Arkana shoots her big gun. Video Games

Scarlet Blade closed beta test impressions


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A week ago, a new free to play MMORPG called Scarlet Blade began a public closed beta test. I’ll tell you right now that this game and things related to it are NSFW. Yes, this is a new “mature” MMORPG which features as much T&A as you would probably want from any game. Is that what you want out of a game? Is that really your top priority? Because this may be your kind of game if that’s what you’re concerned about. That isn’t to say that there isn’t some hidden potential for a good game here, but it’s buried under a mountain of lingerie clad women and bad sexual innuendo.

 It is a dark time for humanity

The story behind Scarlet Blade is actually a pretty good premise for a game. To sum it up, a race called the Narak invade Earth; their origin is unknown. The fight to save the planet eventually ends in a nuclear holocaust that still fails to defeat the aliens. As a fail safe the Ark, a munitions factory and cloning facility, was constructed and hidden underground. When the Earth is habitable again, the Ark will activate and create adult clones called Neo Humans. To help defend humanity will be augmented clones called Arkana. Bred as super soldiers, they are connected by a neural link to a human commander that will help them to objectively assess battlefield conditions. The fight to regain Earth begins…

 How can this go wrong?

Arkana shoots her big gun.

Robots, big guns, tentacles, and totems.

How is that not a perfect setup for an amazing MMORPG? Did I mention that all of the Arkana have to be female? And that they have a serious aversion to wearing anything that doesn’t resemble painted on lingerie? I suppose that’s bound to garner mixed reactions, but I think it’s a huge detraction myself. The unfortunate shame about Scarlet Blade is that it seems the only real purpose behind it is to show off as much virtual skin as possible to the point that you can actually buy an item that will let you make your character go around naked.  Even when not completely naked, she rides her vehicle with her ass in the air (image link is NSFW). Then there’s the sexual innuendo that runs rampant in the quest text just so that you’ll know that every male character you run across wants to sleep with your Arkana. So welcome to what you’re committing to for the long haul if you decide to play this game.

Not everything is bad, though there are a few confusing things in the game right now. I do understand that this is a closed beta and things are subject to change, so this is more observation than criticism. The language filter, for example, that cannot be turned off [editor’s note: there is, in fact, a toggle for the language filter in the chat options] is a bit puzzling. A game full of naked women and sexual innuendo is fine, but you’re not allowed to swear? I even came across quest text at one point that used the phrase clusterfuck. Speaking of puzzling, there’s a “puzzle” feature in the game that lets you uncover a picture bit by bit as you level by paying to reveal squares. I have no idea how that’s a puzzle, but it does award experience, a skill point sometimes, and a picture of an NPC. I had thought that it might be a slide puzzle or some such thing, but it’s not. I hope that some of this will get changed before the official launch, but maybe it is what it is.

 Almost good

Scarlet Blade could have been so much more than a T&A showcase if they would have only focused on something other than being horny. The environment in the game is pretty impressive and utilizes a wide variety of well detailed character models for the NPCs. Each area has a unique feel that doesn’t simply recycle old enemies with new pallets. Character progression is really free-form in that you pick the skills you want as you level instead of having a prescribed glut of abilities shoved at you. Combat is smooth and visually interesting. The ability to transform into a mech for a short time when facing a more serious threat is incredibly cool. There were so many better things to latch onto and make the defining factor of this game that would have made it standout in a positive way.

Unfortunately, what you end up with in Scarlet Blade is a game that feels only partially fleshed out except for the flesh part. While they say that it’s a mature title, the game itself will appeal to players that are seeking cheap visual thrills and titillation.  While I don’t personally claim to be a part of the hardcore MMO crowd, they seem to be key to keeping a game alive. If you ever thought Barrens chat was bad, wait until you see the chat in Scarlet Blade when it’s full of (obviously only 18+ year old) immature players making every misogynistic comment you could ever hope to see. When you consider that and the lackluster job done to support any of the actual game play aspects, I recommend just passing on this game. There are far better titles with mature themes that won’t leave you feeling dirty for having played them.


5 Comments on Scarlet Blade closed beta test impressions

  1. Mead

    I guess I’m one of those rare gamer girls that finds misogyny amusing. I guess I’m secure enough in my personal femininity to not care. Besides, I always assume the biggest misogynist takers are virgins/forever alone. Have the game installed but will try in the morning. Only got past character customization before RL distracted me. I like your article though. 🙂

  2. lilmsnocent

    First of all u obviously don’t look at all ur options for a game since u can turn on/off the profanity filter. Second, anyone readin this article who hasn’t actually given scarlet blade a chance is missin out. There are many awesome things about this game not countin the t&a. The pvp is 35×35 startin at lvl 15 then at lvl 20 u have the option to join the 80×80 battlefield. There are world bosses to killl, huge raid parties u can form and i’ve seen many GM’s online durin my play and they are always fixing stuff we found wrong with the game. I’ve played this since alpha and if u are a person not scared of sexual references u should give it a try and not listen to this guy. That’s my opinion anyway take it as u will.

    • You are absolutely correct, I did find the profanity filter upon looking again. I apologize for the incorrect statement.

      I would like to say that there is a difference between finding excessive, blatant, and pointless sexual content offensive or detracting and being afraid of it. As for the pvp content, every match of Janus (35v35) and Turnpike (80v80) that I participated in turned quickly into a massive cluster of bodies in the middle of a very basic map engaged in a chaotic melee. I can’t say that I find that sort of thing interesting, and thus didn’t list it among the things I felt were truly good and in need of more focus for this game.

  3. Geoffrey Warner

    Thanks for the tip since I’m one of the hardcore MMO players I’m more of a kill and quest person then T.N.A and perverse jokes. I Was actually looking into the download file size since they dont mention it before hand (obviously the official sites carelessness) when i stumbled upon your page of disapprovement here and if this is all the game is I must agree with you that there seems to be no point in downloading it. Hell if this is what they wanted to put up they should have just made it a browser game and called it good so that us real MMO players wouldn’t waste our harddrive space on that crap

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