RO: Idle Poring Review

  Do you remember the days of Tamagotchis or any of the other million pet devices that you had to feed and take care of?  Well, those days are long gone but there is a new type of game that is starting to replace that babysitting mentality of those games.  Those games are being called idle games and are coming out on mobile devices.  Ragnarok: Idle Poring by GRAVITY Co., Ltd. is one of these games.

The Game:

  If you are an RO fan and are looking for that type of gameplay, turn away now Idle Poring is not it.  This is as close to Ragnarok as Fallout Shelter is to Fallout 4.  The game really plays itself, you are there just to maintain your character.  You do this by upgrading their gear, challenging bosses to fights, and spending real life money to buy in game currency to speed the whole process up.  This chop at the genre does give a lot of freedom though as you can pick from a few classes and change their stats as you see fit.

  In this skin of the game, you play as a hero that borrows from the Ragnarok franchise and is running from left to right on the screen.  Your hero will encounter fights and if they are strong enough will kill the enemy gaining loot, XP, and gold.  They will do this whether you are playing the game or not.  There are even more gameplay options as you level like PvP and Raids.

  You can also smelt gear you aren't using to try and get better gear.  You get pets that buff your hero and can be sent on quests.  The ability to battle as a team and upcoming tournament feature also exist.  There is actually quite a bit of feature in this game and I only lightly touched on how deep the gear building goes.  There is also, of course, the plethora of items to claim by playing the game and doing stuff.  (Hurray for trophies!)

My Thoughts:

  I have played a few of these idle RPGs so I am glad something new came out that I could take a crack at and review. While I will review old games I want to make sure they are fresh in my mind and those other ones are long from my phone so reviewing them would be dishonest.  These games never really have any staying power.  At the beginning, the climb is quick and there is a lot of interaction but then it's really just waiting.  You check it from time to time and then you forget to keep checking it, download another app and it's over.

  Still, during that initial time, some of them can do a better job at grabbing you, which this one has.  This game has a lot to do for idle RPG.  When it comes down to it, it is all about how much time and money you have spent on the game. Holding aspects till further levels and giving you the option of multiple characters is something that is fairly appealing.  I found my self still playing this far past the point I could give it a decent review because there is still later stuff to unlock.  Level 200 is far away but now that I am on my way the idea is captivating.

  The pricing in the game isn't bad but I really have a hard time seeing myself put money into a game with shallow gameplay.  The core mechanic is basically you logging in and making sure you are up to date on your character. The way they have handled it in this version with decent music, fitting graphics, and an IP that will tug at some of our nostalgia strings is not bad, you just have to know what you are getting into because it really isn't a lot.

  It's hard to recommend an idle RPG because at the core of what they do just doesn't seem as engaging as other games out the.  It's more a maintenance game but if that is what is on your taste buds this one is not a bad one to try out.  There is plenty to collect, plenty of awards to claim, and enough to do where you feel like you have some pretty decent influence on your character's development.

TL;DR:

  It's not bad for an idle RPG but it is just that.  A game that plays itself while you kind of help it along.  If you are looking for a decent one this might be a good one to drop on your phone but if you are looking for interactive gameplay, you can pass.