Solo Leveling: ARISE Review

Summary Adherence to the source material enhances story immersion and captivating gameplay.

Balanced action gameplay and diverse systems provide ample grinding opportunities.

Aggressive monetization strategies detract from the overall experience.

Solo Leveling: ARISE is a mobile-first but PC-friendly action-RPG game developed and published by Netmarble. It's based on the immensely popular manwha-turned-anime Solo Leveling, which follows the journey of humanity's weakest hunter, Sung Jinwoo, as he embarks on a quest that sees both his world and the actual planet turned upside down by what is uncovered along the way. It's an incredible story, and one that features a number of emotional beats that might not be expected given its title and genre - but at its best, it's a frenetic action property with memorable fight scenes and power-scaling moments.

Solo Leveling: ARISE stays true to its source material in a number of ways. First, it's unapologetically a fan of its own origins, with a gritty, detailed story mode that adheres to the manwha's narrative religiously. Second, it takes the action and speed that characterize many of Solo Leveling's biggest battles and infuses its RPG elements with the same sort of chaos, delivering great set pieces on bosses and a decent-to-good daily grind. Finally, it nails the world and setting of Solo Leveling, seamlessly blending many of the administrative and political agencies at play into gacha mechanics that don't feel forced.

Solo Leveling:ARISE 8 / 10 Pros Great action gameplay that feels balanced and entertaining

Strict adherence to the identity of source material makes story captivating

Diversity among systems offers a lot of opportunities to grind Cons Battle pass & shop systems feel aggressive even for gachas

Loading times and server lag are still present from early access period

Solo Leveling: ARISE Is Unafraid To Tread Familiar Ground

A Fondness For The Original Story Makes For A Fun Exploration Of Its World

Close

Solo Leveling: ARISE is its source material's biggest fan. The fondness for the original story and the care with which it is handled and implemented into its systems is a rarity even on console adaptations; that it's present here on mobile and PC is a nice treat. It's also baked into one of the primary means of progression in story mode, where players take on the role of Sung Jinwoo as he assembles a team of hunters to aid him in understanding the Gates and what they mean for humanity.

Each story mission is based on a key moment in Solo Leveling lore. Whether it's the earliest days of Sung Jinwoo as humanity's weakest hunter or far deeper into his adventure, when he becomes humanity's cheat code against otherworldly threats, the missions will feature dialog and sometimes panels from the manwha to emphasize what's happening. Perhaps the biggest detriment of Solo Leveling: ARISE's story mode is just how far it goes into the source material - those who are following the IP through its anime adaptation will be subject to spoilers if they progress too far. The upside is that the story mode is so well done it's essentially like reading the manwha anyways; fans won't miss out on key moments or see them glossed over too much.

Related Solo Leveling: ARISE - Should You Pull The Cha Hae-In Or Silver Mane Baek Yoonho Banner? There are currently two limited banners in Solo Leveling:ARISE - one for Cha Hae-in, and the other for Silver Mane Baek Yoonho. But which is better?

There's also side missions available in each main story mode node that help expand on characters who don't always live in the spotlight. They provide useful context for their motivations or the world around them, and it's a welcome addition, akin to Genshin Impact hangouts in the sense that it'll help make users feel more emotionally attached to characters beyond just Sung Jinwoo and the other major players. Side missions also provide valuable currency for the game's progression systems, so it's hard to ignore them, though they're impactful enough they shouldn't be avoided.

Solo Leveling: Arise Combat Hits Hard & Can Be Harder

AFK Grinding Is Welcome, But Challenging Content Balances It Out

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Solo Leveling: ARISE shines with its combat. It looks simplistic at first with a few skill layouts and standard mob clearing and boss fights in story mode progression, but as teams expand, the game really opens up over time. Multiple avenues of content exist: the aforementioned standard content, missions that put players in the role of their supports while Sung Jinwoo is absent, and a few others, like timed attacks and treasure chest openings. Each hunter feels unique and offers skillsets and battlefield-changing abilities, so composition matters a lot. Even in the easier content, there are ranks and bonuses to incentivize completion in a timely and efficient manner.

That's before considering the myriad other systems and stats to consider. Solo Leveling: ARISE is a min-maxxer's dream with artifact sets that confer bonuses for using multiples, skills that can be swapped out on Sung Jinwoo, stats on each of his levelups that can customize his build, and more. It feels like there is a way to achieve any team composition with the right number of artifacts and stat increases, and synergies between different roles are only suggestions, not requirements. A standard tank and healer support division makes sense; unless there's a time attack mission, where three DPS might be better. These considerations make the game feel like its content has depth.

Related 10 Solo Leveling: ARISE Features & Mechanics That Will Improve Your Experience Solo Leveling: ARISE features a slew of familiar gacha game mechanics, but knowing what to focus on can improve your experience dramatically.

Solo Leveling: ARISE Is Only Held Back By A Mix Of Monetization & Polish

Aggressive Shop Distributions & Loading Hangups Mar A Great Experience

As a gacha game, it's expected for Solo Leveling: ARISE to have a certain level of monetization tied into it. That's the nature of the genre and it's unavoidable given its massive success on mobile platforms. With that said, however, even for a gacha game, the amount of shops to navigate and battle passes or bonuses to potentially purchase feels unwieldy at the best of times. Many of the game's shops offer free pick-ups that are miniscule compared to purchased goods, and the battle pass is such excellent value that it feels like you're genuinely quite far behind players without it. These factors, tied into a stingy approach to summoning tickets, make the game feel a bit too aggressive about money for its own good.

It's certainly not a deal breaker - not in the way that the gacha systems will be to some - but loading times are something that needs tuning and fixing over the coming weeks.

The only other major issue that Solo Leveling: ARISE suffers from is loading hangups. Persistent through early access and present during launch (though not as bad, admittedly, in the latter), these loading wheels can disrupt play just enough that it feels annoying to deal with them. For a game that has a lot of emphasis placed on AFK farming and efficiency, these seconds-long waits in between screens can be frustrating. It's certainly not a deal breaker - not in the way that the gacha systems will be to some - but loading times are something that needs tuning and fixing over the coming weeks.

Final Thoughts & Scored Review

4/5 - "Excellent" In Screen Rant's Scoring System

Overall, Solo Leveling: ARISE is still an excellent game, one worthy of a look even for those who don't usually find gacha games appealing. Sung Jinwoo being an effective character and a depth of strategy will even allow free-to-play users to thrive, though they'll likely be looking at battle pass subscribers with envy given how wide the chasm is between the two demographics. Strong gameplay, an adoration for the source material, and a number of tactical decisions that make strategy paramount characterize one of the better "free" mobile game releases in quite some time.

Screen Rant was provided with a review account for the purpose of this article.