Brighter Shores is an MMORPG created by the same mind behind Runescape. As such, you can expect both games to give off similar vibes while still being unique enough. Although the game is free to play, you still may be wondering if it’s worth your time.
Related
Brighter Shores: 9 Beginner Tips
Brighter Shores is a relaxing MMO with similar vibes to Runescape. Here, you can check out some beginner tips to help you get started.
Here, we are going to help you come to a conclusion and answer this question. We’ll take a look at reviews, time expenditure, any potential costs, and what other players are saying about the game. Overall, the decision is up to you, but this should help you if you are on the fence about playing.
Review
Brighter Shores is a unique and relaxing MMORPG that lets you level a variety of professions in each of the four areas currently in the game. While the game is still in early access, there is still plenty of content to play through, both as a free-to-play player and as someone with a purchased subscription.
Here at TheGamer, Staff Writer Harry Alston reviewed the early access version of Brighter Shores, calling it “cozy, quintessentially British, and extremely grindy”. Indeed, the game is quite cozy; everything from the music to the graphics sets the stage for a game that lets you sit back and relax.
A major part of Brighter Shores is the constant grind. In order to get quests done, you’ll need to grind in the relevant professions. Some professions are even linked together. For example, to make some dishes, you’ll need to use a certain fish that requires you to be at a specific level. In order to catch that fish though, you’ll need bait that can only be obtained with a specific foraging level.
This can make everything feel interconnected, but at times, it also means that you may feel like you’re endlessly grinding. Each profession action boils down to clicking and waiting. So, for a long grinding session, you may just be wandering around and clicking for an hour.
Despite its linear world exploration – the map is divided into rooms rather than an open world – there’s still a great sense of discovery. There are locked doors, hidden symbols, and different dialogue options with important NPCs depending on the clothes you’re wearing aplenty. The game is sort of like a point-and-click adventure of old but with some of the MMO trappings of RuneScape.
Thankfully, the game does provide enough variety for you. As Harry states, “when you grow tired of spearing eels in the stream outside of town, you can go and beat up a variety of enemies”. After unlocking new areas, you’ll also get a chance to try new things.
Overall, Brighter Shores is a wonderfully grindy experience, and it’s up to you to decide if you like the grind or not. If you favor long hours of clicking around while possibly doing something else (like watching a show or listening to a podcast), then you might like Brighter Shores. If, on the other hand, you prefer fast-paced content, the grind may be tiring.
Time Expenditure
If you couldn’t already tell, Brighter Shores is filled with grinding. This means that you can expect to spend a lot of time playing. As an early-access MMORPG, there is still more content to be expected too.
Overall, if you play through everything that the game has to offer so far, you can expect to spend hundreds of hours playing. Until the game gets its final content update (which is not happening anytime soon), you can play pretty much endlessly.
Cost
Brighter Shores has a premium pass, but you can also play the game for free. If you play on the free version, you’ll only have access to the first two areas in the game. If you do pay $5.99 USD (on a monthly basis), you’ll get access to the two other areas in the game, as well as some other features shown above.
While the fifth area (Stonemaw Hill) has not been added to the game yet, it’s safe to assume that this will only be accessible if you have the premium pass in the future.
What Players Are Saying
Worth The Try If You Want To Multi-Task – Jacqueline Zalace
It’s been said countless times, but this game is filled with grinding. I like to grind in video games but I have a limit, which Brighter Shores definitely pushes. I can see this game going on to become great with future updates, but for now, I feel like my entire purpose is to run around and click on resources.
To break up the resource gathering, you can also engage in combat, but this feels a bit stiff. At times, combat can feel unbalanced, making it feel not very exciting. Additionally, I’m not really the biggest fan of a paid subscription in an early-access indie MMORPG. This comes down to personal opinion, but I would rather a one-time-payment, especially since half the game relies on having the subscription.
Overall though, Brighter Shores is great if you like to do other things while gaming. As I leveled up my professions, I listed to a podcast for hours, getting through a lot of episodes. It was nice to just sit down and relax while playing a low-effort game.
A Repetitive Start, But Keep An Eye On Its Development – Quinton O’Conner
Brighter Shores isn’t the evolution of RuneScape that I’d hoped it might be. At least, not yet. This early access version, which sports an interesting profession system and a lovely little world, cannot escape an overarching sense of repetition that I would like to see toned down in the final product.
Much of that repetition is rooted in the tedious level-grinding, and I say this as someone who is no stranger to tedious grinds. In plenty of games, I’ll gladly lose hours building my character up from paltry to mighty. But Brighter Shores really pushes the limits of my patience.
I’m not convinced that the steep multiple-profession level requirements for its quests were a savvy idea; I was most of the way through one quest when an NPC requested soup. Soup that required fishing. Soup that I had to make. Soup that I had to level my chef to 61 in order to serve him.
As you can see, I have a pretty negative opinion of this core aspect of Brighter Shores. But don’t let that turn you off entirely. Truly, ongoing development could prompt enough changes for the vibrant setting and unique gameplay tidbits to soar. It might not be worth your time right now, but keep an eye on it.
At Least Worth A Try – Jacob Whaling
Brighter Shores is free-to-play, so there’s no reason not to at least try it. As expected from this type of game, the things you do at level one are essentially the same as what you’ll be doing at level 300 and above, so you should quickly be able to get an idea of what to expect from the entire rest of the game.
However, this is also a pretty big detracting factor, at least for me, as the endless grind never really feels like its going to pay off. Since there’s no player economy, or really any player interaction at all, it all feels a little pointless, and the satisfying progression of RuneScape isn’t really found here. That said, Brighter Shores is still in early access, so all of this might change for the better in the future, and it may be more worthwhile then.
Next
Brighter Shores: Knowledge Points, Explained
Be a bit more knowledgeable in all things Knowledge Points. Understand what Brighter Shores is doing with this system!