This realistic medieval MMO is like Minecraft for grown-ups

Like Minecraft meets the likes of Rust and DayZ with an EVE online scale, Life is Feudal: MMO is, according to its developer, Bitbox Ltd., a medieval “sandbox MMORPG” (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) that combines both genres into an intermixed experience you’ve never enjoyed before. 

Now don’t get this confused with the multiplayer RPG, Life is Feudal: Your Own, because Life is Feudal: MMO is a disparate title that exists within the same franchise. Most notably, the key draw to the MMO spin on the award-winning sandbox title is the fact that Life is Feudal: MMO allows 10,000 players to coexist on the 21x 21km map simultaneously. 

Furthermore, at the moment, it’s completely free to download the Life is Feudal: MMO client and get straight to the game. Upon launching Life is Feudal: MMO, you’ll start on what Bitbox calls the “newbie island,” a tropical location you can visit for as long as you’d like, albeit with the caveat that your progress will be expunged weekly and your skill cap will max out at 150.

In order to mitigate these limitations, of course, there is premium currency that can be used to buy purely cosmetic upgrades and new characters. But, more importantly, it’s a one-way ticket off the newbie island.

What to do in Life is Feudal: MMO

It’s one thing to make apt comparisons to other games that are similarly structured to Life is Feudal, but it’s not quite as helpful as a rundown on how, specifically, time is spent in Life is Feudal: MMO. So here it goes. 

In Life is Feudal: MMO, there are a ton of activities to partake in – so many, in fact, that some critics have admitted they would have to neglect many of their real-life responsibilities in order to make time for Life is Feudal. While we advise against quitting your job or disregarding your family to make time for a video game, criticisms like that do go to show just how much content Life is Feudal has in store for you.  

Day-to-day life in Life is Feudal is similar to what you would experience in many sandbox games. By that, we mean it’s totally up to you how you spend your time. This can be a daunting challenge for those players accustomed to frequent handholding in more linear, albeit big budget triple-A titles. Nevertheless, Life is Feudal has never been, and will never be, about ease.

Rather, in Life is Feudal: MMO, you can spend your time hunting wild animals, getting lost in the forest, crafting tools and weapons, farming and, hell, you can even wage war against other players. This is all done with the goal to, ultimately, devise your own kingdom, in which you are the royal leader. 

Amid all of these tasks you can take on voluntarily, you can even use your friends to take care of the landscaping in your yard, in turn convincing them to aid you in your efforts to concoct your own village and, later on, your own realm. What’s more, if you’re daring (and manipulative?) enough, you can form your own army, comprised of your friends and allies, to conquer the world in Life is Feudal. 

Then again, if world domination isn’t your thing, you can always opt to lay low and breed chickens, grow crops or simply get lost in the nearby forest. There’s so much to do in Life is Feudal that the list of things you can’t do is actually shorter than what you can. However, even those items aren’t inherently negative. 

For instance, in Life is Feudal, you can’t level up because levels don’t exist in this game. Instead, progress is skill-based, so your abilities are graced with upgrades rather than being assigned an arbitrary numerical status symbol. Armor is more pragmatic than most MMORPGs as well, therefore you shouldn’t go in expecting any unrealistically protective bikini plates.

How to play Life is Feudal: MMO

Unfortunately, Life is Feudal: MMO is only available in beta right now, so in order to play it, you’ll need to make a contribution in the form of $60 – $150 USD in order to access it for yourself. 

Alternatively, you could purchase Life is Feudal: On Your Own on Steam and get $10 off Life is Feudal: MMO. In later stages of testing, you’ll also be entitled to a free character ticket in Life is Feudal: MMO for owning both games.

Either way, it’s important to note that Life is Feudal in its current form can only be played during one- to two-week periods predetermined by Bitbox Ltd. Additionally, you’ll need a PC sporting at least the following specs on-hand:

At the same time, these are the minimum specs that Bitbox recommends for Life is Feudal: MMO: