Bless Unleashed

Bless Unleashed
Promotional banner featuring a female Berserker
Developer(s)Round 8 Studios
Publisher(s)Bandai Namco Entertainment, NEOWIZ, VALOFE
SeriesBless
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows
ReleaseXbox One
  • WW: March 12, 2020
PlayStation 4
  • WW: October 22, 2020
Windows
  • WW: August 6, 2021
Genre(s)MMORPG
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Bless Unleashed is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Round 8 Studios and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One in 2020. It is a reboot of Bless Online.[1] Similarly, Unleashed uses a free-to-play business model. It was also released for the PC by NEOWIZ, then later published by VALOFE, in 2021. This game features multiple classes and races.

Gameplay

Plot

After a dream sequence fighting the Archon of Fire, the Hero of Lumios wakes up inside their house on the neutral island of Telarion. Temperate and cultured, it teems with festivities and trade, and serves as a safe haven for refugees fleeing the cruelties of war. Guiding them is a lighthouse that stands unguarded and always lit. Each year, travellers gather from all over the world to attend a grand festival that commemorates the day that the first inhabitants built the lighthouse and watched a holy fire burst to life inside it. During this year's festivities, the island is attacked by a powerful mage named Gideon who summons hell spawn to aid in the invasion. After defeating a handful of these creatures, the Hero of Lumios narrowly escapes when their new ally, Don Diego, swoops in and grabs them with his griffin. This starts the long and treacherous journey to defeat Gideon and his minions, and prevent the Breaking from happening again.

Development

Bless Unleashed was announced in 2018.[2]

Beta testing

Closed beta releases for the game were held during April[3] and July 2019.[4] The first open beta for the game was held in November 2019.[5] In January 2020, the same beta reopened for the purposes of stress testing the game's servers.[6]

Xbox One

On March 12, 2020, the game was finally released for the Xbox One for the Windows Store, with early access to the game available via paid Founders Packs on the Xbox One.[7] On July 2, 2020, it had its first major expansion update, "Saurin's Deception".[8]

PlayStation 4

The PlayStation 4 version was released on October 22, 2020.[9][10]

PC

The PC version was released on Steam on August 6, 2021.[11]

Closing

Bandai Namco closed their Bless Unleashed servers on November 30, 2022 at 11 PM PT.[12]

Reception

References

  1. ^ "GDC 2019 Hands-On IMPRESSIONS: Bless Unleashed - oprainfall". Operationrainfall.com. March 28, 2019. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  2. ^ "Bless Unleashed Announcement Trailer". Mmorpg.com. August 31, 2018. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  3. ^ "BANDAI NAMCO invites you to participate in the Bless Unleashed Closed Beta! - Xbox Wire". News.xbox.com. April 24, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  4. ^ "Bless Unleashed's Closed Beta Starts Today July 11th - Xbox Wire". News.xbox.com. July 11, 2019. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  5. ^ "Bless Unleashed Enters Open Beta Today on Xbox One - Xbox Wire". News.xbox.com. November 7, 2019. Archived from the original on March 14, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  6. ^ Skelton, Jaime (January 30, 2020). "Bless Unleashed: Stress Test Now Live". MMOHuts. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  7. ^ "Bless Unleashed, the new MMORPG from BANDAI Namco, releases next month". February 15, 2020. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020.
  8. ^ "Bless Unleashed Launches Saurin's Deception Content Update". blessunleashed.com. Retrieved July 2, 2020.[dead link‍]
  9. ^ "MMORPG Bless Unleashed Confirmed for PS4 Release Following Xbox Console Exclusivity". Push Square. August 13, 2020. Archived from the original on August 16, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  10. ^ "Bless Unleashed for PS4 launches October 22". Gematsu. September 23, 2020. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  11. ^ "Bless Unleashed Coming to Steam in early 2021". blessunleashed.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  12. ^ "Bless Unleashed Sunset | Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc". www.bandainamcoent.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2023. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  13. ^ "Bless Unleashed for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
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