Solo Leveling Arise Review: A faithful adaptation of The Shadow Monarch's legacy

As a fan of the webtoon, there was little chance that I would pass up testing the waters of Solo Leveling Arise. After grinding levels for a while now, I have collected enough information to lay down a review, and let me tell you, it has certainly been an experience.

So is this game everything that Solo Leveling fans are hoping for? Do you get the epic feeling of being a S-ranked Hunter out of the panels of the manhwa? Or are you doomed to be stuck in the E-ranked purgatory of mobile gachas trying to capitalize on popular IPs?

Buckle up, grab your weapons, and let's get ready to dive into the Gate of this Solo Leveling Arise review, as I explain what the game does right and where exactly it fumbles.

Solo Leveling Arise: Becoming a player for the system

Become the Shadow Monarch with Solo Leveling Arise (Image via Netmarble)

Solo Leveling Arise is a perfect game to dive into if you are a fan of the webtoon series. It not only captures the magic of the manhwa but also adds its own set of flair that makes it feel distinct.

In this review, we will discuss what Solo Leveling Arise does right that will make you reach out for your controller and grind those daily objectives to become a hunter. And we will not shy away from what the issues are with the game and how Netmarble can fix them.

Let's dive into the positives first because there is a lot that I love about Solo Leveling Arise.

A unique RPG experience

Solo Leveling Arise does not shaft Jinwoo in favor of other SSRs (Image via Netmarble)

Sung Jinwoo is the main character of the story and it does not change going forward. What I mean by this is that Solo Leveling Arise takes a unique approach to its gameplay. While most gacha games let go of their beginner character, who is often the protagonist after a while, Jinwoo retains his role as the primary playable character.

Everything you will do in the game is to make him stronger. His level also acts as your account level. Sung Jinwoo also gets access to his own set of unique skills and will be the on-field character for most of the main story missions in Solo Leveling Arise. Most of the weapons in the game are also catered to him.

The best part about this experience is that playing with Jinwoo never becomes stale. Thanks to his ability to access more jobs as you level up, the gameplay feels fresh and addictive.

I will go out and say this. More gacha games need this mechanic as it shows your main character's growth throughout the story. It also feels more natural when they take down powerful enemies during cutscenes.

Combat: Where brutal meets brilliant

Combat is the bread and butter of the game (Image via Netmarble)

I cannot express in words how much I appreciate a fun combat experience, especially from a mobile game. Being a huge fan of both Honkai Impact 3rd and Punishing Gray Raven, I was skeptical heading into the combat. Gacha titles based on popular anime IPs don't have the best reputation when it comes down to combat and this was one of my concerns.

Needless to say, Netmarble did not disappoint with the gameplay of Solo Leveling Arise. A mix of hack-and-slash and party-based mechanics where you need to swap characters to chain out combos is satisfying to pull off, especially when you can time your attacks and devastate your foes.

Besides Sung Jinwoo, certain dungeons allow you to play as the characters you obtained using the gacha system. Playing as Seo Jiwoo or Emma Laurent is fun as you chain combos and QTEs to devastate foes. The combat is also not too easy and you can die if you miss your skills or mess up dodge timing.

Combat is the neatest part of Solo Leveling Arise's experience, as Jinwoo's arsenal gets stronger when you level up, allowing you to equip more weapons and skills.

Story: A faithful adaptation with stellar voice acting

Live the iconic moments from the webtoon's panel (Image via Netmarble)

Unlike many other anime games, Solo Leveling Arise sticks faithfully to the panels of the manhwa. You will experience Sung Jinwoo's rise to power in the main story, while the side stories will focus on minor characters such as Lee Joohee. This might be weird, but I loved the comic panel cutscenes.

Voice acting is also fantastic as Netmarble brings the cast of the anime to reprise their role. Aleks Le, one of my favorite voice actors since I played Persona 3 Reload delivers a great performance as Sung Jinwoo. The rest of the cast also does a phenomenal job.

Beginner Rewards: Unveiling the Treasures of the System

The launch rewards are actually nice (Image via Netmarble)

Most gacha games reward their players with a few goodies at launch. Solo Leveling Arise is no exception. You will get a lot of resources, pull currency, and login bonuses that will set you up with some firepower to take on the challenging content.

Just for logging in to the game, you will receive a free SSR, Woo Jinchul, and his signature weapon. Solo Leveling Arise also has a set of challenges that will land you a powerful SSR armament for Sung Jinwoo. Overall, the game is generous with its premium currency and ensures you get enough standard ones to hit the gacha pity at least once.

There is also an event going on right now, which will give you a copy of Cha Hae-In's signature sword.

A glitch in the System: The problems with Solo Leveling Arise

My character got bugged over here (Image via Netmarble)

I'm a huge fan of the webtoon, but slapping Jinwoo's face on everything isn't gonna win me over. The game has potential, but there are some technical hurdles and some questionable monetization decisions that need addressing.

Imagine you are fired up and charged into the battle with one of the iconic antagonists from the manhwa. Just as you are about to end its life, you realize you cannot move and your character is standing there, like one of the statues from the double dungeon. Controls are not working so you have to restart the mission, losing your progress.

The targeting mechanic also seems to have a case of mistaken identity. At times it will rather waste your skills on thin air instead of the gigantic dungeon boss literally in front of you. This will waste both your time and can cost you your life while raiding a high-ranked dungeon. The loading screens can also annoy you because at times it feels like it goes on forever.

These are some of the many infuriating, yet hilarious bugs I faced. Despite these occasional issues, the game ran smoothly and hopefully, the devs will deploy a team of S-ranked hunters to squash these annoying bugs. I won't hold it too much against the development team as technical issues are bound to happen during a game's launch.

The monetization is a bit questionable (Image via Netmarble)

Coming to the monetization aspects now, there is a lot to talk about. The banners are mostly fine with a similar pity system and a 0.6% SSR rate up as most modern gacha games do. There is a 50:50 chance for limited banners and it does come with one of the weirdest choices I have seen in a gacha title.

Weapons are also included alongside standard characters which means you are more screwed than ever as now weapons can also be drawn from limited-time rate-up banners.

But these are minuscule compared to my biggest problem with monetization right now. I get it, developers need to make money, but sometimes those in-game purchases can be a bit too much. Putting important features behind a paywall can be pretty frustrating.

Having a traditional monthly pass that gives a bit of premium currency is enticing enough for those looking forward to spending a little bit. There is no need to lock gameplay features behind it. Most gacha games are designed in a way that F2Ps get enough to roll for an SSR, and people who want to spend can do it on their whim.

Solo Leveling Arise is no exception except for the aforementioned issues with monetization. In the end, it is all about striking the perfect balance in the amount of reward that will be handed out to the player base for free.

In Conclusion

Solo Leveling Arise is not a perfect game. But despite a few annoying bugs, and some questionable monetization, it stands above the rest of mobile gacha games based on popular anime IPs.

It has insane potential to rise to the rank of a S-rated gacha and even give them a run for their money. But how that story will unfold is up to the developers and what tactics they will use for player base retention. As I said, the game fulfills the itch for a fun RPG experience with hack-and-slash combat for mobile users and provides a fair amount of challenge without handholding you too much.

There is also a great endgame content pool that will keep you hooked to the game. Although its start has been one of the best, whatever holds in the future is unknown. I think Netmarble will actively listen to player feedback and patch out the bugs with updates that will stabilize the performance more, making the game enjoyable.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely yes, especially if you are a fan of the manhwa. There are a lot of things that Solo Leveling Arise does right and here's to hoping that Netmarble crafts unforgettable journeys for all aspiring Shadow Monarchs.