Solo Leveling: ARISE review

Solo Leveling: ARISE is based on a fantastic Korean webtoon that has picked up something of a cult following in recent months. It’s set in the modern world, where portals have opened around the globe, disgorging monsters and creating “Dungeons”, which will continue to threaten the common people unless the Boss is killed and the dungeon closed. Around the same time as the portals appeared, so did “Awakened Beings” known as Hunters, individuals gifted with special powers who can survive the Dungeons.

The story follows Sung Jinwoo, a teenager who hunts to pay for his mother’s medical treatment, but who has the unwanted distinction of being the “weakest Hunter of all mankind”. The only E-Rank Hunter known to exist, he can only tackle the lowest level Dungeons, and even then barely survives each time. He describes himself as a little stronger than a normal person, nothing compared to the higher Rank Hunters of the world.

Solo Leveling: ARISE begins with a recap of the first volume. Jinwoo has always survived by the skin of his teeth, narrowly avoiding death over and over, having to use his wits and memory to overcome obstacles he’s otherwise too weak to face. This puts him in a unique position to save many lives when he and a cadre of Hunters find themselves traversing a lethal “Double Dungeon”. After sacrificing himself to save the remaining few, Sun wakes up in hospital and realises he has been chosen to become a “Player”, a Hunter with the unique ability to “level up” and grow stronger by completing a series of incredibly challenging solo “quests”.

This being a mobile game first and foremost, Solo Levelling: ARISE doesn’t really build on any of the themes in the manga. The webtoon focuses on Jinwoo’s transformation from a very human, very weak individual to a powerhouse who begins to forget his own humanity. As you progress through the game you’ll see this taking effect, but only in the same way as it does in the comic. Yes, you’ll grow noticeably stronger, but there’s so little challenge outside of the boss fights that you won’t notice.

Fans of the source might get a kick out of the world, but it doesn’t add much to the story, instead presenting the entire thing as stills from the comics with voice actors reading the dialogue, which does dilute the impact of the story. Missions are very one-note, too, as you enter a sparse environment, button-mash through a few enemies, beat a mini-boss, maybe watch some story, and repeat until you reach the main Boss, which you tackle in much the same way.

The only time I had any trouble with an encounter was with certain bosses, who were such damage sponges that I struggled to beat them within the arbitrary time limit until I went off and ground some levels out to increase Jinwoo’s Strength stat, which you can do with random missions or the side content.

At times it seems Solo Leveling: ARISE is attempting to take a leaf out of Persona’s book and have Jinwoo explore a small hub area, interacting with his support characters and building relationships to improve their abilities. The more Hunters you meet and befriend, the more characters you can add to your team, which will eventually comprise of Jinwoo and three other Hunters with skills on cooldown. For example, PTSD-suffering Healer, Lee Joohee, can be used to heal Jinwoo, or she’ll jump in when needed without your input. Speaking of which, you can put every battle on Auto mode if you want to.

You can earn various currencies and unlock new weapons to take into a quest, but much of the first hour or two is frustrating, the game funnelling you through quest after quest and never letting you just explore the menus or items. It does eventually let you have your head, but there’s so much to explore and understand at this point that I didn’t bother with a lot of it for a while. You need to level-up Jinwoo and his various companions, unlock and level up weaponry, improve Jinwoo’s “job”, which unlocks a new look and more skills to equip.

Combat is quite fun, flashy and satisfying. Sun has plenty of special abilities tied to each weapon that fill up quickly, as well as a combat dodge that conveys bonuses when timed right. Ironically, the slow-motion effect of using the perfect dodge is so extreme and disruptive that it sometimes hampers the flow of combat. That said, switching between characters, mixing Jinwoo’s skills with theirs, or simply learning to use the “limit break” system to stagger bosses are all very satisfying elements. Some of Jinwoo’s boss takedowns are quite impressive, but I prefer the ones that take place in-engine as opposed to in cutscenes.

Everything about Solo: Leveling: ARISE suggests its mobile game nature. From the “Tap screen to continue” instruction to just how heavy handed it is with currencies and the cash shop. That said, it is pretty good fun when you’re in-flow, hammering through the pocket-sized levels and eating up content. With 15 chapters, a wealth of side missions, and story content and side quests for each of the other Hunters you recruit (all taken directly from the source), there’s a lot to get through here. It might not always blow you away with originality, but Solo Leveling: ARISE is still a pretty enjoyable and involving adventure on PC.