Brighter Shores is a new point-and-click MMORPG from one of RuneScape’s original creators, Andrew Gower. Read our review of its early-access build to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
Everything We Know About Brighter Shores
Brighter Shores Story Plot
Brighter Shores has a simple premise, but its world is vast and rich with in-game lore and locations to explore. You take on the role of the newest recruit in the Hopeport Town Guard, arriving at these brighter shores to carve out your own path.
Whether you choose to build your reputation through various jobs, master new skills, or embark on thrilling adventures, the game offers endless possibilities in a bustling and immersive world.
Brighter Shores Gameplay
Brighter Shores shares many gameplay features and MMORPG mechanics with RuneScape and RuneScape Classic, which is fitting given that it’s the latest title from the original RuneScape creator.
The game places a strong emphasis on player choice and progression through vocational development. No matter which trade or profession you choose, Brighter Shores provides ample opportunities for you to refine your skills and build a prosperous future for yourself.
Combat and equipment are simplistic, limited to single-target duels that operate more like DPS races. This doesn’t detract much from the overall experience, however, as the main focus lies in the various other skills, jobs, and vocations available to your character across many different locales.
While player trading and group adventuring for loot are still key features, player trading has been moved behind a Premium Pass paywall.
Releases for Steam Early Access on November 6, 2024
Brighter Shores’s early access build will be released for the PC on November 6, 2024. According to its Steam page, it will come out at around 5 a.m. EDT / 2 a.m. PDT.
Brighter Shores Review [Early Access]
Addicting Old-school Charm, Modern Paywall
The MMO boom of the early 2000s was a cultural phenomenon that transformed gaming. Massive titles like World of Warcraft, Ragnarok, and EverQuest burst onto the scene, capturing the hearts of millions and forever reshaping online gaming. These IPs didn’t just deliver epic fantasy worlds; they cemented online gaming in the public consciousness.
Among these giants was a different kind of MMO—a free-to-play game that focused more on improving trades and in-game economies than on sprawling raids across fantasy realms. This was RuneScape, an experience that captivated players for entirely unique reasons.
Now, one of RuneScape’s original creators brings us Brighter Shores, a spiritual successor aiming to capture that same magic for a new generation. But does it hold up to nostalgia? Can it stand in the shadow of its predecessor? And are you about to lose countless hours in a new world?
All these questions, and more, will be answered as we take a nostalgic drive down memory lane to see whether Brighter Shores is a worthy successor to one of gaming’s most cherished titles.
Let's start with the basics: how do you play Brighter Shores? Set in the bustling coastal town of Hopeport, this point-and-click MMORPG invites you to forge your own path. Whether you arrive in Hopeport seeking adventure, fortune, or a fresh start, the town’s docks welcome you into a vibrant community of artisans, laborers, fisherfolk, and nobility.
In Brighter Shores, most of your time is spent exploring the world, gathering ingredients, honing skills, and earning experience in various vocations. Each new area introduces fresh disciplines to master, with Hopeport as the starting point. Here, you can dive into fishing, cooking, foraging, alchemy, and combat. As you practice each trade, you’ll gain experience to unlock higher skill tiers and gather valuable produce to earn income.
Alongside these professional tasks are main story quests and side quests that add depth to your character's journey. Many quests require certain professional levels, so gameplay maintains a satisfying balance between skill-building and story progression. Hopeport alone offers five main quests right from the start, with even more unlocked by talking to locals, advancing older quests, leveling up professions, and exploring new areas.
As you progress, you’ll unlock the Hopeforest, an expansive new area packed with fresh professions to master, zones to explore, enemies to battle, and quests to uncover. This pattern continues as you move into other regions like the Mines of Mantuban and Crenopolis, which introduce even more to discover—though they come with a paywall (more on that later).
An Endless Grind Worth Every Second You Put Into It
At its core, Brighter Shores is a straightforward gameplay loop. While it may feel simple compared to modern MMOs like Albion Online, Black Desert, or EVE Online, this simplicity is the game’s true strength. Stripped of convoluted metas, unbalanced features, fragile in-game economies, and microtransaction-driven grind, Brighter Shores pulls players in through its pure, addictive game design.
It’s a masterclass in positive feedback loops, where the promise of career progression keeps you playing for hours. Unlike other games that merely rely on inflated stats for that dopamine rush, Brighter Shores builds its entire world around career advancement, ensuring you’re always aware of how close you are to the next level—and what rewards await you when you get there.
Combat and Story Can Get Monotonous at Times
Of course, even the most engaging progression can get a bit repetitive, especially in grind-heavy MMOs where burnout is all too familiar. Brighter Shores leans into a more hands-off style; once you’ve stocked up on ingredients and set your tasks in motion, you might find yourself tabbing out, as there’s little need for active engagement during the processing phase.
The same applies to the game’s combat, which I’ll dive into shortly—it also contributes to some of the game’s downtime. As a free game, this slower pace doesn’t detract much from its value, but it may feel unengaging for some players.
The story, too, is fairly minimal, quickly taking a backseat once you dive into the professions. This isn’t unusual for MMOs; even those with massive worlds, like Warcraft, slow down story-wise once the grind begins.
Brighter Shores does have a lighter narrative load than most, which could be a pro or a con depending on your preference. Personally, I enjoy how this puts the focus squarely on the professions, rather than being distracted by a sprawling fantasy story that may fade into the background.
Quest Design That’ll Get Your Gears Turning
Switching gears to the game’s other features, let’s discuss Brighter Shore’s quest design, as it is just as genius as everything else. Brighter Shores’ quest design is that it expects you to think for yourself, offering minimal handholding. This might seem like a small touch, but in an era when games like Horizon: Forbidden West generously mark objectives with bright yellow paint, it’s a refreshing change.
While it may feel like an innovation, this is really a nod to early 2000s MMOs. Back then, apart from major titles like Warcraft, most games would simply tell you to go to a place, find something with your own eyes, or solve a mystery using in-game clues.
There were no markers, no hints—just your own observations and persistence. Integrating this “hard mode” approach to questing in a game primarily focused on professions, and making it feel cohesive, is a masterstroke that only Andrew Gower could pull off.
Blast From the Past Visuals
Moving on over to the game’s visuals, Brighter Shores doesn’t look like your typical modern MMO—and it’s not meant to. While it isn’t as polygonal as RuneScape Classic, there’s a certain roughness, a purposeful jankiness in its assets and animations that recalls the nostalgic style of early 2000s games.
But that’s not to say it looks bad; in fact, this intentional aesthetic gives the game a cozy, iconic charm that’s rare in today’s sleek, polished gaming landscape. Brighter Shores still has visual chops to show, though, featuring an adjustable, grid-based isometric view, room-based transitions, and detailed environments, making it feel like an old-school game while having modern design principles.
Paywall Gets in the Way of Nostalgia
At the end of the day, after considering Brighter Shores’ nostalgic visuals and its engaging—though occasionally monotonous—gameplay, we’re left with the question of monetization. This is where the “modern” side of the game makes itself known, as Brighter Shores ultimately has to be a viable product for its developers.
The game’s paywall nudges at that nostalgic charm. While RuneScape had its own monthly subscription, Brighter Shores opts for a one-time Premium Pass, which is more affordable. However, unlike fully free-to-play MMOs like Albion Online and Black Desert, Brighter Shores locks certain non-cosmetic items behind this paywall. This sets it apart, creating a slight barrier that some players may find takes away from the otherwise accessible experience.
This paywall wouldn’t be so tough to swallow if it didn’t lock away such a significant chunk of content. With two entire areas—making up half of the game’s currently available regions—and even player-to-player trading restricted behind the Premium Pass, the paywall is more than a minor barrier.
What Else Can You Expect from the Maker of RuneScape?
Brighter Shores isn’t so much a return to form for Andrew Gower as it is a translation of early 2000s MMO magic for today’s players. It captures much of RuneScape’s charm with its efficient simplicity and quaint, endearing setting, while also carrying some of the limitations that come with that simplicity. The game’s modern elements make it appealing to a wider audience, though its monetization scheme adds a layer of restriction.
Still, Brighter Shores remains a fantastic experience for both old-school fans and newcomers, especially as it’s largely free-to-play. There’s plenty of content and enjoyment available well before the paywall, with the game holding strong both up to that point and beyond. While it may not reignite the MMO craze, it warmly reminds veteran players of what we’ve missed and offers modern audiences a taste of just how captivating MMOs used to be.
Again, I ask, what else can you expect from the maker of RuneScape?
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Brighter Shores Product Information
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| Title | BRIGHTER SHORES |
|---|---|
| Release Date | November 6, 2024 |
| Developer | Fen Research Ltd. |
| Publisher | Fen Research Ltd. |
| Supported Platforms | PC (Steam) |
| Genre | RPG, Action, Adventure |
| Number of Players | Massive Online Multiplayer |
| ESRB Rating | RP |
| Official Website | Brighter Shores Website |
