REVIEW: ‘Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE’ Delivers Exciting Action

The Solo Leveling anime took the world by storm when it debuted in 2024, and the series has only grown more popular ever since. Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE is a new adaptation of the popular webtoon that is based on the Solo Leveling: ARISE gacha game. Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE removes the Gacha elements and tightens up the single-player experience to provide an excellent action role-playing game adventure.

Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE follows Song Jinwoo as he discovers new powers. The story starts with an already strong Jinwoo, allowing players to learn the ropes with full abilities unlocked. After that, an intro mission takes players back to when Jinwoo first discovered his powers, blending cutscenes and webtoon clips to tell the story.

This storytelling method is interesting, since so much of it depends on using webtoon panels. It is great for fans of the webtoon to see some of their favorite moments, but it can be a tad lackluster for anyone who does not already have an attachment to the story. Cutscenes are also used, and the voice acting is very well done; however, the balance between when the story uses cutscenes versus when it uses webtoon panels is heavily skewed towards the webtoon.

Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE tells an interesting story, but there’s room for improvement.

Once the tutorial is completed, players go to a hub that is the base of Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE. This is where players launch into the single-player missions that re-tell Jinwoo’s adventure as he becomes more powerful to save his mom and, eventually, the world. Choosing to frame these as reliving moments through challenges is an interesting choice, and thankfully, it never feels too disconnected.

There are also all-new story moments added specifically for Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE. These moments add more context to the world and the characters Jinwoo meets along the way. They are not revolutionary, but they certainly expand the world and make the experience worth playing through, even if players already know the main story.

It would have been nice to see a little more variety, or at least more length, to make this a more epic journey. The campaign can be a breeze on normal difficulty, and hard mode is more challenging but not enough to necessarily make it worth playing through again. Newcomers to the franchise have plenty to feast on, but more could have been added to make this a must-play for those who already know Jinwoo’s story.

Players can experience the full extent of Jinwoo’s strength in combat.

Jinwoo is known for his strength, and Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE does a great job of allowing players to feel what it must be like to be that powerful. Attacks are fluid and powerful, and movement is quite fluid. Taking down low-level enemies or a powerful boss always feels good.

The downside here is that there is not a ton of depth. Characters only have a handful of active skills that can be used during fights. While there are skill trees and weapons to unlock, there is a certain point in the game where it all feels quite repetitive. This is not the most in-depth RPG, and it really shows as the campaign progresses.

Thankfully, since the bosses vary and the attacks are so fluid, it never becomes too repetitive that it borders on boring. Instead, each fight is explosive and entertaining, even if the options in front of players are not too varied. Players still get to experience what it is like to grow into an all-powerful fighter, and Netmarble really nailed the fast-paced action Jinwoo experiences throughout the webtoon and anime.

Embark on new challenges to enjoy the full extent of this action role-playing game. 

Weapon crafting is a neat mechanic in Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE, with plenty of options to create along the journey. It was especially neat to recreate weapons from the webtoon and see them in action. The pattern of fighting monsters and using items collected from them to forge or upgrade weapons is a comfortable loop that will keep players engaged.

Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE is also visually exciting, with plenty of cool enemy designs and dungeons that are always nice to look at. Most of the visual presentation is taken from the webtoon, but with enough quality added that it truly brings the world to life. It was great to see familiar scenes presented throughout the game that made me feel immersed in the story.

There is also a four-player co-op raid mode for players to take on tougher challenges alongside other players. These fights are mechanically interesting and require coordination, but a good team will have little trouble blasting through them. There is potential here to add more raids, keeping players engaged long after the game launches, and it will be interesting to see how they grow this mode over time.

Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE is a perfectly enjoyable action role-playing game that brings the world of Solo Leveling to life. While it could use more overall depth, there is plenty to enjoy for players as they relive Jinwoo’s journey or are experiencing it for the first time.

Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE is out now on PC.