Embers of the Uncrowned Steam Next Fest Demo - First Impressions

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Embers of the Uncrowned (EoU) is Nexon's upcoming free-to-play isometric MMORPG that promises fast-paced, satisfying combat set in a dark, gritty, and brutal fantasy world. We at SteamDeckHQ were fortunate enough to get our hands on the Steam Next Fest demo, testing it on both desktop and Steam Deck, to see how the game is holding up so far.

The game's story takes a unique approach. Unlike most MMORPGs, our main enemies are not orcs, ugly demons, or divine beings. Instead, we're tasked with fighting exceptionally glamorous and hot elves that perfectly fit the distinct aesthetic often associated with Korean fantasy games.

It's certainly not the type of antagonist you'd expect from a dark fantasy MMORPG, but honestly, I'm not complaining. It's refreshing, unique, and... erhm... certainly a joy to the eyes.

When it comes to grindy MMORPGs like these, most players care far more about endgame progression, loot, and combat than the story itself. That's probably why so many free-to-play Asian MMOs have historically settled for forgettable narratives that feel like they're there simply because they have to be. Based on the opening hours of Embers of the Uncrowned, it seems to follow a somewhat similar formula.

The premise is fairly straightforward. We play as a powerful hero while our crippled brother is about to be crowned king. During his coronation, a group of exceptionally gorgeous eyecandy elves launches an attack, beheads him, takes over the kingdom, and suddenly we're humanity's last hope. At first glance, it all feels rather uninspired, but honestly, that's okay for this genre.

What surprised me was the overall presentation. The cinematics were far more polished than I expected, with solid voice acting and some genuinely impressive cutscenes. So while the story itself hasn't done much to stand out so far, players who actually care about narrative in their MMOs may find Embers of the Uncrowned a pleasant surprise compared to many of its competitors.

In the demo, we have access to three playable classes: Stormbringer, Executioner, and Spectral Blade. Stormbringer is the classic mage archetype, using elemental ranged attacks to overwhelm enemies from afar. Executioner is your standard berserker-style warrior, crushing foes with a massive axe, while Spectral Blade fills the role of the fast-paced melee fighter built around combo builders and spenders.

To be fair, after experiencing the creative and diverse class designs found in one of EoU's biggest competitors, Lost Ark, I found myself quite disappointed by the lack of originality here. None of the classes felt particularly unique or memorable. They all played competently enough, but each one felt like an archetype we've seen countless times before, and if you want to be successful in MMO design, you have to work a bit harder to stand out from the crowd.

Let's talk about the main thing that makes EoU stand out from every other game in this genre: the controls.

Ever since the original Diablo games, when we think of isometric RPGs, we think of mouse movement. EoU takes a different approach and focuses on W-A-S-D movement instead. It almost feels like playing a third-person MMO like WoW with an isometric camera.

And I honestly wish they hadn't done that.

It feels way too clunky and completely out of place. At times, it felt like I was playing an emulated PS1 version of Diablo with a keyboard and mouse. Your character can only move in eight directions, which hurts both the immersion and the gameplay. Dodging attacks feels weird, and putting your fingers into awkward positions during boss fights becomes incredibly uncomfortable.

There is also an option called "Mouse for Movement" in the settings, but it doesn't completely change the experience. If anything, it makes things weirder because the entire game feels like it was designed around W-A-S-D movement from the ground up.

On the plus side, the system actually works quite well on a controller, so those with a Steam Controller or other gamepad will feel right at home.

I can't help but feel that a solution similar to Diablo 4 would have worked much better. Let keyboard and mouse players use traditional mouse movement, while giving controller users a dedicated dynamic movement system. Instead, EoU feels stuck somewhere in the middle, and neither control scheme ends up feeling as good as it could.

There are two other important gameplay features worth mentioning: the Companion system and the Housing/Settlement system. Basically, EoU takes Diablo 4's companions and Lost Ark's stronghold mechanics and mixes them together.

Over the course of the game, you'll recruit companions, level them up, and create different synergies with them. You can then assign them to your settlement to gather resources or send them out to battle enemies.

To be honest, it all felt incredibly straightforward and a little boring. There was nothing particularly innovative or exciting about these systems, and after seeing similar ideas in countless other games, I struggled to find anything here that really stood out.

The game does have a couple of strong points. The world looks gorgeous, character customization is incredibly detailed, and the sound design does a great job of making combat feel impactful and satisfying.

The problem is that MMORPGs are a very competitive niche. Looking good simply isn't enough anymore. You need to bring something innovative to the table, and more importantly, it has to be something players actually care about. So far, I haven't really seen that in Embers of the Uncrowned.

To be fair, we still know nothing about the game's monetization or potential pay-to-win elements. If Nexon manages to avoid predatory practices and continues to improve the game, it could still carve out its own place in the market. But based on this demo, my impressions are very mixed. There is potential here, but nothing I've seen so far has left me particularly excited for what's to come.

Embers of the Uncrowned Steam Deck Performance So Far

Embers of the Uncrowned is built on Unreal Engine 5, which immediately made me worry that it would be completely unplayable on Steam Deck. Luckily, the demo wasn't using a kernel-level anti-cheat, so I was able to log in and play without any issues.

Despite being a UE5 title, the game wasn't a complete performance disaster on Deck. With the graphics settings set to the lowest preset, I was able to get anywhere between 30 and 60 FPS during regular gameplay, with occasional dips here and there. Surprisingly, the game didn't look terrible either, so I'd definitely consider it playable.

That said, performance consistency just isn't there yet. Tweaking a few settings and locking the game to 30 FPS would probably be the safest option for a smoother experience.

The worst part of the experience was the cinematics. They ran horribly, often turning into a complete PowerPoint slideshow at around 4-18 FPS. Since this is still a very early build, there's a good chance it will be fixed before launch.

What worries me, however, is that I didn't encounter any of these issues on desktop. Seeing the cinematics perform this badly on Steam Deck makes me wonder whether Deck optimization is even a priority for the developers.

And honestly, it's almost impossible to care about the story when every cutscene is stuttering, freezing, and running at single-digit frame rates.

There were also a few minor issues, such as text that was sometimes difficult to read and the lack of native controller support. I had to enable Steam Input and make the Deck emulate an Xbox controller to get it working properly. Still, these are relatively minor problems and should hopefully be fixed by the time the game launches.

Overall, it's quite exciting to have another MMORPG that is both playable and reasonably promising on Steam Deck. While Embers of the Uncrowned didn't blow me away with its demo, it showed enough potential to keep me interested in its future.

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