Upcoming MMO Riders of Icarus Reveals the Thrill of the Hunt

During a recent group test of the upcoming MMO Riders of Icarus, our hosts at Nexon America instructed us to climb a nearby cliff and watch as a legendary bear that wandered these lands approached. While my initial thought was that we were just going to admire the creature’s odd grace as he walked triumphantly through the beautifully rendered clearing that was his kingdom, Nexon soon informed us that our true purpose here was something much more...involved.

“We need you to capture this great bear by jumping off of this cliff, landing on its back, and taming it,” our host said in a tone that could have just as easily been used to casually relay the contents of a grocery list.

Despite his clarification that this task was not intended to be easy—and that I had just watched half of our party attempt this feat and only be rewarded with shattered ankles for their effort—I was confident that I could succeed. And yet, each subsequent attempt to time this maneuver just right led to me plummeting to the ground below and running for my life as a very confused bear chased after me.

After we had all failed to capture this bear several times, our host took pity on us and guided us towards our next task. Before then, I couldn’t help but take a final glance back to this great bear that I had almost managed to capture against all odds. Suddenly, I was 10-years-old again and watching in awe as a prized Mankey escaped the clutches of my Great Ball in Pokemon. I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied until I captured the great beast.

Fortunately for me, Riders of Icarus is a game all about the capture. Not long after making my way through the its expansive character creator option and picking my class (our options were Berserker, Guardian, Assassin, Priest, and Wizard), I was guided to a field where a number of bears roamed. Now, because these bears were not nearly as rare as the one mentioned earlier, the method for capturing them was different. In fact, depending on the type of creature you are capturing, the method for doing so can vary greatly. Some will require skill-based leaps of faith like the one mentioned before, while others may require you to use a special item.

These particular bears, however, could be acquired through the game’s standard capture skill. You simply trigger the ability, sneak up on the bear, hit the spacebar, and engage in a QTE sequence. Complete this process, and the bear is yours.

Initially, this captured bear serves as a mount that levels up as you do, but that’s not its only purpose. Through an in-game item, you can also turn your mount into a pet. Not only does this change its appearance—in the bear’s case, it became significantly cuter—but also converts it into a loyal companion that can be commanded in battle. Should you so happen to have an abundance of such creatures in your stable, however, and want to make use of your recent capture, it is also possible to convert it into an enhancement piece that can be inserted into any available armor or weapon slot.

In short, your captures represent the game's ultimate resource as well as its defining mechanic. Traditional combat is certainly an option when confronted by an enemy in this game, but the far more interesting alternative does appear to be collecting a stable of monsters ready to obey your bidding.

Should you choose to engage them in combat instead, however, you’ll find that the system doesn’t stray too far from the classic MMO formula. Our first real taste of combat in this game outside of the consequences of failed capture attempts came when we took on a vampiric lord in his gothic castle. As the first foe we encountered capable of actually killing our group, this is also the first enemy that required me to explore my character’s combo abilities. Basically, there are certain attacks which can flow into combo abilities that are capable of dealing tremendous amounts of damage. It’s a little touch, but also adds a nice sense of rhythm to the combat that helps Riders of Icarus avoid some of the monotonous skill sequencing chains that other MMOs can devolve into.

Another, rather pleasant, break from standard MMO combat came towards the end of my time with the playthrough when we were introduced to flying mounts. While our particular mounts were epic dragons granted to us for this specific section of the game, we also had the chance to capture wild flying creatures that could be tamed like my good friend Steve the Bear (as I have since dubbed him). Sadly, as these flying wyrms required a similar jump and capture technique that I was still appalling at, I had to rely solely on my dragon made of molten fire to navigate me through the next area.

It’s worth noting, however, that acquiring a flying monster in this game does not necessarily require a set skill level. Theoretically, you can claim one early on. The catch is that, much like that rare bear earlier, the method for doing so may require a particularly high skill set or special item. Generally speaking, we were told that your character’s level would need to be as close to the level of your intended capture to maximize your chance for success.

The importance of proper leveling was really driven home during the trial run’s final segment. Here, our group of five was confronted with a level 35 raid boss that usually required 10 players (preferably above our pre-made level 25 characters we were assigned) to take down. One thing is for sure: one look at this giant Zeus-like boss that emerged from the water made it more clear than even the developer’s guidance ever could that our group was woefully underprepared

This boss had to be attacked on our flying mounts, which revealed that fighting while flying was a fairly different matter than fighting on foot. Here, you are limited to either a crossbow for long-range encounters or a spear for melee. Each comes with unique forms of attacks and combo attacks. The AOE capabilities of this particular boss forced most of the party to adopt a ranged attack method in order to best follow our hosts’ instructions to “target the left arm.”

It was all in vain, though. This foe was beyond any of us, and we quickly fell to his incredible—and visually impressive—sweeping attack abilities. We would have had better luck stopping a buzzsaw by shooting flies at it than taking down this late-game boss in our current state.

Despite the futility of our final efforts, the rest of this playthrough was not in vain as it revealed Riders of Icarus to be something I was not expecting: an oddly fascinating take on the theory that a game like Pokemonwould make for one incredible MMO if done right. Now granted, Riders of Icarus is thematically, mechanically, and aesthetically a far cry from the world of Pokemon, but what it does do is manage to capture the same sense of thrill that the core concepts behind Nintendo’s beloved franchise have always provided. Finding all the world’s monsters, hunting them down, and catching them all.

We’ll know for sure whether Riders of Icarus can live up to the tantalizing promise it showed during this trial as the game nears its release date, but those who want a taste of the game before then can sign-up for Riders of Icarus’ July 6th open beta. Nexon is also offering the chance to pre-purchase a Founder’s Pack that will grant you early access to this beta, as well as some exclusive in-game items.

Riders of Icarus will begin Early Access on June 29. 

Matthew Byrd is a freelance contributor.