Project Gorgon is a niche, indie fantasy MMORPG that leans hard into a classic, old school feel rather than modern theme-park design. It launched into version 1.0 in January 2026 after a long Early Access period and is developed and self-published by Elder Game, a tiny studio. The game focuses on freeform exploration, discovery, and experimentation instead of quest markers and tightly scripted storylines, so players are expected to figure things out, read NPC dialogue carefully, and learn from trial and error.
Progression is heavily driven by skills and NPC favor instead of a standard level grind: you raise dozens of combat and non-combat skills, cultivate relationships with NPCs to unlock storage, recipes, services, and new systems, and gradually open up more of the world. There are no fixed classes, only a flexible skill system where you combine two active combat skills (like Fire Magic and Psychology or Unarmed and Necromancy) plus support skills, gear mods, and crafting to define your build. Combat itself feels intentionally old school and can be clunky compared to slick modern action MMOs, but it hides a lot of depth in ability synergies, dungeon mechanics, and theorycrafting.
What really sets Project Gorgon apart is its odd, charming systems: you can get cursed into being a cow or a spider, attend player-run poetry jams, discover secret languages, or use transmutation to reshape gear and stack specific ability bonuses in a min-max friendly way. On Steam it currently sits at a strongly positive rating with a relatively small but dedicated player base that praises the sense of discovery, community events, and build freedom, while often criticizing the dated visuals, clumsy UI, and sometimes overwhelming learning curve.
This is very much not a game for everyone: if you want handholding, top-tier graphics, or instant gratification it will probably frustrate you, but if you enjoy slower, experimental sandbox MMOs where you carve out your own weird path, it can be surprisingly rewarding.
