Wakfu is a free to play MMORPG that utilises a turn based tactical combat style with similarities and story links to Ankama Games other MMO title. Set over 1,000 years after the events of Dofus along with nearly a decade passing in real time you’ll find a modernised take on the familiar Dofus formula. Since its release in 2012 Wakfu has also been featured in various other game media including an animated television series that further expands on the game lore and core characters.
The story of Wakfu is 1,000 years after the events of Dofus which revolved around the ogre known as Ogrest who collected the six eggs of Dofus for the sake of love although was rejected and cried atop a mountain for 1,000 years. While Ogrest is presented as a goal to the players you will quickly uncover the true villain that hides behind the scenes known as Yugo who has also created Eliotropes (mirror copies) of themselves to spread throughout the land.
This land of Wakfu is expansive and known as the World of Twelve with world locations like Incarnam, Amakna, Astrub, Bonta, Sufokia and Brakmar that serve as points of interest you can visit and nations you can side yourself with. Alongside these core locations that are referenced throughout the story quest content you’ll visit a number of surrounding islands each with their own unique designs that are explored in mid to late game content.
Your first adventure in Wakfu is far away from all of these major locations to start though and serves as both the tutorial and the story foundation from which you’ll be thrust into the world. In time you’ll have the opportunity to take this tutorial knowledge into one of the 18 unique class options which draw from the original Dofus dozen and add some new variants for players. These options provide a mixture of options from the Cras that are elf themed archers, Eniripsas that are fairy healers, Enutrofs that are greedy treasure hunting specialists, Masqueraiders who utilise acrobatics and clown masks to the time masters of Xelor. With some of the best class and skill design in the genre this choice of class is quite possibly the hardest decision you’ll have to make in the Wakfu universe.
With your class selected gameplay revolves around players exploring the game world completing quests, participating in the community, using the economy to their advantage, impacting the ecosystem around them and other typical MMO features. Notably you’ll find hundreds of quests that take you across the land and into the deepest dungeons and also have a short term impact on the ecosystem if players overharvest a particular resource.
Players are free to roam the game world like traditional MMORPGs although combat takes place on a turn based game field when an enemy is encountered where tactical decisions reign supreme. With the huge range of terrain elements and enemies built into Wakfu combat doesn’t ever feel too repetitive although it is slower than other MMOs due to it’s turn based nature. This slow pacing isn’t necessarily a bad thing though as it means there is more room for strategy, giving you a real sense of achievement in your endeavours.
The unique features of Wakfu don’t stop at turn based combat either with a game world that is primarily in control of the users. From the ability to join the political scene and make decisions that can have wide reaching impact on players to the ability to actually claim a piece of game area and develop it together with your guild.
Summary:
- A unique turn based MMO experience that features tactical combat with each encounter.
- Change the game world through the housing, political and ecosystems that give you greater agency over the MMO world.
- 18 unique classes that blend the familiar and fresh to provide an abundance of combat choice.
- Builds on the original Dofus experience with a deeper world full of major locations and islands.
- Play for free on Windows and Mac.
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Review Platform: PC