Where to get it

Steam

2009 · Daybreak Game Company · Board game · MMO

Free Realms

PlayStation console exclusive

Free Realms was a massively multiplayer online role playing video game, developed by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) for the PC, Mac, and PlayStation 3, set in a fantasy-themed world named Sacred Grove. The game was released on April 29, 2009, for the Windows PC. The game restricted free to play up to level 20, although there was access to additional game content via a membership fee. The game allowed the player to fight, interact with other players, and more. It was closed on March 31, 2014; SOE stated that they no longer had enough resources to maintain so many servers.

Released: 28 April 2009
Platforms: PlayStation 3 Windows macOS
Genres: Board game MMO MMORPG Ninja Puzzle Racing Role-playing Turn-based strategy
Developers: Daybreak Game Company
Publishers: Daybreak Game Company
Modes: Multiplayer
Perspective: Third person
Themes: Action Kids
Engine: Forgelight Engine
Country: United States
Age ratings: PEGI 12 ESRB E10+

About

Free Realms was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) set in a fantasy-themed world called Sacred Grove. The game was first released on April 28, 2009, for Microsoft Windows. Versions for Mac OS X and PlayStation 3 followed in subsequent years. The game was free-to-play with leveling restrictions, with access to additional content available through a membership fee. The game allowed the player to fight, interact with other players, take up jobs, and more.

The game's servers were shut down on March 31, 2014, in a closure of three other SOE MMOs that year (Vanguard, Wizardry, Clone Wars Adventures). SOE gave as reason that it was necessary to devote resources to other games, and later, to move away from games oriented to children, when SOE President John Smedley stated in a Reddit ask-me-anything that "Kids don't spend well and it's very difficult to run a kids game. Turns out kids do mean stuff to each other a lot."

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Free Realms contained many of the staples of MMORPG's at the time, such as an open 3D environment to explore and quests to complete for usable rewards. Unlike most MMORPG's, Free Realms set out to appeal to children as well as adults with a family-friendly design and muted combat visuals, such as a lack of blood or explicit death; whirling stars would appear above a fallen enemy's head when defeated, indicating unconsciousness. The player could choose between two races, pixie or human, and take up any number of the fifteen available jobs on a single character. Jobs could involve combat or trade, though not all jobs did, and were leveled individually through questlines unique to each job.

Players in Free Realms were given a personal apartment for free; larger player homes were obtainable through membership or individual purchase. Homes could be decorated with over 100 unique items such as a stone head, dance floor, and rocket ship.

Reception

In The New York Times, reviewer Seth Shiesel noted, "For Sony Online, Free Realms is a triumph of the company's own reinvention." USA Today reviewer Marc Saltzman gave Free Realms a 4/5 score, noting "Sony Online Entertainment's Free Realms is an extraordinary online adventure that is sure to please tweens and teens looking for a fun and free fantasy world." Eurogamer gave the game a largely positive review, with MMO editor Oli Welsh describing the game as "an effortlessly light and addictive indulgence". MMOHuts gave the game a 4/5 and noted that "Free Realms is one of the most feature-rich free MMORPGs currently available and it's all delivered in a beautiful package".

In a review of Free Realms at USA Network's Character Arcade, David Chapman stated that the game "is a surprisingly deep game experience for a free to play model. There's never a shortage of things to do ... even if you never pay a dime to Sony."