The moment I entered the character selection screen in Vindictus: Defying Fate, I was immediately hit with that unmistakable Korean game aesthetic. The character models instantly reminded me of the era when “sexy  heroines” dominated the gaming scene.
The last time I had a similar feeling was with Stellar Blade—which makes sense, considering Kim Hyung Tae was also one of the iconic creators behind that style of character design.

Once a hugely popular online action RPG, Vindictus (Mabinogi) has now returned in a very different form with Vindictus: Defying Fate.

This test build features four playable characters:

Lann, who uses dual swords
Fiona, wielding sword and shield
Delia, fighting with a greatsword
Karok, armed with an enormous pillar

Naturally, I picked Delia almost immediately—because she’s just huge. The sword, obviously.

The version I played felt somewhat incomplete from a narrative standpoint. Since all story content was only available in Korean, most of the experience boiled down to:
Fight enemies → return to town → turn in quests → go fight more enemies.
As a result, nearly all of my impressions came from the game’s combat system—which, thankfully, is also its strongest aspect. Honestly, if the game didn’t carry the Vindictus name, I probably wouldn’t associate it with the original MMO at all. What I played felt much closer to a pure single-player action RPG.

Core mechanics like dodging and blocking are present, alongside straightforward combo systems. Combos themselves are simple to execute, with basic input chains leading into extended attacks. Building up energy during combat also allows players to chain additional follow-up skills into their combos.
Most importantly, the game has no stamina bar. Unlike many Souls-like titles that constantly restrict player actions,  Vindictus: Defying Fate focuses far more on fluidity and the sheer satisfaction of combat.

Core mechanics like dodging and blocking are present, alongside straightforward combo systems. Combos themselves are simple to execute, with basic input chains leading into extended attacks. Building up energy during combat also allows players to chain additional follow-up skills into their combos.
Most importantly, the game has no stamina bar. Unlike many Souls-like titles that constantly restrict player actions,  Vindictus: Defying Fate focuses far more on fluidity and the sheer satisfaction of combat.

Playing Delia feels especially satisfying against normal enemies. Her heavy greatsword attacks stagger smaller foes easily, allowing you to chain powerful swings together without giving enemies any room to retaliate.
Elite enemies and bosses, however, require more careful strategy. You’ll need to dodge incoming attacks, build up stagger through repeated attacks or perfectly timed parries, and eventually break enemy posture to trigger execution attacks.

Delia’s abilities also include armor-breaking attacks and moves with temporary hyper armor, allowing her to power through non-special enemy attacks at key moments.

One thing I particularly appreciated is that both perfect dodges and perfect parries receive meaningful rewards. Unlike some action games that overemphasize parrying while making dodging feel secondary, Defying Fate treats both defensive mechanics as equally valuable.

Overall, despite still feeling rough around the edges, this early test build of Vindictus: Defying Fate was genuinely enjoyable. At the same time, a lot of content—particularly character customization and cosmetic systems—was absent from the test.