Pagan Online is very interesting hack ’n’ slash twin-stick ARPG, based on Slavic mythology, that is bravely trying to implement some new, more casual but fun experience into the genre. Aside from its bugs and few balancing problems, it has great potential and it is already managing to separate itself from the big competitors in the genre.

Pagan Online is a Diablo-like hack-and-slash RPG with an alright story. The gameplay is enjoyable, but it's lacking in other regards such as shops, an open world, and so on. It's a nice cheaper alternative to Diablo if you don't mind the lack of depth.

Slavic pagan mythology is a welcome addition to otherwise stale fantasy scene, but weird campaign structure and emphasis on grind keep messing with immersion. [Issue#240, p.35]

Pagan Online seems to have gone through development hell — whatever its original concept was, the game has been rewritten, cut into pieces and then reassembled in a different form. Its short f2p-style runs are fun at first, but then boredom gradually sets in, because it’s just rinse and repeat.

Pagan Online makes an attempt to dovetail two different genres—the ARPG and the MOBA—with mixed results. While the different heroes each have interesting abilities and character designs, the game is bogged down by an unfortunate series of grindy, free-to-play mechanics inexplicably built into a buy-to-play game.

Pagan Online’s Slavic fantasy pulls from mythologies that are slightly off the beaten path, but so much of the game feels like familiar — and what’s worse, less successful — tropes, mechanics and ideas gleaned from other ARPGs, MOBAs and mobile games. It does have the advantage of presenting relatively short and fast-paced missions to the time-pressed player, but I suspect fans of action RPGs would prefer a more creative, immersive and less repetitive experience to one that is just abbreviated.

Inexperienced developers tried their hand on a Diablo-like RPG but they failed to understand what makes the genre so popular. Pagan Online is full of restrictions, locked content, reused maps and terrible loot.