Culture of Gaming’s Best MMO’s of 2019
Either you love or you hate an MMO — they allow players to take on and conquer the world with friends and meet new ones along the way. An MMO’s world needs to keep a player interested with constant new quests, updated content, patches and more. This year, we saw some exceptional MMO’s that stood out from the crowd. But, these were our favourite MMO’s of 2019.
THE BEST MMO OF 2019: FINAL FANTASY XIV SHADOWBRINGERS
Written By: Joshalynne Finch
The idea of striving for balance between Light and Darkness is a commonly recurring motif throughout many fantasy stories, and particularly those with significant Eastern influence, but we almost always find ourselves fighting on behalf of Light against the Darkness that is greedily seeking to overwhelm the balance. Shadowbringers flips this trope entirely on its head, as the player character fights to restore the balance on behalf of the Darkness, seeking to calm and disperse the blinding Light that has consumed a world.
Instead of representing the side of good, The Warrior of Light (aka: the player character) learns that an abundance of Light nearly destroyed the new world that you have landed in, and this new world is overrun by the Wardens of Light who control monsters known as sin-eaters. The key to restoring this new world (and returning home) is you — The Warrior of Light — and the only way you can do this is by destroying the Wardens of Light. However, as it turns out, with every Warden slain, you descend further into Darkness.
With the release of Shadowbringers, you fight to restore the balance by suppressing the Light, and in so doing, you experience one of the strongest fantasy stories players have seen in a long time.
RUNNER UP MMO OF 2019: BLACK DESERT ONLINE
Written By: Aulea Lotty
If you’re an MMORPGs enthusiast like myself, you’re all always searching for that one MMORPG that’s the full package.
Whether you’re looking for immersive environments, a complex economy, unmatched character customization, and a spectacular combat system, it can be hard finding an MMORPG that incorporates everything on your list.
However, we at COG think Black Desert might have hit the nail of the head when it comes to being an excellent full packaged MMORPG.
For the combat lovers, the combat system is very involved, requiring manual aiming and timing. Unlike target locking systems, you can actually feel the intensity of your fights in Black Desert. Character customization is my biggest make or break for picking MMORPGs, and Black Desert not only does not disappoint, I genuinely believe it goes above and beyond with customization. To some, being able to make your character as close to your likeness in a game is pretty essential; to others recreating your perfect waifu or anime character is the aim…
Nonetheless, Black Desert gives you the option to do both, and that’s crazy when you think of all the other things this game has to offer their players.
Finally, the environment that Black Desert brings to the table is one of the most eye-catching things they have to offer. As a sandbox type game, Black Desert’s travel system actually makes the journeys enjoyable. Honestly, looking at all the other side endeavours available in the community, Black Desert seems to understand how to keep their players engaged in their day to day life in the game. If farming and fishing is your thing, Black Desert got you. If trading and economy piques your interest, Black Desert has a complex system that’s heavily community involved that may reel you in. They even put a lot of thought into the mechanics and options around mounts and the combat while riding them.
I already touched on a lot of the components in the game, but there is even more! You can also get into things like housing, guilds, Node management, and so on. With that, this is what makes Black Desert probably one of the best MMORPG to come out. It has so much you can do not only by yourself but also with your friends! Take a boat out with the guys and go fishing or organize your guild to take on an adventurous quest. Or, if you want, capture and breed a horse, and go exploring. Just don’t forget to feed your horse while on your journey!