The gaming world is abuzz with the arrival of Tarisland, a new free-to-play MMORPG that promises to whisk players away to a realm of fantasy and adventure. Developed by Tencent, Tarisland has set its sights on becoming a major player in the MMORPG arena, offering a rich, immersive experience across multiple platforms, including Android, iOS, and PC. But can it carve out a spot among the top MMORPGs?

Release Date and Anticipation

After much anticipation, Tarisland officially launched on June 21, 2024. The build-up to the release saw a flurry of activity, with gamers eagerly pre-registering for the game many had dubbed “the answer to World of Warcraft.”  Whether the cross-platform MMORPG can even come close to World of Warcraft is debatable.

Classes and Specializations

Tarisland begins with nine classes to choose from, each with two specializations, allowing for a diverse range of playstyles. From the stealthy Shadow Swordsman to the elemental might of the Barbarian Fighter, players can tailor their characters to their preferred combat approach. Oddly enough, some classes are gender-locked while others aren’t.

The classes include:

Ranger: Masters of ranged combat, capable of taming beasts or specializing in hunting. Gender-locked – female.

Paladin: Holy warriors who can either deal damage or protect allies as tanks.

Warrior: Fierce combatants with specializations in either offensive or defensive combat. Gender-locked – male.

Mage: Arcane spellcasters wielding the powers of frost and flame.

Priest: Spiritual healers who can also dish out damage when necessary. Gender-locked – female.

Bard: Versatile performers who can heal or harm with their melodies. Gender-locked – male.

Barbarian Fighter: Warriors who harness the elements to wreak havoc on the battlefield. Gender-locked – male.

Shadow Swordsman: Agile fighters who strike from the shadows. Gender-locked - male.

Phantom Necro: Mysterious conjurers who navigate the thin line between life and death. Gender-locked – female.

Character Creation and Customization

Character customization in Tarisland is the absolute most basic of character customizations an MMORPG can offer. From the lack of skin tones to the lack of hairstyles, the character customization is so bland. But at least it’s cute. I guess. There is no variation in the look of armor per class, meaning you have to buy costumes and skins if you want to look different. Sure, most games have stores for skins, but usually, you can acquire some looks through quest rewards or crafting.

Story/Lore

So just what is Tarisland about? In Tarisland, there is a group of people called Hallows, of which you are one. The Hallows are people chosen by some god to save the world of Tarisland from the Black Tower, a source of evil. The storyline is as basic as an RPG storyline can get. Of course, more is revealed as you play through the main quest line, but it’s just not a compelling story.

Combat

Combat in Tarisland is designed to be easy to grasp. It does, however, leave much to be desired. There’s nothing earth-shattering or innovative about spells and abilities. Combat animation is devoid of life. Even during intense dungeon battles the combat felt stale. Dungeon and raid combat focuses on strategy and skill rather than gear, which is great for casual players.

PvE End Game Content

Leveling up is easy but it can be a bit tedious, as with practically every MMORPG. The introductory content is okay, but the content does get better after hitting level 15. Tarisland has plenty of content, but the content feels a bit lifeless. I think that has more to do with a lack of story and culture. For example, in MMORPGs, there’s usually a history of the races and classes, how they came to be, a culture—a backstory. The races and classes in Tarisland, however, feel as if they have no culture. When you get to Misty Forest, they tell the story of how the High Elves came to inhabit the Misty Forest, but it’s so brief and just thrown out there that it just feels as if there’s little connection to these races and classes.

Instance matchmaking is simple and will group you with NPCs if no players are available to help you complete the dungeon. Dungeons, Raids, Conquer, and Universal Hall are easy to access. Dungeons, Raids, and Universal Hall have normal and Elite difficulty to choose from. Upon release, Tarisland has five dungeons, three raids, three battlegrounds, and a solo instance, Universal Hall available. The dungeons and raid boss fights are quite fun and challenging.

PvP Content

I’m not particularly into PvP. However, PvP enthusiasts may have something to look forward to in Tarisland battlegrounds and arenas. The Ice-Fire Island battleground is a bit reminiscent of World of Warcraft’s battlegrounds, with the Peak Gulf battleground being similar to Arathi Basin. Instead of capturing, controlling, and defending posts, you defeat opponents, take their emblems, and deposit them. The most deposits win. Playing my Phantom Necro as DPS, I did not feel I was of any help to my team because I’m not good at PvP. Luckily, I could switch my specialization mid-battle to assist my team better. That’s something I appreciate—being able to switch from DPS to Healer during an active battleground.

While open-world PvP is not currently available, the developers have hinted at future expansions that may introduce large-scale battles and sieges.

Final Thoughts

Tarisland enters the MMORPG market with a not-so-strong proposition: a beautifully made, free-to-play, cross-platform game and that’s it. Tarisland is the “beautiful gowns” (IYKYK) of MMORPGs. Tarisland offers little aside from being free and very, very pretty.

There is nothing about Tarisland that sets it apart from other MMORPGs aside from being free and cross-platform. For some players, that may be enough. If Tarisland wanted to stand out player housing would have definitely helped in that area, especially with how beautiful the world is.

If you’re looking for compelling storytelling and immersive gameplay, you will not find it here. If you’re looking to kill some time with friends for free until something better comes along, then Tarisland is perfect.