AFK Journey Review: Heroes, Guilds, and Gacha - Should You Invest Your Time? | MMORPG.com

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AFK Journey Review: Heroes, Guilds, and Gacha - Should You Invest Your Time? | MMORPG.com

Millions of players have hopped in between the PC and mobile version to get in on the ground floor of the next big gacha hero collector. Should you join them?

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Sarla

horrible monetization practices
too many time gates
pay to win in almost every game mode

why would you give this garbage an 8

paco_magillicuddy

Sarla said:

horrible monetization practices

too many time gates

pay to win in almost every game mode



why would you give this garbage an 8

$$$$

paco_magillicuddy

Cons
horrible monetization practices
too many time gates
pay to win in almost every game mode

These are the cons of essentially every mobile game.

olepi

"insanely predatory" "despicable" "completely pay to win"

And we rated it .... GREAT!

Sovrath

Well, to play devil's advocate, this probably means they think the game is great but the monetization is not.

Changing monetization doesn't make a bad game better so I don't see why it makes a great game bad.

Take any one of your favorite "greatest" games and suddenly make the monetization predatory ... does that mean you think the game is bad now?

Not worth playing?

Or does it means that a great game has horrible monetization?

StoneRoses

olepi said:

"insanely predatory" "despicable" "completely pay to win"



And we rated it .... GREAT!

Ok, I get the whole poor business model, as a consumer we pick and choose how and where we spend our money.
The Predatory statements that follows, I always find idiotic, just about anything a consumer can buy can be compulsive and just as addictive.
You're forgetting you are given a fing OPTION to participate or not.
Just about anything comes with those risks, pick your poison.
Be an adult and put on your big boy/girl (or w/e pronoun) pants and learn how to make an informed decision that doesn't put yourself and anyone at risk.
Accept the consequence and stop blaming (Insert Business Name) for something that isn't a necessity.

olepi

StoneRoses said:

olepi said:

"insanely predatory" "despicable" "completely pay to win"





And we rated it .... GREAT!

Ok, I get the whole poor business model, as a consumer we pick and choose how and where we spend our money.

The Predatory statements that follows, I always find idiotic, just about anything a consumer can buy can be compulsive and just as addictive.

You're forgetting you are given a fing OPTION to participate or not.

Just about anything comes with those risks, pick your poison.

Be an adult and put on your big boy/girl (or w/e pronoun) pants and learn how to make an informed decision that doesn't put yourself and anyone at risk.

Accept the consequence and stop blaming (Insert Business Name) for something that isn't a necessity.

"Even in the best-case scenario, you’ll be stuck in areas with limited abilities to move forward for days, if not longer, regardless of how long you play per day. Worse, the more you play the game, the more likely it will be that you hit a wall and are offered ways to circumvent those walls by paying ..."

The more you play, the more walls you hit and the more you need to pay to move forward. That is predatory in gaming. "Insanely predatory" says the review. It's almost "completely pay to win."

I feel totally justified in griping about a "game" like this.

olepi

Sovrath said:

Well, to play devil's advocate, this probably means they think the game is great but the monetization is not.

Changing monetization doesn't make a bad game better so I don't see why it makes a great game bad.

Take any one of your favorite "greatest" games and suddenly make the monetization predatory ... does that mean you think the game is bad now?

Not worth playing?

Or does it means that a great game has horrible monetization?

Let's take your favorite game. Now make it so that you have to pay $10 every turn or you are skipped. You like Monopoly? You don't get to move your token without paying real money. Still think it's a great game? You have favorite car to drive? Now turn it into a taxi with a meter, it costs $3.00 just to get out of your driveway. Still your favorite car?

Aeander

If it has AFK or Idle in the name, automatically no. It's not a game.

LePetitSoldat

People in the comments either need to work to overcome capitalism or accept this game is great despite monetization. The industry's interests are aligned with the bourgeoisie class, and it won't be the crying of certain players that will change that.

LePetitSoldat

It’s a gacha game. It’s popular. Deal with it.
Don’t you like gachas? Don’t play.

Sovrath

olepi said:

Sovrath said:

Well, to play devil's advocate, this probably means they think the game is great but the monetization is not.

Changing monetization doesn't make a bad game better so I don't see why it makes a great game bad.

Take any one of your favorite "greatest" games and suddenly make the monetization predatory ... does that mean you think the game is bad now?

Not worth playing?

Or does it means that a great game has horrible monetization?

Let's take your favorite game. Now make it so that you have to pay $10 every turn or you are skipped. You like Monopoly? You don't get to move your token without paying real money. Still think it's a great game? You have favorite car to drive? Now turn it into a taxi with a meter, it costs $3.00 just to get out of your driveway. Still your favorite car?

yeah, the game would still be great. The design, the graphics, the game play, the "game" would be great. The monetization is not.

And, as I'm Stone Roses says, no one is forcing you to play it.

I think paying a monthly subscription is perfectly acceptable and preferred while there are others who think that's nonsense and they should be free to play so that you can pay for what you want to pay for.

Does that mean your favorite mmorpg with sub is actually a bad game because there's a group of people who equate it to your "paying $10" for every turn? Or in that case paying $16 plus per month?

In the case of this game, you don't have to pay for progression but if you want to stay competitive you might consider it.

I'd also add, that players have been paying that $10 to progress since everquest and ebay.

StoneRoses

olepi said:

StoneRoses said:

olepi said:

"insanely predatory" "despicable" "completely pay to win"







And we rated it .... GREAT!

Ok, I get the whole poor business model, as a consumer we pick and choose how and where we spend our money.


The Predatory statements that follows, I always find idiotic, just about anything a consumer can buy can be compulsive and just as addictive.


You're forgetting you are given a fing OPTION to participate or not.


Just about anything comes with those risks, pick your poison.


Be an adult and put on your big boy/girl (or w/e pronoun) pants and learn how to make an informed decision that doesn't put yourself and anyone at risk.


Accept the consequence and stop blaming (Insert Business Name) for something that isn't a necessity.

"Even in the best-case scenario, you’ll be stuck in areas with limited abilities to move forward for days, if not longer, regardless of how long you play per day. Worse, the more you play the game, the more likely it will be that you hit a wall and are offered ways to circumvent those walls by paying ..."



The more you play, the more walls you hit and the more you need to pay to move forward. That is predatory in gaming. "Insanely predatory" says the review. It's almost "completely pay to win."



I feel totally justified in griping about a "game" like this.

I am not at all disagreeing with you or the OP.
However, it's still an option for you or anyone else to choose to be a victim of this PREDATORY practice, there is no fine print or hidden feature, it's been made aware to the public.
Then there are some of us who may not see it that way, and may find the value in paying to play. The same way you choose to purchase a new car vs a used car, or a new car with only the base features, and there are some of who are willing to pay extra for the extra features or amenities.

StoneRoses

olepi said:

Sovrath said:

Well, to play devil's advocate, this probably means they think the game is great but the monetization is not.

Changing monetization doesn't make a bad game better so I don't see why it makes a great game bad.

Take any one of your favorite "greatest" games and suddenly make the monetization predatory ... does that mean you think the game is bad now?

Not worth playing?

Or does it means that a great game has horrible monetization?

Let's take your favorite game. Now make it so that you have to pay $10 every turn or you are skipped. You like Monopoly? You don't get to move your token without paying real money. Still think it's a great game?

You have favorite car to drive? Now turn it into a taxi with a meter, it costs $3.00 just to get out of your driveway. Still your favorite car?

Billions of folks globally, someone is still willing to pay as it might be how they choose to spend their leisure and investing their time. What you call bad business practice may appeal to others.

StoneRoses

PetitSoldat said:

People in the comments either need to work to overcome capitalism or accept this game is great despite monetization. The industry's interests are aligned with the bourgeoisie class, and it won't be the crying of certain players that will change that.

I don't know about that, you could be living comfortably without being wealthy. There are folks who manage their money pretty well. Then their are folks who just live off of debt.

LePetitSoldat

StoneRoses said:

PetitSoldat said:

People in the comments either need to work to overcome capitalism or accept this game is great despite monetization. The industry's interests are aligned with the bourgeoisie class, and it won't be the crying of certain players that will change that.

I don't know about that, you could be living comfortably without being wealth. There are folks who manage their money pretty well. Then their are folks who just live off of debt.

I got your point. I honestly don’t like this kind of monetization, although I play Genshin Impact daily. I also admire gachas companies that have generous systems for F2P players, like Kuro Games. People must have freedom in managing their own money. Edit: But we definitely need to have a regulation for gambling practices in gaming, just as European countries have. An ethical standard. We need to know at least the rates, for example. Something that most gachas games already do tho.

Raskbuck

I personally enjoy it for what it is, but I do agree that the monetization practices skew on the predatory side of the spectrum. The game is quick to bombard you with the typical "3000% the value" limited-time offers, which is an eye sore and feels like a bad joke.

Part of the progression system is also tied to rankings; meaning that players who perform better tend to get more rewards. It can feel a bit demoralizing to see someone swiping their card with virtually no way to catch up as a free to play or low spender.

That being said, I enjoy the game. I'd personally say Honkai Star Rail wins in terms of quality, but AFK Journey has a certain vibe that hits differently for me.

The biggest draw for me was the character design. They are all very distinct, very colorful and full of personality. I feel in games like Honkai and Genshin, all the characters end up feeling very samey. Most of them share the same skeleton and design choices (like how all the women in Genshin wear high heels; or how every man has the same twinkish body type).

In AFK Journey, you have more variety. From undeads, elves, viera-like characters, beastmen, etc. The game pops with color and design, and the story isn't half bad either. Voice acting could use a little more work, and some of the text is unfortunately untranslated (personally ran into 3-4 instances of untranslated text).

They are constantly sending out surveys to see what areas to improve on. Whether that's just a performative act, or genuine data collection, remains to be seen. So far they seem receptive to feedback, both in-game and in satellite communities like Reddit.

In my humble opinion, if you like the idea of a laidback game that you check once or twice a day, you can probably find something worthwhile in AFK Journey. However, I would not suggest playing it if your goal is to dominate the leaderboards or be competitive. That's a never ending race that will only dry your wallet and leave you with an empty feeling in the end.

slowz2secret

how is this cash grab game an 8? damn...

Sovrath

slowz2secret said:

how is this cash grab game an 8? damn...

Read the article and see?

Scot

Sovrath said:

slowz2secret said:

how is this cash grab game an 8? damn...

Read the article and see?

Read an article? What is this site coming to!!

Scot

There is an argument that if the monetarization is so bad then the score should take a huge hit. What I would favour instead is different colored scores for mobile/gatcha, with the term Mobile/Gatcha (or something like that) on them. Create a dividing line between those sort of games and the rest and I don't think players would question the score so much.

Kyleran

paco_magillicuddy said:

Cons
horrible monetization practices
too many time gates
pay to win in almost every game mode

These are the cons of essentially every mobile game.

Too bad there aren't separate web sites which focus on mobile gaming so we could keep the trash off of this one.

Oh wait, look what I found
https://www.mobilegames.com/

Problem solved.

Sovrath

Kyleran said:

paco_magillicuddy said:

Cons
horrible monetization practices
too many time gates
pay to win in almost every game mode

These are the cons of essentially every mobile game.

Too bad there aren't separate web sites which focus on mobile gaming so we could keep the trash off of this one.

Oh wait, look what I found
https://www.mobilegames.com/

Problem solved.

yeah but this game can be played on PC.

Maybe a regular review of "the game" but then a mention of whether or not the monetization drastically affects game play?

Kyleran

Sovrath said:

Kyleran said:

paco_magillicuddy said:

Cons
horrible monetization practices
too many time gates
pay to win in almost every game mode

These are the cons of essentially every mobile game.

Too bad there aren't separate web sites which focus on mobile gaming so we could keep the trash off of this one.

Oh wait, look what I found
https://www.mobilegames.com/

Problem solved.

yeah but this game can be played on PC.

Maybe a regular review of "the game" but then a mention of whether or not the monetization drastically affects game play?

Yeah, they actually did slag on the various ways the monetization impacted the game.

How much said monetization ruins one's overall enjoyment is entirely a personal prefererence so it's up to the customer to downgrade the score appropriately.

For me it's an automatic -5 leaving overall score at a "3".

Sovrath

Kyleran said:

Sovrath said:

Kyleran said:

paco_magillicuddy said:

Cons
horrible monetization practices
too many time gates
pay to win in almost every game mode

These are the cons of essentially every mobile game.

Too bad there aren't separate web sites which focus on mobile gaming so we could keep the trash off of this one.

Oh wait, look what I found
https://www.mobilegames.com/

Problem solved.

yeah but this game can be played on PC.

Maybe a regular review of "the game" but then a mention of whether or not the monetization drastically affects game play?

Yeah, they actually did slag on the various ways the monetization impacted the game.

How much said monetization ruins one's overall enjoyment is entirely a personal prefererence so it's up to the customer to downgrade the score appropriately.

For me it's an automatic -5 leaving overall score at a "3".

yeah, the article seems to say that without paying you progress slowly. Now, if you want to keep up with others, that's an issue. If you are solo then "meh," whatever. Unless of course the game play becomes exceptionally stale because of some sort of game play "slog" unless you pay.