Final Stand: Ragnarok is a cooperative action RPG that heavily drinks from Norse mythology and puts you in control of one of five champions, with more to come. From the makers of the frequently delayed PvP MMORPG Camelot Unchained, the highlight of the game is the concept of waves with thousands of units rushing at you, akin to a massive horde mode where players will have to cooperate to the fullest extent if they want to have any chance of surviving. It’s all about that kill count and loot, the excitement of being against overwhelming odds, and those odds are likely going to crush you again and again.
Death Comes in Many Sizes
The Final Stand: Ragnarok Early Access build we managed to explore already seems to have most of the mechanics in place, albeit not much content, and it’s easy to understand how compelling the systems at work here can potentially be. The gameplay taps into the age-old factor of instant gratification, the rush of taking out countless enemies in a handful of seconds, the sense of growing power and interesting champion synergies. As hundreds of creatures target you and your towers, your party runs around, seamlessly attacking and defending, until the phase timer ends and you can take a moment to rest, before moving on to the next target.
Up to eight players can participate in each match, and it’s a full PvE affair as you level up your champions and collect consumable items of different tiers to use against the forces of Hel. The gameplay is fast, it gets chaotic in a few minutes, and it all escalates with even tougher enemies and boss battles.
At its heart, Final Stand: Ragnarok is a mix of a MOBA such as SMITE with the mechanics of a cooperative game. It seems to have some of those addictive qualities that keep you around for a while, but it feels extremely simplistic and ends up being repetitive. The gameplay loop isn’t terribly exciting, pushing for the same kind of actions in different locations from the map, and doesn’t go a lot further in terms of creativity or new ideas.
I had some issues finding matches as well, since the player base has been low since the initial release, never going much further than three dozens or so. While a few runs with other player served to see how the mechanics and other fundamentals work, most times I was thrust into solo matches. Through this experience I quickly noticed that Final Stand: Ragnarok isn’t suited for lone players – I’d go as far as saying that it’s impossible to enjoy – as the odds will never be in your favor and balance seems to be broken and unrewarding to push through. Anything other than the ranged character Aella is the same as dying in the first 10 minutes without making any real progress at all.
It’s also far from a looker; the visuals are simplistic, more than they could be if the goal is to showcase hundreds, even thousands of units, and the color choices are not going to create consensus either. While this can be improved somewhat, it’s doubtful that it will significantly change, considering that the Early Access stage is ongoing since October 2021 and the player count never too off.
Waves of Uncertainty
Although it would be fair to say that Final Stand: Ragnarok still has time to improve its repetitive gameplay loop, balance the gameplay for the various amounts of players – mainly solo – and polish some technical aspects, it’s also fair to wonder if that will happen at all. The long stay in Early Access without capturing the attention of many players doesn’t bode well for the future, and this could end up being a decisive factor for this type of game, stuck in a vicious cycle where lack of players results in no sales, and no sales result in a non-existent player base.
Considering that the game is now in version 1.0 and still listed as Early Access, it’s a strange state of affairs. Ironically or maybe not, the next months could be crucial to see if Final Stand: Ragnarok will stand proudly or, more likely, be crushed under the weight of insurmountable odds.
MP1st was given access to a preview build of Final Stand: Ragnarok for our hands-on session. Final Stand: Ragnarok is launching for PC in 2024.