Our opinion on Rift and its gameplay
Released in 2011, Rift was considered at the time as a good surprise to renew the MMORPG genre, which was then in decline. Published and developed by Trion Games, the game was initially a paid monthly subscription, before going Free to Play in 2013. In the ruined world of Telara, your hero will have to face the hordes of chaos to revive a civilisation that is slowly dying out.
Rift takes place in a heroic-fantasy universe, where magic and technology coexist. Nothing very original so far. In fact, if the artistic direction remains very classic for the genre, the shimmering colours of the game remain pleasant to look at. The characters’ somewhat rigid animation, destabilising at first, is not off-putting in the end. The soundtrack, also very conventional, features honourable French dubbing.
The creation of your main character is very complete. On the physical level, you have enough tools to make him unique. But it is of course the choice of his class and skills that matters in Rift. There are only 4 classes: warrior, priest, mage and thief. This may seem limited, but it is not. In fact, each class has 8 different specialisations. You can only choose 3 of them, which gives you a lot of possibilities.
All the more so as there is a crafting system, which takes into account your skills in this or that field. Each hero can therefore create a certain type of raw material. And of course, in order to create the most powerful items, you’ll have to make good use of the crafting skills of different characters. This simple gameplay component already encourages you to call out to other players.
Rift and its rift system
Trion Games’ game is based on an adventure where ‘rifts’ frequently appear. From these dimensional portals come creatures that must be eradicated at all costs. You’ll have to join forces with players in the area to defeat a powerful boss and collect valuable items. This makes the progression quite unpredictable, and is a good idea… at first. The fact is that the recurring loopholes end up tiring the player, who doesn’t even pay attention to them after a while. The recycling of monsters (and even bosses) is certainly not unrelated to this.
Despite this, Rift ‘s PvE is very honest. The number of quests available is gargantuan, and the world of Telara is worth exploring. The combat system, very much inspired by World of Warcraft, quickly drops its strategic aspirations; you end up frantically cramming your abilities to get away with it.
Rift ‘s PvP is double-edged. Firstly, it’s frustrating, as the best players don’t do you any favours. But as you progress through the game, it becomes more enjoyable: the room for progression is huge, and the feeling of accomplishment is real.
The vast majority of the game is available for free. But since the last expansion, it is necessary to pay to reach the maximum level. A rather dubious choice from Trion Games, but perhaps understandable after 6 years of existence…
Our conclusion on Rift
Resolutely inspired by the great names of the genre, Rift is very classic in its graphics and gameplay. However, we must acknowledge its own qualities: an interesting crafting system, a well thought-out rifts principle and a lot of PvE and PvP content. Despite its latest expansion, which puts the free-to-play aspect of the title into perspective, Rift remains a safe bet for MMORPGs.