases available

Score: 8.0

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