The BnS NEO Divine Gems game's graphics were another particular hallmark, thanks to the bombastic character designs by artist Hyung Tae Kim. That name might sound familiar to Nikke: Goddess of Victory and Stellar Blade fans, as that of the founder of the Shift Up corporation. Though Hyung Tae Kim left NCSoft in 2013, his art style still permeates every aspect of Blade and Soul’s visuals.

The current Blade and Soul has undergone many rebalances, content expansions, and even an engine upgrade to Unreal Engine 4 during its many years of service. Unfortunately, this expansive period (nearly 13 years in South Korea!) means there is a lot of content for newcomers and a distinct disregard for the early portions that made the game so intriguing at launch. Not many people run old dungeons or spend time in old regions a shame, considering those zones and challenges defined the title.

Neo essentially reboots the game and starts everyone at square one. In it, you're a greenhorn Hongmoon student mourning the loss of your clan, and seeking answers to the massacre. Blade and Soul Neo launches with just two regions: the lush Viridian Coast and the arid Cinderlands. For comparison, the current version has seven regions. The story follows the original game's plot points fairly closely, but the development team is not committed to adhering to the current canon in future Neo expansions. This leaves the door open to alternative story beats, which is an exciting prospect considering that the current title's narrative has stalled considerably.

Unfortunately, this means that any cosmetics acquired and progress made by veterans in the original game do not carry over to buy Blade and Soul NEO Classic Divine Gems. The new release is a separate experience, independent of the original game. The most obvious change is graphical, with Blade and Soul Neo better leveraging Unreal Engine 4. This includes improved texture details, better lighting, and a cleaner user interface (UI). In addition to UE4 graphical fidelity and visual effects, Neo adds new animations.