I’ve played a lot of mobile games, but few, aside from the HoYoVerse games, have the presentation and style of Solo Leveling: Arise. This 3D action RPG is a very well-crafted adaptation of the original series’ universe.

Solo Leveling Arise is a mobile and PC adaptation of creator Chugong’s original Korean web novel series. Set in an alternate version of Earth, a gate from another dimension appears, and monsters flood the world. It is up to the Hunters to defend themselves against these abominations, venturing into dungeons and ensuring the safety of the world. The series focuses on the world’s worst hunter and the amazing events that happen to him. This action RPG starts with the protagonist Song Ji-woo stepping into a tragic double dungeon at the beginning of the series.

But I have to admit that the tutorial of this game is the most disappointing and annoying part, as it makes you do the smallest things. If you have played any mobile game before, you know what to expect from Solo Leveling: Arise. The game requires you to play several missions in a row, improve your equipment, draw your character, and so on. However, this particular tutorial seemed to take a lot longer than others of its kind, but once you get over this issue, the game becomes much more exciting.

Solo Leveling: Arise is mostly played in third-person perspective. Some missions require a bit of exploration, but the majority of the game revolves around outstanding combat. Fast-paced gameplay at 60 frames per second for those willing to play on certain devices includes the usual attacks that are common in this type of title. Additionally, there are additional abilities such as evasion and various AOEs. As you would expect, these additional abilities have a cooldown. After using an ability, you have to wait a few seconds before you can use it again. Combat is fast-paced, so players always have something to do. One moment you can be using a skill, the next you can be dodging an area attack, and then charging up for your ultimate move. There are also timed attacks that take a short time to activate but deal high damage when executed.

Needless to say, Solo Leveling Arise has the best action RPG combat of any mobile game I’ve played, aside from maybe Genshin Impact. The tasks are very challenging and require skilled play for those who like this aspect. This is especially true if you want to complete all three side objectives of each mission. Some of them are difficult, such as achieving two perfect evasions in the same battle.

However, not everything about the gameplay is perfect. I highly recommend using a controller if you’re playing on mobile or PC unless a patch is released in the future. For some reason, the camera control in this game is very bad. Movement is clunky and the target lock function doesn’t work at all. I had a very hard time using the touch screen to target and track enemies during combat. In my experience, the game works much better on PC or with a controller.

Apart from missions, there is a hub where players can hang out. This hunter base allows you to network with other players, draw new support characters, upgrade your weapons, etc. One of the most surprising features of Solo Leveling: Arise is the ability to change job classes just like in Final Fantasy XIV. There are different classes associated with the weapons used by the main character.

Each class has its own unique abilities, ultimate moves, and more. In between missions, I had fun trying out different weapon types and classes to find what worked best for me. These missions generally follow the standard progression of an actual solo leveling story. There’s a good mix of in-engine style cutscenes and comic webtoon style panels. The animation and graphics are great, so it’s a shame the story moves a little too quickly. It lacks much of the character development of the actual web novel and anime adaptation. Therefore, this serves primarily as a supplement to the series, not a complete replacement.

Overall, I’d say Solo Leveling: Arise is one of the most impressive mobile games I’ve played to date. Unlike most anime mobile games, it adapts the series in a pleasant way. The action RPG combat is lightning fast, requires a ton of skill, and above all, it’s fun. The story moves a little too fast and it’s difficult to play on a touchscreen, but the excellent presentation is far superior to most modern mobile games. All fans of the series should give it a try on mobile or PC.