Camelot Unchained

Long-time DAoC player here — playing since 2001. I really wanted Camelot Unchained to be good. I had faith in it, I waited patiently for years, bought it, tried it, and honestly, calling it disappointing would be an understatement. This does not feel like a real MMO. It feels more like a small DAoC frontier/RvR mini-game with no meaningful PvE, no real world depth, and very little to actually do. I understand it is still in beta, but after roughly 13 years of development, this is unacceptable. The world feels empty. Crafting is painfully slow and does not feel rewarding. RvR is not fun. Gameplay feels rough, abilities and casting feel awkward, and combat just does not have the smoothness, impact, or excitement that DAoC had decades ago. I ran into the same small group of players in the RvR zone, maybe 40–50 people, and most fights ended with me dying almost instantly. There was nothing enjoyable about it. I have a high-end gaming PC, and the performance and overall feel are still terrible. The graphics, animations, spell effects, and abilities feel extremely outdated. DAoC, even being an old game, had better ability design, better atmosphere, and a much stronger sense of purpose. In my opinion, the core idea here just does not work. Most MMO players want more than just nonstop RvR in an empty world. They want PvE, grinding, mobs, loot, progression, dungeons, crafting that matters, and things to do with friends when they are not fighting. Removing all of that makes the game feel hollow. Honestly, I think the developers should stop trying to force this into being a full MMO. At this point, it might make more sense to turn it into some kind of battle royale-style RvR game, or completely recreate it as a true “DAoC Unchained” style MMO where the world has PvE, danger, progression, and open RvR, that would be an actual MMO. I cannot believe that after all these years, this is the result. It feels like one of those games people try for a week or maybe a month, then never come back to. I hope the developers take the criticism seriously, because as it stands, I do not see this game going anywhere. I am beyond disappointed.

i watched as the lead developer of this game harassed and abused his own customers all day every day for years only to produce this s show. yeah i tried it myself just to see it and gave it the benefit of the doubt but it's clear that whatever sauce went into DAOC wasn't thanks to the lead developer of this game. he's a charlatan and a coward that used his refund policy as a cudgel against backers he actively sought feedback from when he didn't like the feedback they gave. beyond that this game is just ayyyyyyyyyy lmao wtf why did they have the balls to release THIS? lol. obviously they talked to their lawyers and realized they DO have a legal obligation to deliver to backers despite mark's claims on MOP years ago. maybe you should've paid more attention in college instead of modding MUDs and claiming them as fully your own work mark. i hope you treat people you know irl and your employees better than you treat the people who gave you millions of dollars because jfc.

I was really hoping to find some kind of silver lining in this game, a glimmer of hope that it was going to turn out ok. There isn't. This game is clearly just 3 rotting corpses in a trench coat stitched together just well enough to prevent backers from being able to sue. What an epic disappointment. Single developer games with under a year in development are typically head and shoulders above this slow car crash. The problems are myriad and many others have already described them, but some additional ones are, the combat is too fast, and everything, literally every thing else is glacially slow. This is sadly yet another instance of Marc Jacobs just taking the money and running.

Man... Not going to lie. So disappointing. I read the positive reviews and thought "Yeah! OG DAoC!"... I was so freaking wrong. The graphics are trash, and the game runs like trash. (Not smooth at all). Monsters? You have to go to very specific spots to find them... and I only learned that from reading the chat. When I first bought the game, I loaded it up to be hit with a "Cannot connect to game servers", because apparently, even though they released this on steam, the servers are NOT up 24/7. I'm not going to lie, I was so hyped for this game, but the current state of it, is absolute trash.

I felt like I was playing an alpha version of daoc with slightly upgraded graphics overall. My gpu was maxxed out rendering just the landscape so optimization is an issue. This game needs a ton of work and I don't believe the dec 26 plan to leave early access for one second. Movement was clunky, combat was clunky... literally everything is clunky.

What an absolute POS game. I nearly made RR11 on DAOC on a Thane. I miss it so much. This game is no where close to being even an alpha version or Early Access of DAOC, which is crazy considering it has been in development for 13 years almost as much as my entire career. Jacobs is a worse scammer than the Indians calling about your extended warranty, The game is emptier than my love life. All in all this game will flop and it is sad, because it could have been so much more with a competent CEO

this game has made its....... FINAL STAND bahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahha bahahahhahahahhahahah

I just don't understand. Thirteen years and I just don't get how it could have so many issues and feel so clunky. Why didn't you guys stay true to the source (DAOC 2001-2002) and just up the graphics>? At least borrow a little from what made that such a gem. Not even allowing cloth/leather etc drops off mobs. Or coin. Seriously?

Unplayable.

As a longtime Dark Age of Camelot veteran, I went into Camelot Unchained with excitement, nostalgia, and a healthy amount of skepticism. After about 50 hours of playtime, I can honestly say I’ve had a really good time. My hubby and I spent thousands on DAoC over the years between multiple accounts, monthly subscriptions, and expansions. Every expansion was another purchase, and every account still had that monthly fee, but we loved it because the game gave us memories and experiences that were worth it. That’s why, for me, Camelot Unchained being only $10 in Early Access is a pretty easy recommendation. I already feel like I’ve gotten my money’s worth. I’ve seen complaints about the graphics, and I understand what people mean, but honestly, they don’t bother me. The graphics have that older DAoC-style MMO feel. No, it’s not trying to be some ultra-polished modern AAA showcase, but it’s also not horrible. If your main concern is cutting-edge graphics, this probably isn’t the game you’re looking for, and that is okay. I’ve also seen complaints about character building and limited options. Right now there are three character options per realm, and I do expect that to grow and improve as development continues. But again, this is Early Access. Some people seem to forget what that actually means. There are bugs and rough edges, but I’ve run into far fewer issues than I expected. Even better, the devs are active, pushing hotfixes, and listening to player feedback. For an Early Access MMO, that matters a lot. The game definitely has nostalgia for DAoC veterans, but it also has new systems, player logistics, and mechanics to learn. It’s not just a copy-paste experience, and that’s a good thing. There’s a learning curve, but figuring it out has been part of the fun. Overall, I would absolutely recommend it, especially to DAoC veterans or players who understand what Early Access means. For $10, with active development and a community already forming around it, I think it’s worth jumping in and giving it a fair shot. Happy Hunting