MMORPG attracted attention on Steam in 2017 with an interesting setting, today it has strongly negative reviews
Identity attracted attention in 2017 because the MMORPG wanted to take you into the real world. The PvP aspect was supposed to be in the fight between criminals and the police, and they actively advertised with an image reminiscent of Breaking Bad. In 2018 it was released in Early Access on Steam. With only 23% positive reviews, it doesn’t go down well at all.
What kind of game is this? Identity wanted to be a mixture of MMORPG and life simulation. The game world should be based heavily on the real world and play in a fictional American city. The features read very interesting and sounded a bit like GTA Online as a real MMORPG:
- You play a human who keeps learning new skills over time. As a cook, he produces food for the city, as a drug dealer, meth or other substances.
- You start small with the drug production in your garage and should be able to work your way up to a well-known drug baron. A trailer is based on the successful Breaking Bad series.
- You live in an apartment at first, but later you can afford a huge house or a villa – if you are successful in your job.
- Identity should get a PvP component through the fight between police and criminals.
The MMORPG already started in 2018 as a Buy2Play title in Early Access on Steam. While initial reactions were mixed, ratings soon plummeted. This was mainly due to the fact that the developers did not stick to their plans and have since disappeared completely.
Broken promises and developer silence – players suspect fraud
How did the launch of Identity go? When it was released in Early Access, the MMORPG only offered basic content such as exploring the city, entering houses and doing smaller jobs. However, the developers promised a quick implementation of new modules.
Module two, for example, should sharpen the factions and bring PvP content. That was planned for 2019. Racing should then be integrated in 2020, while the full release was planned for 2021.
Where is the game now? Exactly nothing has changed in Identity until 2022. None of the announced modules have appeared and there is radio silence on the part of the developers. The website got a small update and a copyright notice for 2022, but there hasn’t been any communication about the game or even a patch for it since 2019.
Nevertheless, the game can still be bought on Steam – for 24.99 euros.
Does anyone really buy this? For the money the players get an absolutely unfinished MMO, which will probably never be finished. Nevertheless, identity is apparently bought again and again:
- In 2022 the game briefly peaked at 3 concurrent players, absolutely out of nowhere (via SteamDB). A player logs in almost every day, although it is hard to imagine that the same person always logs in with the weak content and the lack of players.
- Identity already received 13 reviews in 2022, all of which were negative.
- In total, it had almost 700 simultaneous players at the peak and received a total of 552 reviews.
The reviews are correspondingly negative. Many feel cheated of their money and warn against the game. The basic setting was really good. The few positive reviews appear mainly in 2018, when players still had hope for a turnaround.
With 23% positive reviews on Steam, it is among the top 3 worst reviewed MMORPGs. Only a VR and an Asia MMORPG are below that.
Maybe there will be another MMORPG with such a setting in the future. The only thing left here is the explicit warning against buying Identity. Nothing indicates it will ever be completed.
Another MMORPG that also sounded promising and also relies on an unusual setting is The Secret World. Although the world also inspired MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus, it did not captivate him in the long term:
I’m currently making what might be my biggest mistake in 2022: I’m installing the MMORPG The Secret World
Reference-mein-mmo.de