Korean hack & slash crossplay action RPG Undecember went live on Steam yesterday amid great expectations from players. Considered a promising Diablo clone, its rating was, unfortunately, a disaster.
Undecember, a Korean hack’n’slash action RPG developed by Need Games, was officially released on Steam on October 12, 2022. A free-to-play title that, unfortunately, has only received 35% positive reviews at the time of writing.
Overrated expectations – a worthy Diablo clone?
In Korea, Undecember has been available since the beginning of the year, and in Europe, it was released just yesterday, on October 12. The past few days of October, Undecember has been one of the most attractive demos during Steam game previews, alongside Manor Lords. In fact, players testing Undecember’s demo at the same time once reached a high of 16.500 on Steam.
In Undecember’s gameplay, players can combine their abilities and runes without limits, allowing them to try out new tactics and strategies in the battles against the hordes of enemies with various options. Besides, there are no predefined classes.
Undecember was expected to be a worthy Diablo clone, despite its free-to-play status. A similar title would be Path of Exile, which very successfully will soon be ten years old. Obviously, hack & slash RPG players had their hopes set on welcoming a breath of fresh air back into their world. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a lull, which is confirmed by the ratings on Steam at this point. On the day of its release, the crossplay game Undecember gathered a maximum of over 40.000 players online simultaneously, all eager to satisfy their curiosity and anticipation. Unfortunately, probably without success for the time being.
Disastrous reviews for Undecember – Freemium strikes again
Quite in contrast to the excellent numbers on release day in the eastern world are the western reviews. At the time of writing, there are almost 2600 reviews, of which only 35% are positive. In contrast, Path of Exile has 87% positive reviews on Steam.
From the tenor of the comments in the reviews, you can see the reason quite well. Although Undecember is free, this is only the case at first glance. During the actual game, users have to pay for almost everything, and the prices in the store are ridiculously high.
One commenter angrily wrote, “The cash shop prices are outrageous. You can barely afford 3 convenience stash tabs for $45 US“. Another player wrote in a sarcastic tone, “Hyped -> installed -> looked @ shop -> used calc -> laughed -> uninstalled -> surprised the uninstall was free“.
Many Chinese players described this game as having a very high level of pay-to-play. At the same time, some expressed shock at the number of bad reviews before entry but were still willing to experience the game based on existing expectations.
Some less polarizing free-to-play titles
Maybe you’re interested in some more great games that don’t cost anything. Feel free to check out our rankings for the 10 Best Free FPS Games or the Best Sandbox Games on PC. If you like adrenaline and want to get your blood pumping, check out Free Horror Games, or the Best Free RPG games.
Have you played the game Undecember yet? What is your opinion about it? Feel free to leave a comment.
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0.2 hour reviews caused this. Review bombed about rootkit anticheat common in many other games too. This is a fantastic game, if the shop was a bit more ethical then this is easily up there with Path of Exile, coming from a veteran. And the p2w is overstated by many who haven’t even reached endgame and couldn’t understand it. If you like arpgs and can control your spending habits then you should definitely play this game
Hi Chris,
thanks for your comment! You seem to have some very valid points here. How many hours have you spent in the game, and have you actually used or needed the in-game store?
I agree with you, the game isn’t necessarily pay-to-win, but don’t you think the prices in the store could be a little lower? Otherwise, I have the impression that for casual players who don’t want to spend the extra cash, everything becomes a little too difficult later in the game than for paying players. Also, regarding PvP, it seems a bit edgy to me.