Silkroad Online Review: Nothing like the PC original

Silkroad Online is the latest MMORPG to get a mobile remake. Well, we say remake, but that’s not actually very accurate. Instead, it’s your standard autoplay mobile RPG with a Silkroad Online skin.

For starters, the wealth of classes in the PC original has been condensed down into three. While in the original, the huge variety of weapon options generally decided a physical or magic attack build, the remake splits it into three options: a blade and board-wielding tank, a spear-wielding damage dealer, and a hybrid archer.

While the options aren’t quite so extensive, we were pretty pleased to see that the classes aren’t gender-locked. That pleasure was short-lived though, as there are no customisation options whatsoever.

The first sign something is wrong in Silkroad Online on mobile, is when you witness hundreds of identical players automatically completing the same quests

It was pretty grim when we finally started the game to witness hundreds of identical characters following the exact same set paths between quests. It reminds us of the days when bots were rife and you could always tell them from genuine players for the exact same reason.

The gameplay doesn’t represent the original at all either. Silkroad on PC prided itself on hardcore grinding, with few quests or plot threads in sight. You’d battle monsters endlessly along with your friends, participating in the odd PvP battle as soon as you grew strong enough.

This entry also features endless grinding, but it’s typical autoplay questing, which is far less fun and reliant on group play. You’ll follow hundreds of other players completing identical quests to grow quickly in power.

There are plot quests, which are as nonsensical and unwelcome as ever, daily quests, which are incredibly repetitive, and dungeons, PvP, and all the other usual mobile MMORPG jazz.

The remake is faithful in terms of visuals and audio but not so much where it counts: the gameplay

To give Silkroad on mobile some credit, we are impressed at how faithful this recreation is in terms of visuals and audio. The map, monsters, music, and sound effects are all inspired by the originals, which does lead to some feelings of nostalgia.

The problem is, this only serves to reinforce just how little this resembles the classic MMORPG. It feels more like a reskin of Crusaders of Light, Lineage II: Revolution, Flyff Legacy, or any other mobile MMORPG you can think of.

And that’s a real shame, as we’d have loved an authentic version of Silkroad on mobile. The autoplay would have benefitted the grind and it would have been nice to have a hit of nostalgia with you wherever you go. As it stands, this is one to skip — potentially more so if you actually played the original because this is an insult to it.