Black Gold Online
Black Gold Online is a steampunk-tinged fantasy MMORPG built around a two-faction conflict over valuable resources. Players pick a side, select from a wide roster of classes, and then spend their time questing, clearing dungeons, and jumping into PvP through open-world fighting and battleground-style matches. One of its standout hooks is the ability to pilot mechanized combat units, trading swords and spells for miniguns and rockets when the situation calls for heavier firepower.
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Publisher: Snail Games Playerbase: Shut Down Type: MMORPG Release Date: June 20, 2014 PvP: Open World/ Battlefields Pros: +Distinct steampunk-fantasy premise. +Pilotable combat mechs. +More hands-on combat input. Cons: -Minimal ongoing support. -Frequent technical issues. -Stiff, low-quality animation work. |
Black Gold Online Overview
Black Gold Online is a steampunk-fantasy MMORPG developed by Snail Games, framed around a resource war between two opposing factions. After choosing a side, you build a character from a selection of races and classes, then progress in familiar theme-park MMO fashion: quest hubs, enemy camps, dungeon runs, and PvP queues. The game leans on customization as an early selling point, with a slider-heavy character creator designed to help you put together a more personal-looking avatar.
Moment to moment, the loop revolves around leveling through quests and combat while chasing better gear and occasional dungeon drops. Where Black Gold tries to set itself apart is with mechanized units you can pilot for certain encounters, letting you swap your usual kit for a heavier, more destructive loadout. On the PvP side, the faction split supports both open-world skirmishing and structured battlefield objectives, so players who prefer fighting other players have multiple avenues to pursue.
Black Gold Online Key Features:
- Multiple Classes: Choose from two faction, six playable races (four unlocked at the start), and 12 classes.
- Victoriam Steampunk – explore a world fueled by steam, set against the backdrop of fantastical elements.
- Mechanized Machines – pilot lumbering robots, equipped with miniguns, rockets, and more to stomp enemies into dust.
- Factional PvP – enter the battlefield to compete for resources, destroy enemy carriers, or blow the opposing faction’s idol.
- Instanced Dungeons – explore ancient caverns and uncover hidden secrets with a small band of heroes to defeat bosses for experience and loot.
Black Gold Online Screenshots
Black Gold Online Featured Video
Black Gold Online Review
Black Gold Online arrives with a concept that sounds stronger than the finished experience: a faction-based MMO that mixes fantasy staples with steam-powered machinery and mech combat. On paper, it is an appealing pitch, especially for players who want something other than the usual medieval kingdoms and generic monster-slaying. In practice, the game struggles to capitalize on its own identity, and too often feels like a conventional free-to-play MMORPG with a steampunk layer applied unevenly.
A Two-Faction Setup With Familiar MMO DNA
The first major decision is selecting a faction, Isenhort or Erlandir, which effectively defines your side for PvP and your early presentation. Each faction has its own races, with some options gated until later progression (a common approach for encouraging longer-term play). The setup does its job in dividing the community for conflict, but it also signals what Black Gold largely is at its core: a fairly standard faction MMO structure, rather than a game that reshapes the genre.
Class selection is broad, and the roster includes archetypes that will be instantly recognizable to anyone who has played a fantasy MMO. That breadth can be a positive for players who want the comfort of familiar roles, but it also undercuts the “steampunk MMO” promise. Instead of leaning hard into engineers, machinists, and gadget-driven combat identities, much of the class fantasy reads as traditional swords and sorcery with occasional mechanical flavor.
The character creator aims to be deep, relying on many sliders to tweak proportions and facial structure. It can produce a wide range of results, including characters that look intentionally exaggerated if you push the settings. However, the system does not always feel precise, and some adjustments appear subtle to the point of being unclear. Still, it is one of the areas where Black Gold at least tries to give players ownership over their avatar.
An Intro That Slows Momentum
Early progression leans heavily on guided onboarding, with a linear opening path and frequent interruptions. The game uses cinematic moments to establish conflict and tone, but the presentation does not consistently land. Scenes often feel more like pauses than payoff, and the animation quality makes these sequences less impressive than they should be. When a tutorial is this stop-and-start, it can make the first hour feel longer than it needs to be, especially for MMO veterans who already understand the basics.
Mechs Are the Headline Feature, But Not the Whole Answer
The mechanized units are clearly intended to be a signature system. When you enter a mech, combat shifts into a more direct, weapon-driven style with rapid-fire guns and a heavier burst option such as rockets. The idea fits the setting well and provides a change of pace from standard class rotations.
The execution is mixed. The overall feel does not always match the fantasy of piloting a powerful machine, and the audio feedback in particular can come across as underwhelming for weapons that should sound and feel devastating. There are moments where the rockets deliver the impact you want, but the broader mech experience does not consistently achieve the weight and punch that would make it a true centerpiece.
Combat Input Feels Active, Difficulty Often Does Not
Outside of mechs, Black Gold uses a combat approach that asks for more repeated input than the “click once and auto-attack” style seen in older MMOs. You are pressing abilities regularly, including a basic attack mapped to a hotkey, which helps keep you engaged even when the targeting remains tab-based.
The larger issue is pacing and challenge. Many quests are structured around very small kill counts, and enemies tend to drop quickly, particularly as you move into new zones while already slightly ahead in level. That combination can make the leveling process feel like travel and turn-ins dominate the experience, rather than sustained combat encounters. There are flashes of flair in certain skills and animations, but the general ease can flatten the excitement.
Presentation and Performance Hold It Back
For a 2014 release, Black Gold looks serviceable in still images, but the overall presentation suffers in motion. Animation quality is inconsistent, with NPCs, mounts, and enemies often moving in ways that feel rigid or jittery. Visual clipping is also common enough to be distracting, and these issues are compounded by optimization problems that can cause distant objects and creatures to animate poorly.
The world design also does not always commit to the steampunk concept. While there are mechanical touches and industrial elements, many zones read as familiar fantasy environments. Instead of steam tech defining the landscape, it frequently feels like an accent placed on top of more conventional backdrops.
Audio does not reliably elevate the experience either. The music often leans into classic fantasy tones, and repetition can become noticeable over time, especially during long questing stretches.
Technical Issues Are a Constant Companion
Bugs are one of the most persistent problems. Quest instructions and key prompts can be unreliable, UI interactions may fail to respond as expected, and visual or audio elements can flicker in and out. Some issues resolve themselves after repeated attempts, which makes troubleshooting feel inconsistent and frustrating. Over time, these problems chip away at confidence in the game’s stability and polish.
Cash Shop Focused on Convenience and Cosmetics
Like many free-to-play MMOs, Black Gold includes optional purchases designed to speed up progression or provide extra benefits. A membership-style upgrade offers bonuses such as increased experience and additional daily rewards, aimed at players who plan to invest significant time.
The shop’s catalog is largely oriented around convenience and cosmetic items like mounts and appearance options. It does not immediately read as aggressively pay-to-win, but the overall storefront also feels limited, which can create the impression that the game’s monetization and content cadence were never fully matured.
A Project That Feels Left Behind
Even when evaluating the game on its own terms, it is difficult to ignore how little momentum it appears to have had after launch. The “beta” framing does not align with the volume of issues that remain, and the general lack of visible iteration makes it feel like a title that never received the sustained attention needed to fulfill its premise. That is especially unfortunate because the core idea, a steampunk MMO with mechs and faction warfare, is still a niche that many players would like to see done well.
Final Verdict – Fair
Black Gold Online has a compelling theme and a few standout hooks, particularly the inclusion of mech combat, but it is weighed down by bugs, rough presentation, and an overall sense of incomplete follow-through. The combat structure has some active elements that could have supported a more engaging PvE loop, yet the leveling experience often feels too easy and too routine. For players specifically hunting for a polished steampunk MMORPG, Black Gold is hard to recommend, not because the concept is bad, but because the execution never reaches a standard that makes the journey worthwhile.
Black Gold Online Links
Black Gold Online Official Site
Black Gold Online Developer Page
Black Gold Online Subreddit
Black Gold Online Wikia (Database / Guides)
Black Gold Online System Requirements
Minimum Requirements:
Operating System: Windows XP / Vista / 7
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 / AMD Phenom II X2
Video Card: nVidia GeForce 8600 series / AMD or ATI 4850 series
RAM: 4 GB
Hard Disk Space: 15 GB
Black Gold Online Music & Soundtrack
Coming Soon!
Black Gold Online Additional Information
Developer: Snail Games
Announcement Date: June 04, 2014
Alpha Release: March 20, 2014
Closed Beta: May15, 2014
Open Beta: June 20, 2014
Release Date: June 20, 2014
Abandoned: 2016
Development History / Background:
Black Gold Online was created by Chinese developer Snail Games and formally revealed on June 04, 2014, with a demo previously shown at E3 2013. Its first alpha test began on March 20, 2014 and was limited to invited participants, offering 8 playable classes and 4 races at the time. A closed beta followed on March 15, 2014, lasting roughly two weeks and concluding on May 28, 2014. Open beta started on June 20, 2014, and the title remained in a beta state thereafter. Snail Games is also known for Age of Wushu, 5Street, and Bounty Bay Online, and has worked on projects such as King of Wushu and Music Man Online. The game was abandoned by the developer sometime in 2016, and since then there have been no meaningful updates or announcements, the official spaces have deteriorated (including spam on the forums), and the download and login services appear to be offline.