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Whether you’re dual-wielding a mace and meat-cleaver combo, or mowing down monsters with a mana powered shotgun, Mythos features gameplay that’s familiar to dungeon-crawling veterans, and while it completely lacks originality, the fusion of familiar fundamental design elements has us excited to right click until our hands are numb. This Diablo-like loot-gathering skeleton-slaughter-simulator is not just taking a turn for the fanciful: it’s entirely free to play.

As an MMORPG that will feature no subscription fees (or a retail box, for that matter), Mythos’ gratis adventure mixes the best parts of World of Warcraft while sporting a better pricing structure than Guild Wars, and with a Diablo-like feel to it, the game is an incredible amount of fun.

After choosing a character (we went with the Cyclops giant) and a class (who wouldn’t choose the shotgun-toting, landmine-planting inventor?) players are sent on their merry way to clear churches of evil monsters, find lost books, deliver packages through treacherous routes, and other FedEx-style quests that feel less than fresh. That said, the click-click-click gameplay hasn’t aged a day in the last decade, so playing Mythos will always leave you entertained as you smash spiders with spiked clubs on your way to victory in this vibrant-colored fantasy land.

Thankfully, the game features a fast-paced levelling system that allows for quick questing and maximum skill-building while avoiding painful hours of grinding. Character advancement takes very little time, and within the first few hours, your feeble fighter will have evolved in to a cape-wearing killing machine. Cosmetic changes reflect equipped armor, weapons, and accessories, creating an addictive “one more quest…” experience, with Xbox 360-like Achievements (which grant you in-game upgrades when unlocked) to further sweeten the deal.

While quest-hubs feel a touch cramped, the claustrophobia quickly fades as you start to accept new adventures from the needy town-folk and start selling off your earned loot for new gear. After you’ve buffed out your horned (or miniature, depending on the class) hero, you can rock the world solo or with a guild in an array of never-ending – and seemingly never-changing – dungeon-based objectives. As an added bonus to the already smooth game, players will only see their own loot, eliminating the need to rush for “the big drop,” though the PvP option is still available if you want to throw down with fellow questers.

In its beta state, Mythos is a hot, hot game. While the less-than-stellar visuals may deter some, the bright colors, simplistic characters, and minimal texture detail are deceptively pretty, and allow more players easier access to the title, on top of its already completely-free-to-play business model. With a leveling system that’s paced well enough to keep you playing for hours, as well as tons of great drops across hundreds of quests, it appears the WoW user-base will have a good incentive to take a break from raiding Azeroth.