Runescape's creator made a new game after 20 years

Game: Brighter Shores (Early Access MMO/RPG) — Storyline & Premise

• You start as an ordinary guard recruit in the town of Hort, newly hired in a role that fits the “everyday hero” vibe.
• The town is threatened by goblin attacks, specifically cursed goblins whose aggression is tied to spreading evil magic.
• Your initial main quest involves scouting/hide-and-seek with officers, during which you encounter a dryad and learn you have a force-sensitive trait.
• You choose one of three elements, forming a combat triangle to support early gameplay.
• The evil traces back to a corrupted “big tree” / source of magic. Your group’s progression is cure-based:
  • You gather objectives (like glowing things) by leveling skills, exploring regions, and defeating bosses tied to those quest steps.
  • After curing one source, you learn the evil is still spreading (including into mines), pushing you to continue progression.

Key critique about narrative delivery

• The main story advances in short bursts (many grinding gates).
• The presenter estimates only about ~10 minutes of “real story” per session/segment compared to extensive skilling.

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Gameplay Highlights (What the Game Does Well / Notable Mechanics)

1) Exploration & “chunk” rendering (world navigation)

• Navigation is mostly tile-click movement (similar to RuneScape-like systems).
• There’s a minimap movement feature; players complained early that it wasn’t available, but it later becomes available “as long as it’s somewhat nearby.”
• A major focus is the “darkened chunk” visibility system:
  • Only the chunk you’re in is fully visible.
  • Adjacent chunks are darkened; nodes/players aren’t visible there.
• This improves performance, but can make exploration feel claustrophobic, and can cause loneliness moments even in populated areas.

2) Discoverability UI on a per-chunk basis

• The map shows a list of discoverable items for each chunk (resource nodes, NPCs, etc.).
• Some elements show a question mark again when entering new chunks, even if you previously “saw” similar nodes—creating repeated discovery gating.

3) Professions/skills as the core progression loop

• Early game heavily emphasizes skilling to unlock main story steps and region progression.
• Side quests include a 5-star difficulty rating, but the presenter argues side quests may require very high skill thresholds and that requirements aren’t clearly explained until you reach them.
• Skills follow a region-locked (“league/region” model):
  • Example: to train certain skills, you must be in the corresponding region where they apply.
  • Entering a new region/episode unlocks new professions; prior skills aren’t lost, but training is restricted in what you can do at any given time.

4) Resource scaling (“tiered nodes”)

• Nodes and mobs can scale by tier without needing separate map locations.
• Example: a fishing spot can represent multiple fish types depending on your fishing level.
• This keeps early areas populated and relevant, but the presenter suspects it can feel like reskinned mobs/nodes.

5) Banking/storage improvements (major QoL point)

• Around 32 Carpentry, storage improvements appear:
  • Deposit boxes across the world.
  • Storage rifts that can be crafted/unlocked, reducing reliance on a central bank.
• Presented as a major quality-of-life milestone for grinders.

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Strategies / Key Tips Mentioned

Practical progression expectations

• Expect long skilling gates:
  • Combat/story content is repeatedly blocked behind leveling specific professions.
• Treat episodes/regions like a progress ladder:
  • Level within each region to advance.
  • You’ll revisit earlier regions later for additional training needed for new unlocks.

Early combat/experience tips (as critique + recommended fixes)

The presenter repeatedly calls for:

• Auto-retaliate to prevent situations where your character stops attacking mid-fight.
• Improved combat control so the player doesn’t need multiple click steps for attacks (a better configurable default attack behavior).

They also emphasize that early combat feels okay, but combat “feel” and reward clarity are currently inconsistent.

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Major Criticisms (Gameplay Risks / “Dealbreakers”)

A) A RuneScape-like expectation trap

• The presenter argues the marketing/aesthetic leads many players to assume RuneScape 4 behavior.
• Since Brighter Shores isn’t that, players arriving with those expectations may enjoy it less.

B) Visual identity and comparisons

• Character models and overall presentation are viewed as too similar to RuneScape 3, triggering immediate comparisons.
• Tile pathing is also discussed:
  • Some dislike the painfully clear tile pathing, though the presenter personally doesn’t mind it.

C) Chunk darkening + camera problems

• The chunk system contributes to:
  • claustrophobia / dungeon-gauntlet “room reveal” feeling
  • loneliness when other players seem absent
• The camera can fail to follow smoothly in narrow spaces:
  • When moving near the boundary between lit/unlit chunks, the camera stops following to avoid exposing darkened areas.

D) Story pacing: mostly grind

• Main quest advancement appears to require heavy skill training.
• The presenter feels the story is underfed relative to grinding time.

E) Progression/reward clarity issues

• Gear upgrades sometimes feel ineffective:
  • The presenter reports upgrades that make the player feel weaker or provide no noticeable advantage.
• Combat can feel RNG/50-50, worsened by mechanical issues.

F) Combat resets / region-locked gear (“dealbreaker”)

• Combat level and gear stats are region-locked.
• Example claim:
  • Gear strong in one region gets downgraded to weaker stats in another region.
• Framed as a primary anger point and a major barrier to gear progression satisfaction.

G) Missing or underdeveloped systems for an MMO

• Critiques include:
  • No repeatable bosses (only quest bosses that disappear after completion).
  • Limited multiplayer impact: presented as mostly solo.
  • No PvP currently (intended later).
  • Little to no group content described (multi-combat/bossing with friends is missing).

H) Social features: chat filter controversy

• A strict chat censorship/filter blocks phrases and even numeric responses (e.g., “18”).
• Presenter suggests making the filter toggleable.

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Gameplay Scoring Snapshot (as stated by the presenter)

• Explorer: initially 35%, later corrected to 45% (camera fix credited)
• Achiever: around 40%
• Killer (combat): around 53% (foundation praised; reward/combat issues acknowledged)
• Socializer: 12% (co-op and social/group systems lacking)

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Featured Gamers / Sources Mentioned

• Andrew Gower (creator connection/background context)
• Richard Bartle (Bartle’s Taxonomy of player types)
• CookUnity (video sponsor)
• Video presenter/creator: “Jim” (referred to by a viewer name; no full identity given in subtitles)
• Kinetic flow (user who suggested Bartle taxonomy)
• Hummus and “hummus” (appears in outro audio/credits; unclear link to a specific source)
• Comparisons/mentions:
  • Old School RuneScape
  • RuneScape 3
  • Star Wars: The Old Republic
  • Club Penguin
• Sponsor segment (“Food Network alumni” chefs):
  • Chef Delusi
  • Dustin Taylor