AFK Journey – Season 1 Begins
Posted on May 21, 2024 by Aywren
AFK Journey has been anything but the idle game I expected it to be based on its name. After putting many hours over the past 40+ days into it, it’s far more of a fantasy RPG gacha game with a full explorable world, story, and cast of characters I’ve come to enjoy.
The last time I wrote about the game earlier this month, I was trying to get prepared for Season 1 that’s currently dropping on servers (depending on the age of your server). Season 1 eventually dropped for us about 4-5 days after the first server received it, so we aren’t that far behind.
While there is a catch-up mechanic for your account if you’re behind the curve, I was not at all prepared for the amount of story I’d have to tackle to finish the base game. On top of that, you also had to reach max level for the main 5 characters in your roster (level 240), and finish all the AFK Stages, which amounted to Stage 1125, I believe.
Thankfully, I had built my team up somewhat by just casually logging in for rewards every night, so that helped give me a leg-up through to the end of Chapter 1. I wish I had spent more time pushing my AFK Stage battles along the way, however. I did hit a small wall a few times as going got much more rough in Chapter 2 of the story… which I had no idea even existed until I got there.
At least I finally got to meet Berial, whom I’m gunning for as a Hypogean pull.
I know folks say he’s not that great unless you max him and use him for PVP, but I love his design and character quirks. I do have a type. 😉
So maybe one day…
Anyhow, I spent the better chunk of a three-day weekend making a huge push through the entire base game story. Ironically, AFK Journey has held my attention longer than a lot of the Steam games I picked up last year.
While it’s not the greatest story I’ve ever seen in a game, and sometimes it has missing translations in the UI wording, it keeps me motivated to solve whatever newest curiosity is going on. The writers do a good job of setting up chapters with plots that involve mystery-type elements, so you’re always trying to solve why something has happened, and who dun it.
The story also takes you through new locations and drops a heaping helping of the world’s lore in your lap, if you’re so inclined. I do feel that someone has spent a good deal of time fleshing out the world, its systems, the factions, and the characters.
So, while it’s not up there on par with the best game writing I’ve ever seen, I’m impressed enough with the presentation and the art style to keep playing. While some folks are whaling and looking at this as a competitive game (it does have a competitive side if you want it), I’m just along for the ride and to collect/strengthen my character roster.
Season 1 has been no different. So far, I’ve very much enjoyed the new location of the desert wastes, and learning about the people who live there. I wasn’t sure if the Maulers would be my thing, but I like the desert tribe atmosphere and all the little details the NPCs offer if you spend the time to talk to them in their settlement.
I also like the two new characters who were introduced this Season. Not enough to pull on the banner, but enough to appreciate from afar.
There was a bit of an uproar last week as players complained that Season 1 was skimping on the rewards you’d earn when compared to the base portion of the game. The devs responded to this feedback quickly, and patched in bonus rewards. So, I think that’s mostly smoothed over, and we can get back to our regularly scheduled Dream Realm battles.
Thankfully, I’ve learned SO MUCH about how this game works in my push to get to Season 1, that I have a better understanding of what I need to do on a daily basis to get enjoyment out of it. I’m still a casual and F2P player, but I now know the importance of keeping up with my AFK Stages, figuring out alternative party compositions, and just what all goes into strengthening your account.
Here's where I stand as a noob to all of this, just now entering Season 1 story.
I’m only missing a handful of characters – most of which are the Celestials and Hypogeans or the newest S rank banner. I think I’m doing pretty well for myself considering!