What did you expect from a gacha game after all?
Summary:
- Solo Leveling: Arise is out.
- It's a free-to-play gacha game with in-game purchases.
- Fans are unpleasantly surprised by the prices.
Solo Leveling: Arise is a 2024 PC and mobile free-to-play action RPG game developed by Netmarble Neo and published by Netmarble Corp. It became available for PC, Android and IOS devices on May 8.
The game follows the same story as the Solo Leveling manhwa and anime adaptation and features the same characters. It’s been available in certain regions for quite some time already, but now it’s finally time for the whole world to try it out.
While fans admit Arise is quite an enjoyable game, and the international release seems to have fixed a lot of bugs and glitches, they’re still unsure whether the game is really worth it.
Arise is a wonderful way to get back to the Solo Leveling universe and spend some more time with Jinwoo and other hunters, but we can’t forget that it’s a gacha game, so it’s not as free-to-play as you may think.
It’s Not Just Arise, This Is How Gacha Works
Gacha games are free to download, but they implement toy vending machine mechanics that force you to roll for the characters and weapons you’d like to have access to in the game. If you’ve played Genshin Impact, you know exactly what we’re talking about. And Arise is just like that.
The game has just become available, but fans are already outraged at the amount of money needed to fully enjoy it. The process of gaming becomes much faster if you spend real money on the game by buying in-game currency, and much prettier if you have various character skins.
Cha Hae-In is also in the game, of course, and fans found charging almost $30 for her skin insanely pricey. Modern AAA games cost about $70-100 nowadays, depending on the pack, so it’s crazy to think you can buy one for the price Arise is asking for three skins.
But gacha veterans are not surprised. They know how gacha games work and were ready for it, but newbies can’t wrap their heads around it. Is the game going to force them to spend tons of money on every tiny thing?
The most upsetting prediction is that Arise will be exactly like that. It plays with Solo Leveling fans’ feelings and knows that there’ll be people who can afford it. And not just afford it, but actually buy it.
This is how gacha games work, and this is what makes them money. So you can either accept the rules or find another anime game to entertain you this year.