Last week, closed beta signups went live for Chrono Odyssey and now the studio has published the first in a new series of Developer Interview videos. I’ve gotten excited and then let down by MMOs so many times over the years, it honestly feels like I’m an avid connoisseur of deflated hype and expectations.
But who knows, maybe this time things will be different because everything I’ve seen and heard about Chrono Odyssey has me willing to believe it really could be the MMORPG I’ve been waiting for. Maybe.
Chrono Odyssey: The World of Setera
In the 20-minute developer interview video, we get to hear from a variety of folks on the development team including the executive producer named Sangtae and a product manager named Don. Something that really stood out to me in this interview is at the very beginning when Sangtae explains that they wanted to make overall progression just as fun as end-game content.
That’s a big goal to try and fulfill, because MMORPGs are perhaps the most infamous examples of players feeling like the “real game” doesn’t start until you reach the end. The need to invest dozens or hundreds of hours before you start to actually have fun is a tall ask when it comes to generating new players.
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Sangtae also promises a lack of loading screens in the game in favor of a more seamless open world design. For a large-scale MMO game like this, that’s a pretty exciting proposition.
The team cites the cosmic horror vibes of movies like Prometheus and the encroaching threat of intimidating enemies such as the Zerg from StarCraft as key inspirations for the game world.
When it comes to what I want out of an MMO, I might be in a unique, personally. I’m the kind of gamer that does not and cannot play a single game for weeks, months, or years on end. I just can’t do it. I like too many different genres and love chasing that new game feeling way too much to lock myself down. Call it professional curiosity, I guess.
But at the same time, I absolutely love getting immersed in a big, bold MMO world. I like that communal feeling of discovering and exploring something with others collectively and I enjoy PvE content like dungeons, open world boss battles, and raids a lot. I just don’t have the bandwidth to get deep into the end game these days as a parent.
What I want out of my MMOs is the depth and complexity to feel engaged and challenged, with the approachability and fun factor to not feel overwhelmed when I come back from a multi-week break. Not many games have ever managed to strike that balance as well as prime Guild Wars 2, Elder Scrolls Online, or the first few months of Throne and Liberty last year.
I haven’t had a chance to play Chrono Odyssey for myself yet, but the fact that it’s also coming to consoles has me very cautiously optimistic it could scratch that itch for me once again. Visually it’s gorgeous, combat looks stellar, and the developers really seem to be passionate about the world they’ve built. Let’s see if it can stick the landing.
If you want to take part in the closed beta test next month, you can sign up over on the Chrono Odyssey Steam page, or check out the official game website for more details. When Chrono Odyssey fully launches, it will also be available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles.
