Vindictus: Defying Fate is worth trying for free even if you never played the MMO

Although I enjoy a wide variety of games from different genres, there are still parts of the video game zeitgeist I have little knowledge of. One of those blind spots is Korean MMOs like Nexon’s Vindictus, which attracts lots of players in Asia, but has made less of an impact in the U.S. Thankfully, my lack of familiarity with that space didn’t make the playtest for Vindictus: Defying Fate any less enjoyable.

Rather than being yet another massive MMO, Vindictus: Defying Fate is a tough Dark Souls-inspired action RPG. I’m typically a fan of when game studios take their popular franchises and diversify them to appeal to different types of players, and I think Defying Fate has a good chance of making Vindictus more relevant to unaware Western gamers. Fluid combat and gorgeous visuals make this an action game to watch and try out for free during its playtest, which is now running on Steam.

No Vindictus background required

The Vindictus: Defying Fate playtest emphasizes gameplay over story. There are two playable characters: the longsword and shield-wielding Fiona and a character from Vindictus names Lann, who dual-wields swords and can aggressively dash around during combat. First, I tried out Fiona and slowly inched my way through Vindictus: Defying Fate’s first few combat encounters. Anyone who has played a game from FromSoftware or any Soulslike will instantly recognize the formula.

Enemies are formidable, and properly dodging and blocking attacks at key times is just as critical to success as attacking is. Soulslike games are hit-or-miss for me, but I got into a groove with Vindictus: Defying Fate because it controls more similarly to action games like Devil May Cry and Soulstice than Dark Souls. It uses controller buttons for combat, rather than triggers, and features deep skill and combo systems that give each character plenty of varied utility in a fight. It’s still quite difficult, especially during boss fights, but attacking feels a lot more exhilarating from