Aion 2 Review – All Flash, Little Substance, and Plenty of Paywalls

Aion 2 Review

If you’re looking for an MMORPG with flashy combat, sharp graphics, a detailed character creator, and a free-to-play, largely solo-able campaign, Aion 2 might be your jam. If your focus is on a satisfying narrative and characters, easily comprehensible mechanics and compelling quests, maybe stay away. That, in a nutshell, is Aion 2, the follow-up to NCSoft’s 2008 Aion.

Prequel or Sequel?

Aion 2 is a prequel to the first game, but the narrative implications will be meaningless to most players. I played the original Aion back in the day, but I don’t remember anything about the story. In any case, you play as a Daeva, a character with the ability to sprout wings and fly. You pick one of two factions: Elyos or the Asmodians. Each faction has a unique, PvE-focused campaign until level 45 when the late-game pay-to-win shenanigans begin.

The Elyos think of themselves as the holier-than-thou children of Aion, and their campaign is focused on clearing their land of corruption. The Asmodians are the scrappy survivors in a harsher world, and they are bent on reclaiming the land. Both campaigns feature pretty deep and compelling combat in service of bog-standard, fetch-and-kill quests. A great deal of the campaign can be completed solo, with only a few of the larger, raid-type dungeons requiring co-op teamwork. For many early hours, missions consist of running back and forth between the hub village and a too-easy combat scenario. There’s virtually no reward for exploring outside the missions.

If you asked me to name an NPC, I’d probably draw a blank. That’s not to say the NPCs aren’t well designed visually. Even though they’re voice-acted, they almost never have anything interesting to say. Sometimes what they do say doesn’t match up with the subtitles, and the acting style doesn’t line up with the character.

On to the Action

Aion 2 isn’t the first MMO or ARPG with a disappointing or confusing story. Heck, there’s probably been one or two this month where the action is way better than the narrative. Aion 2 definitely redeems itself in combat.

Players can choose between 8 classes (including a couple of hybrids), which cover the fantasy-RPG staples like tanks, magic users, ranged fighters and fast-moving assassins. They all feature a great degree of solo survivability. That’s great, but it also means they lose some distinction in groups because each class is a DPS dealer of one type or another. However, each class does feature a pretty deep roster of very flashy attacks, special attacks, spells or other forms of magic. Combine all that with thrilling aerial combat, and you can have a pretty good time.

Aion 2 definitely looks like a bleeding-edge modern game, with detailed graphics and some pretty lush environments. The game’s character creator is one of the best. Sure, it pushes you towards scantily-clad characters with abundant physics-aided assets, but you can create some abominations too.

Pay Up

Where Aion 2 will lose a lot of casual players is at level 45, which is the end of the starting campaign and the point at which the two factions begin to clash. This is mostly due to some confusing, frustrating, and pretty egregious pay-to-win systems.

Aion 2 is one of those games, where there is a perplexing morass of currencies and systems locked behind paywalls. One currency is Kina, which is used for weapon upgrades, repairs and consumables. Kuna is the cash shop currency, used to buy weapons and gear from the auction house. While FTP players can list items in the auction house, buying something requires Kuna (real money) and a $15/month subscription, which is locked to the server on which your character lives. Want to join a friend on a different server? That requires a separate subscription.

Past level 45, endgame progression — I’m simplifying here — is mostly locked to PvP and raid combat, which relies heavily on pay-to-win gear that bypasses grinding, character-bound Battle Passes, and more. The game complicates things with a half dozen new currencies and items for endgame progression. I think that it’s the point at which all but the most dedicated, invested player will likely bail.

Potential Ruined by Profit

Aion 2 isn’t the only MMORPG infested by the pay-to-win parasite. It’s a shame, because while the campaign is full of uninspired quests, the game looks fantastic and the combat has some depth under its shiny surface. If you were a fan of the original Aion, you’ll appreciate its evolution. If you enjoy action RPGs, the first dozen hours or so might be worth your time as the serious monetization doesn’t kick in until later. After that, Aion 2 becomes a game for those willing to invest some coin to keep winning.

***PC code provided by the publisher for review***