Free on Steam: Fantasy RPG with picture-book visuals launches with strong reviews

In AFK Journey, players take on the role of the legendary mage Merlin, assemble a team of heroes, explore the fantasy world of Esperia and gradually uncover its secrets. The focus is on strategic team building, resource progression and seasonal storylines. The whole experience is presented in a so-called “Canvas” look that resembles an illustrated picture book.

Players collect new heroes and send their party into automated battles, with outcomes depending heavily on preparation and tactics. Positioning, class roles, faction bonuses and special abilities often determine whether a team can defeat stronger opponents. The game also features AFK rewards, guilds, PvE and PvP modes, dungeons, autochess elements, events and a homestead system for designing your own plot of land.

In the Steam reviews, the presentation has been especially well received. Many players praise the fairytale-like visuals, strong character design and beautifully crafted game world. The seasonal storylines are described as engaging, emotional and high quality. Many users also feel that AFK Journey remains playable without additional spending despite its free-to-play model. At the same time, there is strong criticism of pay-to-win tendencies in PvP, expensive in-game purchases and technical issues, including FPS drops, stuttering and clearly noticeable mobile roots. Even so, 87% of the 99 user reviews submitted so far are positive.

AFK Journey was developed by Chinese studio Lilith Games and released by publisher Farlight Games on April 28. A Steam Deck rating is not yet available. For fans of fantasy RPGs and autobattlers, the game should still be worth a look despite the criticism, especially since it can be downloaded for free on Steam.