Wildstar (PC) Review

With all the recent forays into the MMO market there always seems to be a target of being the next "World of Warcraft killer". Well, Wildstar doesn't show any of that sort of hubris or cynicism and it isn't a "WoW killer"; Carbine has set out to claim its stake, taking a small piece of the market and making camp for good, intending instead to nurture a smaller community of hardcore fans and devotees.

Wildstar takes place on the planet Nexus, a beautiful cartoon alien world that manages to balance its sci-fi and it's fantasy parts well, but the art style isn't for everyone; in fact its biggest criticism comes from players who didn't want a "kiddy" game. Cynical hipsters that take themselves too seriously will be out of luck - Wildstar isn't going to make them happy. It has in some instances of a level of comedy that works really well and other times where it falls flat on its face, yet it has charm that allows most players to let it slide. Some might get annoyed by being told they are "really good at dying" by the bombastic over-the-top narrator whose level-up notifications are initially a bit tedious, but when they start taking longer and longer they become more and more exaggerated and it starts to be really rewarding. It is one of the things that Wildstar does great for such a massive game - it rewards for playing well and punishes for doing badly, and that is really rare these days.

The game starts with a lot of customisation options, which can be intimidating, and without first looking into the classes, factions, guilds, and races at first, many may be left guessing about what to pick. In keeping with the sci-fi setting, there are two factions: a stereotypical industrialised superpower in the Dominion, and a stereotypical exile hippie utopian community in the Exiles and all the aesthetic differences that go along with that two way choice. Now, this is where the choices made by Carbine start to get interesting; both sides of this conflict have the same aim and both have very aggressive methods of achieving that aim. There is no good or bad here, but two varying shades of grey, which makes the meta-story more personal and the conflict less clear cut than other uses of the old evil empire trope. In Wildstar there is no need to worry about good or bad, simply do as told, which is either shooting, slicing, stabbing or casting at the things on the list and then hauling the goods back in exchange for experience and loot.

The class choices also benefit from being more fluid with Support, DPS, Healing, and Tank roles being more fluid. For example, the medic class can be one of the hardest hitting DPS classes, which breaks tradition a little and Warriors and Spellslingers (ranged caster) have some of the best support stats in the game. The other brilliant class, which suits the action style of this game perfectly, is the Stalker - it is a hit and run DPS class, or a glass cannon as some may say. It hits hard and quick, and then escapes with its brilliant stealth functions. A few good Stalkers in a group supported by a healer can do serious damage in both PVP and PVE, killing players before they have a chance to apply buffs or work together. This feels like a breath of fresh air compared to the classic D&D class stereotypes that seem to persist so strongly in gaming, yet it has the essence of those things inside it.

As well as the class choice, there is a fixed guild that opens up extra questing options based on speciality, be it soldier who will get extra holdout missions and assassination targets or an explorer who is encouraged to scale mountains and plant flags, the settler and their upgrades bringing aid stations and crafting options out to the wilderness or the scientist who collects all the lore and data they can get their hands on. The most interesting of these is the explorer and settler combination - the ability to claim land and then develop it live in the game world is a really nice point in Wildstar's favour. These quests, however, will become repetitive for all but the most devout of completion junkies and there are so many other things to do and paths to take that they might get forgotten fairly often in favour of more shooting and stabbing.

Now, jumping into the chosen faction's hub world, it is time to get started on the story and levelling, and for those that have played any MMO before this part will be like riding a bike and it's an easy introduction to the world of Wildstar. Just follow the easy to read markers and take out some monsters as instructed, take back the proof for a reward and then follow the next marker. At this stage the combat isn't anything special, doing what is always done in these cases: walk up to the enemy and press a button till they are dead, without a variety of skills and enemies. Throwing them back in various patterns in shapes on the ground that need to be dodged to avoid a hasty death, the combat feels sluggish. As mobs get bolder and more varied, and the skills and setups needed to counter them increase in depth, things hot up. Combat becomes more skilful and finessed but, most importantly, really enjoyable.

Quests are tiered into different levels of importance; regional quests, national quests and world quests which all come together to drive both the story and the player's level to its climax at Level 49/50. There isn't a way to describe the basic quest system other than 'generic' but the saying that "if it ain't broke…" Wildstar gives an option, though: if wanting stop the questing at Level 8 and jump into PVP, it is possible. There is no need to complete the story to get what is needed out of the game, just as players don't have to do PVP either. If sticking to the story, by Level 14 the capital is reached and the second expansive set of customisation options arrive in player housing. Each one gets a plot of land with a selection of housing styles, outbuildings, mines, farms, crafting stations and mini-games to get stuck into. The next level gives mounts, which are also customisable and cuts down on the amount of long treks required by a considerable margin.

Hopefully by around Level 20 - 15 or so rushed hours, or at least 25 hours for those completion addicts - some group interaction in PvE scenarios or PvP battles have been had and what happens when 20 players are all laying down telegraphs, dodging and shimmying around each other in a blaze skillshots stuns, knockdowns and status effects has been witnessed. When flailing over and getting crushed in the rush of combat, it will feel like having been slapped with a rainbow, but it might feel deserved and a change-up is required to try again. The same goes for boss fights - only more so - the big PvE bosses are so much fun. Watching these carefully choreographed attacks sprawl out over the floor and seeing 10-20 players dancing around them in perfect timing, or seeing the same players flap about panicking and then die, is a great experience and feels challenging at the right level. Wildstar forces players to earn the big wins, or at least it does a great job of making those wins feel earned either way the team will celebrate the victories.

Trying to score Wildstar proves difficult. Score it down for its failings? Keep it high for its exceptional strengths? To have a game that feels like a 6/10 in some places but a 10/10 in others is normally a matter of general consistency. In this case, though, everything feels polished: the questing isn't terrible, it is designed to be throwaway, and it is a tiny brick on a long path to the elder game. Wildstar wants the gamer to invest in it and to get to Level 50. That is where the real game begins, apparently, and having glimpsed what has been done with Levels 25+ and having seen such signs of greatness in the 40 vs. 40 player wars, there is an inclination to agree with the developer. If it leaves clans to develop their own wars and let the system be a home to more emergent gameplay, then the possibilities are amazing for what Wildstar could be in the future. That isn't the big question, though. The big question is what the paid fees are for, and the answer is: quite a lot! Most players won't be disappointed, as long as they give it the time it needs.