Chrono Odyssey asks you to once again step into a Korean MMORPG, this time developed by Chrono Studio and published by Kakao Games Corp. The game starts with a lush cutscene, which is surprisingly mirrored by in-game graphics. I played on PC through Steam, and if the system requirements weren’t clear, Chrono Odyssey will take all it can get from your system to display this detailed and action-packed world.
While the game starts with a muted color palette, don’t be fooled — with the game’s lush, densely packed forests, ancient ruins, and H.R. Giger-esque Chrono Gate areas, there’s plenty to look at in awe. As I traversed from area to area, usually as a result of dying, seemingly random rain storms changed in intensity and left my character soaked even on the status screen! In particular, I was impressed by how gathering is represented in the world: yes, you are chopping down trees and harvesting lemons, but not from generic trees or bushes. When you fell a mature tree, it falls down with realistic physics and populates the game world for a bit (though it has no collision, so you don’t need to worry about dropping a tree on yourself). When I gathered berries, I could visually see what fruit I was picking up. I did end up having to turn down the graphics, and probably could’ve turned them down again for my specific rig.
Though I sped through the character creator to get to the gameplay as quickly as possible, the options for different skin colors, facial features, and more seemed extremely malleable. Especially in an MMO, having the ability to replicate your own features and tone is great to see.
If the “You Died” screen didn’t clue you in, the game seems to invoke a certain FromSoftware franchise, though to what extent I can’t say without more play time under my belt. Chrono Odyssey definitely emphasizes the “Action” part of ARPG, with stamina and evading being key parts of the combat system. As the rage-filled Barbarian, the game encouraged me to swap between my trusty twin axes and chain blades, each with their own skills and cooldowns. Though each class seemingly has access to three weapons total, I stuck with these to do my best Kratos impression, but also because you are also building Mastery Levels for those weapons.
Speaking of combat, this is where I found an issue with Chrono Odyssey. I tried to follow the main quest, expecting to learn more about the game and its systems, only for Chrono Odyssey to leave me to my own devices. The story, having made me lose two fights on purpose, quickly put me up against a Void Apostle who wiped the floor with me. Chrono Odyssey even admitted afterwards that these Void enemies were tough, but offered no guidance otherwise. I tried coming back some time and levels later, but some folks in chat did allude to the fact that there was content that can’t be soloed. I haven’t sat down with an MMO in some years, but it seems shocking that an MMO would require players to group up in 2025. Guild Wars 2, World of Warcraft, and I’m sure plenty of other currently running MMOs have made great efforts to make sure players have not only the means but the capability to take on tasks solo, a viewpoint I’m appreciative of. Even stranger is the fact that the game has solo dungeons, so it’s clear the developer is aware of this. Ironically, I could not finish the solo dungeon either. I’m not sure if I’m not utilizing the game’s systems well, or am woefully underequipped, but emphasis being on, I just started the game.
Chrono Odyssey will need better onboarding or to reduce just how brutal these encounters are if players are expected to accomplish anything solo. I couldn’t tell if I was ready for most content because there is no level or gear guidance for most of it. I was able to parse the Void Apostle, having what looked like a boss’ health bar and stagger meter, and doing nearly my entire health bar in damage to know I wasn’t ready. Another pain point I ran into was that the interact key seemed to be unresponsive an unusual amount, despite making the “confirmed” sound.
If the idea behind the lack of guidance is that I’m supposed to wander about, the world is full of resources, crates, and dead bodies to rifle through, making it fulfilling. Chrono Odyssey also seems to take a page from the Final Fantasy VII Remake series and reward that exploration with Subjugation and other dynamic quests. These quests aren’t completely random, but give some player agency in whether you want to constantly save the misfortunate Giotto or leave him to his infinitely rotten luck.
Chrono Odyssey rewinds time in the fourth quarter of 2025 for Windows (Epic Games Store, Steam), Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.
