Villagers and Heroes: Reborn Review

Mad Otter Games’ free-to-play MMO, Villagers and Heroes, has come on quite the journey. From its release as a browser game called A Mystical Land in 2011, to its re-release in 2014 as Villagers and Heroes, and finally to its rebirth in 2015, V&H has moulded and shaped itself into an MMO quite unlike any other I have played. Clearly, it has made the leap from browser to Steam (also with its own stand-alone client). In V&H Reborn, the game boasts new voice-overs, graphics, quests and crafting. But it hasn’t lost the quaint simplicity that we find in Facebook games. While it certainly does not wield the might and punch of larger MMOs such as World of Warcraft, Rift or Wildstar, it does something very unique and brave - it doesn’t try to stand up to its bigger, meatier MMO brothers.

V&H starts like most MMOs - with a huge amount of customisable options. Everything from skintone to eye colour can be tweaked and played with, allowing for plenty of personalisation. You quite literally write your character into being; a fantastically traditional narrator discusses your options and decisions as you choose them, and your character’s biography is written bit by bit in the pages of a book. You may play either as a Villager, or as a Hero. Villagers do not belong to a class; they simply have crafting skills. Heroes, however, can be either Warriors, Hunters, Wizards or Priests. As you select your class, skills and even homestead, the biography becomes more detailed. The only quibble is that the wording insists on calling my female character a “he”. Apparently, female pronouns have been overlooked entirely!

Upon character creation, you land on Ethos Island to begin picking up your beginner quests. The first thing you’ll notice at this point is the richness of the script, and the excellent voice acting. Each interaction with quest-givers involves quite a large amount of speech, almost all of which is voice acted. The story-line and dialogue is light-hearted, full of puns and joking comments sure to make you grin more than once. It’s all wonderfully silly. No darkness, no impending doom or lurking monstrosities. The characters of the game just seem to be finding themselves in increasingly ridiculous and hilarious predicaments, which only a hero can sort out.

The visuals, unlike the audio, are very basic. Even on their highest settings, the graphics are blocky and cartoony. But that’s okay. In fact, it would be strange to be playing a story-book style game with perfectly realistic graphics. The cartoon quality, the bright colours and the general simplicity all work towards its charm!

The beginning quests are fairly typical fetch quests, or go-talk-to tasks. However, there is a definite lack of “Kill Things”. Although they do occur, early on, they are noticeably sparse and are not taken wholly seriously. It becomes clear, very quickly, that combat is not the emphasis of this MMO. It almost seems like an oxymoron; an MMO not driven by slaying and epic battles. I would like to repeat that these elements are present. They’re just by no means the highlight.

And here it becomes clear what really drives the game; crafting. You are introduced to a plethora of professions very quickly. The best part is, you do not have to limit yourself to one or two professions. You may pick up and master all 10, at your leisure. As usual, gathering and crafting professions often go hand-in-hand. For example, Mining and Smithing are easily paired. Gathering professions also include Bug Lore, Plant Lore and Fishing, while crafting professions are Tailoring, Cooking and Woodcrafting. House-related skills are also available; Gardening and Ranching. Gardening, obviously, allows the player to grow crops for cooking or feeding animals, while Ranching allows you to keep a number of farmyard animals, which can be used for various Cooking or crafting purposes.

The most in-depth and engaging quest lines are those involving crafting, and as such, levelling is painfully slow. Where in most MMOs, I can boast a double figure level within an hour, a couple of hours of V&H play leaves me at a measly level three. However, as you fall into the slow and steady rhythms of gathering, crafting, exploring and completing quests, you forget to chase levels. They don’t seem important in the same way as they usually would. You gradually grow and develop, broadening your horizons and spreading further afield as your quests take you. It isn’t a race to the next environment, but a wander around the map.

Instead, you find yourself focusing on the next thing to gather, or to craft; levelling your character grants you talent points to spend on skills and abilities, but levelling your professions unlocks recipes and locked gatherable items as well, which suddenly seems much more exciting. It is a relaxing and pressure-free experience, a far-cry from the stresses and hard-earned triumphs of tougher and more traditional MMOs.

I have previously mentioned house skills, which are associated with the player housing. Various house types are available at character creation, and are chosen according to the profession and needs of the character - some offer more storage space, or room to Garden, or even certain in-game combat bonuses. Houses belonging either to guild members or various players clump together to form villages, ruled over by a Mayor, which behaves much like a guild leader. Villages of varying size offer different buffs and perks to the residents. There is a strong sense of community within villages. It provides a more visual idea of community than guilds alone, and there is a real sense of accomplishment in seeing villages flourish with time and hard work.

And the community is easily the strongest aspect of the game. People who have been playing and enjoying V&H have often done so for years. Many players I encountered bragged that this is their second or third year of being devoted to the game. In the absence of violence and PvP, the community feel is very clean, approachable and friendly. Ideal for children and adults alike, you quickly become sucked into the friendly atmosphere.

The developers of the game are also notoriously approachable and open to their players’ ideas. They are praised to high heavens for their responsiveness, and willingness to concede to the wants of their fans. It is of the utmost importance, particularly when it comes to underdog MMOs, that the developers establish a close relationship with their playership, and this has certainly been achieved.

V&H aims to be enjoyed, stress-free. And it values its replayability to the extent that it includes a Rebirth option; that is to say, you can send your character back to level 1 without losing any items or elements of the household. After Rebirth, you are given an XP boost and talent points to spend as you wish, and your XP boost will not expire until you reach the level you were at the time of Rebirth. Different decisions may be made, perhaps about talent builds or professions, with no need to create a new character, and no repercussions to your existing character. Rebirth is rewarded.

As aforementioned, V&H is free-to-play. There is, of course, a Cash Shop offering aesthetic perks, farm animals or other items which could prove exceedingly useful, but it is unlikely you will at any point find yourself hindered or unable to continue without paying real money. Paid-for bonuses are just that; unimportant, but desirable. Long-term players will of course make good use of the Cash Shop, but new players should not be deterred. This is not a pay-to-win.

All in all, Villagers and Heroes: Reborn successfully diverts from the violence, gore and horror of the traditional MMO. If you are a World of Warcraft fan yearning for a long, arduous and bloody battle, then turn around because this is not the game for you. If you want realistic and awe-inspiring graphics, then again, you probably will not appreciate this game. Although there are monsters to be slain and hardships to struggle through, the bright and lighthearted atmosphere coupled with the friendly community of the village culminates in a pleasant and funny experience suitable for all ages.