I had the chance to play Frostkeep Studios’ upcoming online action survival game, Rend, ahead of its public launch towards the end of this month.
The elevator pitch for the game is that it’s an online, post-Ragnarok Nordic action game with survival elements – filled with three factions, each of which vying for the right to ascend to godhood. When you first boot up the game, which is currently in alpha, you make and name your character and then are promptly thrown into a world of strife.
The game is centered around its combat and its survival-sandbox elements, meaning yes, you’ll be punching trees and bushes at first to get your basic crafting materials and making your first tools, as well as supplies, armor, weapons, and more. While I generally yawn at survival-sandbox games these days, Rend provides just enough to create a meta game – without hampering your play.
It didn’t take me long to craft all of the basic survival and adventuring tools or gear, and even my first real weapons – a crude hunting bow. You level up somewhat quickly in the current build, however that could be attested to the fact that I was rapidly unlocking new recipes and killing critters to boot as I explored the Norse landscapes.
Most people are probably wondering: how much gatekeeping is there and how annoying are the “survival” mechanics, i.e. regularly drinking water and eating. While I was learning the ropes it was a bit confusing as the tutorial isn’t fully implemented yet, however once you’re killing beasts and have made your first water container(s), you’ll always be stocked with food and water.
In terms of the overall “loop” or meta-game with the crafting and survival mechanics, I’d say it feels mostly appropriate and rewarding. It provides a challenge of sorts and a progression system, without being a chore that you just have to do to earn your klout in the game world. The team’s pedigree shines here in that you’re learning how to survive, while still having fun.
The game is downright gorgeous at max or high settings, especially with the aforementioned note that this game is still in alpha. The folks at Frostkeep are going to further polish up and improve the visuals, as well as the overall performance of the game as you’re playing. From my time first booting up to now, there has already been an update that noticeably improved server performance.
Rend has an interesting visual style that is reminiscent of the team’s pedigree, World of Warcraft and League of Legends. It’s not quite cartoony, and yet it’s not quiet realistic or grim looking to match its post-apocalyptic setting. The game rests somewhere in between an ambitious visual take on nordic mythology, while still keeping things colorful and engaging to the eyes.
The music in Rend is heavily laden with Nordic themes – both with instrumentals and the vocalists. The music fits perfectly, sounds brilliant, and isn’t too overwhelming or too repetitive either. This, combined with the environmental noises and overall sounds, really bring the entire experience together to make you feel like you’re in a different world.
As with most survival sandbox games, there is base building in Rend. While my experience with base building was a bit light in my time thus far, the crafting meta-game does make you go through some hoops before you can even build things. While this is intentional, it’s by no means an annoyance – you learn the basics of survival first and eventually, you can build your own fort.
Each faction will have its own huge mega-base that is typically protected by an energy shield. This will largely be your base of operations until you get a better foothold in the game and can set up your own domicile. Periodically, this large faction-owned base will be temporarily exposed, meaning your rival factions can drop in to start destroying things or killing you and your comrades.
One thing I haven’t seen yet that I’m personally very excited for is the possibility for your faction base to be attacked by waves of AI creatures as well.
This, combined with the fact that you’ll be able to run your own custom server, means players who want a more balanced PVE to PVP approach can definitely have their cake and eat it too. While most of the focus some people may have on the game is the PVP element, there are lots of more dangerous areas you can explore, with tougher monsters and better crafting materials.
There are lots of elements of this game I haven’t even personally seen yet – like exploring the spirit realm to tame beasts as new ride-able mounts, crafting artifact weapons, and more. Another key feature Rend has already been doing very well is its robust archetype and talents system. As you level up, you can pick two archetypes and start specc’ing out your character to your playstyle.
I tend to go full ranged DPS when I play these kinds of online action or RPG games, but I also enjoy being a resilient tank, so for my current toon I went with improvements to my health, stamina, and of course: my hunger and thirst deprecation. The talents for reducing your bodily needs combined with containers for nourishment, are actually quiet handy, making them decrease slowly.
While Rend has a robust server-level progression system, once a faction accumulates enough spirits and ascends to Valhalla to become the next set of gods – the server essentially resets. Those who have earned the glory to be as gods will get account level meta progression points, while all the progress you’ve made on that server will be lost, whether you became a god or not.
I think this will ultimately be the most interesting mechanic for Rend as the folks at Frostkeep told us servers will probably take a few months at most to fulfill the necessary spirit count to reach godhood. I haven’t really seen the god-level progression yet, but it’s a very interesting and ultimately promising take on the survival genre.
I hopped into Rend knowing only the basic gist of what to expect and what gameplay would be like, and I came away very impressed. The game is still a bit earlier on in development, and yet it’s already incredibly polished, beautiful, and ultimately fun. It’s a very focused and ambitious take on an overcrowded genre, but with what I hope is enough to help set it apart from the crowd.
Despite my misgivings with games launching as unfinished products, Rend in its current state can be played from start to finish, is mostly feature complete, and is very polished. To me, Frostkeep launching the game earlier and trying to get it in the hands of potential players is a testament to how much they want to refine it and make it the best product they can, given its online nature.
As with any online game, the game will arguably never be “finished” as following its full release, new content will be released alongside the regular updates, tweaks, and fixes. From its Early Access release, Frostkeep are hoping to have the game wrapped up and ready for full release in six to twelve months.
Rend will launch for Windows PC via Steam Early Access on July 31st, for $29.99. We’ll be streaming the game later today via our YouTube and our Twitch simultaneously around 6PM – come join us!
