Albion Online

Do I recommend this game? - NO
Does it deserve a negative review? Also not.
It's a nearly perfect game, The economy and overall world and all is really a masterpiece and that's why a positive review.
BUT it has 3 major issues:
The fact that late game gear is pointless is a very frustrating design issue.
There's no meaningful content for casual/solo/PVE players.
The game encourages people to get some friends and kill outnumbered random fellows. This is crystal clear bullying. After playing a while you see how people disrespect each other. Steal, kill innocents, etc. It's sad that such a beautiful game promotes toxic behaviour.
I really love how this game is made and how it looks, but I just can't go and kill random guys. I know it's just a game, but it's a MMO, you play with real people. I don't really like being a jerk to anyone so I pass.

Fun sandbox MMO, but you need patience. Progression is slow.

I'm mad at myself for deciding to pick Albion Online so late, as I've been looking for such an amazing sandbox experience for quite a long time now. That said, it's absolutely not a title for everyone, especially given solo gameplay, which in most cases amounts to an endless (yet beautiful) grind.
The above makes the game feel almost like a meditation if you decide to stick with the Blue and Yellow zones, as you can only be knocked down there, instead of being killed (whether by mobs or other players). However, the Red and Black zones enable full-loot PVP, as well as the most lucrative rewards when it comes to different chests, resources, and open-world mobs. While it's possible to conquer solo, it's always more efficient and safe to play in a group or at least a party of 2 players in the full-loot PVP zones.
As I'm a 35-year-old father, husband, and a QA Engineer working remotely, I obviously don't have any friends anymore, so playing solo is my way to go. I do recommend it with all my heart, though (I don't feel when I rhyme yo). If you don't mind the long grind towards your goals and/or the full-loot PVP system, Albion Online may be a game you look for, especially if you enjoyed titles like Black Desert (grind) or Tibia (open PVP with major consequences after death).

My played time is innaccurate, I literally backed this game initially and have a Founder's pack on my original account. Been playing on and off for 8 years. I won't pretend the game doesn't have issues, However it doesn't really misrepresent itself.

To address up front people claiming the game "Became" Pay to Win: You're kidding yourself if you didn't think the game was ALREADY Pay to Win. You can buy gold with real money, then buy silver with gold, then spend the silver to buy LITERALLY ANYTHING IN THE GAME. All they've added now is the ability to speed up progression with real money. And if anyone is thinking this is reducing some obscene, impossible grind to something reasonable: There are YouTubers who could grind out to fully maxed combat skills in a matter of 1-2 months. Your average person absolutely doesn't need every weapon skill maxed and can easily attain a reasonable amount of progress on their own without constantly buying learning points. If they couldn't the game wouldn't have survived 8 years.

Now, What does the game offer:
- a persistent sandbox where you can make a name for yourself
- can contribute to the in-world economy
- PvE content including open world farming as well as instanced solo and group content
- Solo PvP Content including Arenas, Open World PvP, Faction War, and PvPvE Instanced content (with varying degrees of full/partial/no loot)
- engage in safe or high-risk/high-reward gameplay loops
- decorate a personal island
- amass wealth
- have your own farm where you raise crops, cook food, and raise animals to be butchered OR Become mounts

What does this game NOT offer:
X A narrative driven experience
X A Questing Themepark
X a FULLY safe PvE only mode (Unless you limit yourself to only blue zones or Instanced PvE Content

If this rough breakdown feels appealing to you then I think the game is absolutely worth a try. a COMPLETELY free player will have a good enough time, though it'll be slower going. Buying premium is absolutely worth it if you can, and a good way to support the game's longevity. And honestly, if you're a whale I welcome you too because more money for the devs means more updates and a longer lifespan.

This game is not for the faint of heart!
If you are a type of player who loves PvE and hates PVP, and wants to solo all the way without playing with friends or does not want to join a Guild/community then this is not the type of game you are looking for.
You will be enjoying this game for 100-200 hours in as it has less PvP content at that time as you are still stuck at lower tiers/level, you'll be safe gathering resources (Mining ores, Chopping woods, gathering cottons, hammering stones).
As you are dive deeper in the game you will realize that you need to fully give it your all if you play Solo, and if you like the thrill of it then nobody is stopping you. You'll be in a PvP zones/map that anybody can kill/harass you as your gather your resources or solo mobs and dungeons. You'll be in high alert at all times as you fight your way to the boss and pray no group of players will try to steal your dungeon boss.
I forgot to mention something, dying on higher level zones (PvP zones) make you lose your stuffs, so you will have to grind those gears again and hopefully on your next attempt at higher level maps, you will not die. Gears are locked behind higher level maps, so if you plan to play this game on chill mode then may you have fun on lower levels in contrast with higher level map where you have to stay high alert mode at all times.
You must also have a good and stable internet connection because disconnecting on high level maps has a high risk of losing your gears and stuff due to your character not logging off, and stray players may try to kill your character.
But I still recommend this game, I love Albion!

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS
---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't
---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf
---{ Audience }---
☑ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma
---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer
---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls
---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☑ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second live for grinding
---{ Story }---
☑ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life
---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☐ Long
☑ To infinity and beyond
---{ Price }---
☑ It's free!
☐ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money
---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs
---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☑ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

Great game if you have friends to play with. A bit disadvantage playing solo.
Have 1000+ hrs on mobile. Shame I can't link to steam.