Pax Dei

This is not a game for impatient folks or instant gratification seekers. You will need to find a clan and rely on each other for most content. The graphics are great and although there are some bugs to work out and some things to button up, I recommend this as a long term game with friends, which most of the community I have interacted with have been super cool. Crafting is robust and varied. You will need to invest some time to fully enjoy the game. My hope is that it continues to grow and evolve into one of those games you can spend years going back to. For an old school gamer like me, I have high hopes.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE this game, but in it's current state, I cannot recommend it. Simply put, you have to grind so much with crafting and such, without any actual reason to do so in the first place. I have not yet found a good reason to grind so much since there isn't a community need for the many items you can craft (not even a need for yourself). So, you end up crafting a TON of items just to hoard all of it because it is virtually of no use to anyone. I think with updates, there is a chance for this to be corrected.

I started to enjoy the game. There is something here but not with the current deployment. Refunded for the time being. Crazy idea. Drop the subscription system, allow a solo mode, open it up for players to run their own servers, and give the ability to make mods. Watch your sales soar. I would be the first one to buy it again at full price. Right now it just seems like they are trying to limp along a wounded horse. Good bones but there is nothing "special" here. Graphics are nice.

With nearly nearly 3000 hours played, I feel more than a little guilty for not having written a review yet. I’ve been enjoying this game since the beginning of Early Access. True, some of the game systems were rough back then, but most of the complaints in the negative reviews have already been faced and improved upon over this past year with the numerous game patches and content updates. As to the few other remaining negative review complaints, the dev’s near-future roadmap diagram shows they’ll be addressing them as well. The rest of the negative reviews are due to not liking the “Sandbox MMO” gaming style/genre, which is a matter of opinion. 10/10 Starting Out - The most recent content update added achievements which do a great job onboarding new players. Your first plot is FREE with game purchase, and can be maintained indefinitely with just the in-game currency. If you want to build bigger, then gather your friends and make a clan, or buy plot tokens with a subscription. 11/10 Building System - Best I’ve ever seen in a sandbox MMO. Huge variety of building pieces, and a robust snapping system that gives infinite variety. The only limit is your own creativity. Everyone can build something cool, big or small. A cottage, market, inn, tavern, guard tower, fort, castle, forest treehouse, outpost, crafting hall, etc. There are many master builders, architects and artists in this world with truly jaw-dropping creations. 10/10 Sandbox MMO - The world is vast and beautiful. I still haven’t visited even half of the heartland home valleys. Every time I step into a new one, I’m floored by what that local community has built up. There are no NPC’s giving out quests. The game is much more chill and organic with player-driven content. You chat with and support your neighbors. You trade with visitors. You make your own story. The bigger clans frequently host community events such as dungeon runs, adventuring in the wildlands, PVP and fun social/Roleplay events. 9/10 Economy - There’s a niche for everyone. Do you like to grind out crafting and become a top-tier crafter that everyone comes to? Do you like to venture out into the wildlands hunting and gathering rare resources? Do you like to join up in dungeon-delving parties to acquire unique items? Do you like to PvP over special resources? Are you an artist or architect willing to build on commission? 8/10 Content Updates - Every 2-3 months, a content update adds something new and interesting, be it a new game mechanic, new building pieces, improved systems, and quality of life improvements. 7/10 PVP - I don’t participate, but the PVP area usually seems to be the most active area during primetime. There are many clans with amazing fortresses. There’s always a fight over special resources. The dueling system is also fun. 6/10 Crafting - Not my favorite part of the game. There’s a huge variety of professions, but like all MMO’s, you inevitably stand at the crafting bench for a long time. But that is balanced with the adventure of going out and gathering the satisfying variety of needed resources in the various biomes of the wildlands. Also, there’s usually something different and interesting to craft as you level up. 6/10 Dungeons - Some of the best structural art was poured into the dungeon designs. I don’t regularly adventure in the dungeons, but from what I’ve heard, the enemy AI and difficulty are much improved in the new update, and there’s still much more to come. 10/10 The Future - The game continues to grow and stay fresh. Check out the official road map for what’s to come! The world is vast, with stunning POI’s that have yet to be utilized. There’s so much potential for the lore to expand into.

I loved this game but the more time passes the less i can recommend it. This went from a beautiful concept of a world fully made by the players with every town being unique and every interaction feeling genuine, to still this somewhat but now with much more money involved. You cant even keep your own house anymore without a sub. I'll always remember this game fondly as another great concept that got ruined with subscriptions before it could really get off the ground. Shame.

A friend bought this for me so I feel bad giving a negative review. But there is no taking a break with this game. You can't go play something else and then come back. Yes you get a plot for free, but the requirements to get enough of the currency to keep your free plot means you will be playing this almost every day for the 30 days of your plot life. I could get past the AFK crafting, the upgraded tools that actually work slower than your old tools, etc but its the fact you cant leave the game alone. I know because I didnt continue to fork over my wallet, my 30 hours I sunk into my base is just all gone. Even if I had continued to play casually I wouldve lost everything. If I wanted to restart everytime I wanted to play another game, Id choose a game that has server wipes that don't charge you for them. TL:DR If you dont play this game every day, work life or not, you will lose everything you worked for every 30 days. And that alone makes the game hard to come back to, knowing all your hard work is gone because you didnt pay.

Be careful when you buy this game, the customer service is slow and inefficient. I asked for help when I accidentally used my plot on the EU server, even after deleting the character, I was never able to use my free plot on the US server, and the answer took a month to come. Even though the community has been voicing their dissatisfaction with the plot system, nothing has been done. I'm not buying another plot, this company won't see a single dollar from me again. IF YOU ARE READING THIS, DONT BUY THIS GAME!

Building is amazing, market setup is amazing, graphics amazing. The content seems to be coming in i recommend to those with patients and imagination. Ignore the hollow whines its a beautiful game.

Pax Dei is a really unique creative social sandbox game. The game has striking visuals, beautiful scenery, enjoyable hunting/gathering mechanics, and a really creative and beautiful community to be a part of. Where this game really excels for me is in the freedom of operation that you can approach most aspects of the game with. There's no rush to get anything done in any particular order, and there's no required objectives or locks behind most of the content, so you can just enjoy what you feel like doing that day. Want to hunt birds to get the satisfying thud when they drop to the ground? Sure. Want to mine for some ore to make better armor? Go for it. Want to just enjoy the scenery? Folks build all sorts of incredible structures to discover, and most are thrilled to show you around. While I enjoy the game, I do hope that the plot system evolves to be more inclusive of casual players. As it stands, without a subscription, you can only have one plot to make a small house and maintain that plot with grace from playing pretty frequently. That said, if you have a clan the need for a house effectively disappears, but it would be nice to be able to build something a bit bigger in the future. Overall, I recommend this game and look forward to its evolution over the coming year.

Meh with a side helping of meh and an extractive subscription model after a premium buy-in on early access. I should have known better....one day i'll learn.