I haven’t played the PC version of Neverwinter, so when I experienced the Xbox One closed beta everything was entirely new to me. I love RPGs and I love MMOs, so naturally Neverwinter was appealing. I was immediately impressed with the opening cut scene, I’m not quite sure why I had low expectations of the graphics, but they were definitely far better than I anticipated. In fact, I found all of the graphics throughout Neverwinter were better than expected. I loved the amount of detail in the characters and surroundings, and I liked that the environments were interactive, such as kicking around a barrel. Simple things and small details can really make a big difference when they all come together.

I’m a glutton for character customisation options, and I have to say Neverwinter really impressed me with how much you can customise your character. Not only were there a decent amount of races and classes to choose from, the actual customisation of the physical appearance of your chosen adventurer is really in-depth. I spent a good while perfecting my character exactly how I wanted her, and I easily could have spent longer playing with the creation options.

Generally I dislike playing MMOs on consoles, I just prefer having a mouse and keyboard in front of me for games that I know I’ll be playing a hell of a lot. Despite my bias towards PC versions of MMOs, I was pleasantly surprised with the streamlined controls for Neverwinter on Xbox One. I had some initial trepidation that the controls would be kind of clunky, however, I was relieved to find that they worked pretty well with a controller and were actually really easy to get used to. Think of the way the action bar works with the controller in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn for the PlayStation 3 and 4 controllers, that’s pretty much what the Neverwinter controls are like. Your Neverwinter friend list being integrated with your Xbox friend list works really well too.

I think the inclusion of tutorials is a good idea, even if the voice acting was a bit cringe-worthy. Although pretty straight forward in terms of game play if you’re used to MMOs, I think when Neverwinter launches on Xbox One it will appeal to a few players who are new to the genre, so the tutorials will definitely be appreciated. As with most MMOs, your initial foray into the world is set on a very linear path, however, once you hit your first city hub, the world opens up to you and you can explore more freely and quest to your heart’s content.

The Neverwinter beta had some really nice touches for players taking it for a test drive. You get mailed a little starter pack when you begin, and the micro-transaction store offered plenty of freebies such as companions and fashion pieces to try out. One of the best beta features I noticed, although I’m glad to say I didn’t have to use it, was the “I am stuck” feature. If you get stuck in the world you can simply click this option to try to free yourself, failing that there’s a “Defeat Me” option too, so you can kill yourself and re-spawn.

Everything seemed easy to understand and accessible, NPCs that you can interact with, or who have quests waiting for you, are all clearly marked, as are items you can interact with. Group instances seemed to work really well and I found queue times to be nearly non-existent. The setup reminded me of World of Warcraft instances, when you finish your instance with random players, you’re still in a party and able to participate in another instance, if you wish to.

As a whole, I was really impressed with the standard of the beta; I encountered only minor glitches and I was pleasantly surprised with how polished it was. There were a few things that I wish had been implemented, such as a mini-map, but then that could well be included on release of the actual game. Based on the game play I’ve experienced from the beta, I’m actually really inclined to pick this up when it releases for Xbox One, even more so because it’s a free-to-play MMO. I was really pleased to find it was one of those games were you pick it up just to try it out, and before you know it you’ve spent the whole day playing it.

Meg Pelliccio

Editor at Geeks Don't Lie

Meg appreciates gaming on all formats, but primarily spends her time achievement hunting to the extreme. Her passion for gaming began as a child, when first introduced to the Amstrad. A collector of gaming consoles past and present, Meg spends as much of her time rediscovering old classics as she does playing the latest releases.