Want To Play an MMO, but Don’t Want To Deal With Other People? ‘Erenshor’ Is the Answer to Your Woes (Demo Impressions)

Meet Pete. Pete is just like you and me. He’s a normal guy, trying to live a normal life in the world of Erenshor. As I wait in the login queue to start working on my dailies, the reality of the situation hits me. “Wait,” I say, the confusion setting in, “I thought this was a single-player game?” Here’s the thing: it is a completely single-player affair, but it’s hiding so well behind the mask of an old-school MMO that I had to second-guess myself more than once that I wasn’t actually playing with other people. It’s one of the weirdest concepts I’ve ever seen, but I can’t get enough of this idea.

‘Erenshor’ Looks Like Old-School ‘Runescape’, but Plays More Like ‘World of Warcraft’ With Simulated MMO Players

Before I get into the meat and potatoes of everything, I need to commend Burgee Media for absolutely nailing the aesthetic, as well as the MMO NPC behavior. Walking around the opening lands of Erenshor, it was shocking to experience how well the game looked and ran. Alongside the aesthetic choices, the way that NPC “players” react and act is emulated so perfectly. I almost couldn’t believe that these were real NPCs. But, most importantly, the gameplay is smooth, responsive, and feels like something I would have been playing in 2006. That’s the highest compliment I can give Erenshor by a long shot.

After embarking on my journey into Erenshor, I was immediately struck with nostalgic MMO vibes for a game that didn’t exist. It looks more like RuneScape than RuneScape: Dragonwilds does, and that’s just hilarious to me. And after learning the control scheme, I finally set off on my adventure. I beat up spiders, chatted with folks, and got to interact with them by typing. The world is surprisingly alive, especially for a game containing no other real players.

Erenshor feels like a fully fleshed-out MMO. Even from the short time that I spent in the demo, I’m already craving more of it. I’m going to need to clear out some space in my backlog to make room for this one, because the idea is so novel that I can’t let this one go under my radar. Even if you’re not the biggest MMO fan? This is such a novel concept that I implore you to at least try the demo. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever played before. And it’s one of the coolest experiences I’ve had in a very long time.