Once upon a time, I was a budding martial artist. I’ve done everything from Kendo to Taekwondo, and while I was never particularly good at any of them, I love the idea of synchronizing mind, body, and soul to eventually attain mastery over movement. It’s the reason I’ve always wanted to try out Naraka Bladepoint, and why I default to monk in pretty much every videogame. But, while WoW’s monk is certainly impactful, it doesn’t have the fluid movement of Blade and Soul, a Wuxia-inspired MMORPG that was first released in 2012, and is being remastered and re-launched in 2025.
Set in a gorgeous Asian-inspired world, Blade and Soul NEO plants you firmly in the muddied boots of an unknown warrior that’s determined to restore honor to their clan. It’s a name you may recognize from its spinoff anime on Crunchyroll or, alternatively, 2021’s Blade and Soul 2 which, while a sequel in name, is a very different game from the original MMORPG.
You’ll play as one of four playable species: the prideful Gon, righteous Jun, playful Lyn, and ethereal Yun. From here, you’ll choose from a variety of classes, including traditional spellcasters and warriors, as well as martial arts-focused fighters. I can tell you right now that I’ll be playing Kung Fu Master.
From here, you’re let loose on The Earthen Realm, which has been reimagined in Unreal Engine 4, breathing fresh air into an already vibrant, colorful world. Combat plays out similar to World of Warcraft or FF14, but with Blade and Soul’s unique martial arts flair. You’ll be able to craft your own builds, with NEO offering even more customization than its predecessor with the all-new Skill Book system. These ancient tomes will teach you myriad new abilities, which you can then integrate into your build to really hone your experience.
Flashy combat aside, however, one of the things that makes Blade and Soul so special is its Windwalking, which boosts both your speed and agility to streamline traversal. It reminds me a little bit of Warframe’s Bullet Jump, and you’ll be able to pull off some sick tricks as you zoom around. While it was once dictated by stamina, however, it’s now available at all times, meaning that you can flip and corkscrew to your heart’s content.
NCSoft’s Blade and Soul Neo remaster is “coming soon,” presumably meaning that it’ll drop at some point in 2025. If you, like me, are already planning our your race/class combo, you can pre-register for access here and earn yourself a new character outfit, currency, and some other mystery goodies.
If you’re looking for some new sprawling fantasy worlds to explore in 2025, however, we have a rundown of all the best new MMOs to help you out. Alternatively, we have a list of all of the upcoming PC games for 2025 and beyond to help you plan out your year – and inevitably add even more games to your Steam library.
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