Soul’s Remnant spent roughly a decade in development, launched free-to-play on Steam Early Access, and started climbing the “most played” chart within its first week. If you have already sunk 30 hours into its 2D platforming, character-freedom class system, and tight-knit servers, and you’re wondering what else fills that space, here are seven Soul’s Remnant alternatives worth trying on PC.
Our filter: playable now, still receiving updates in 2026, free to start, and skewed toward the same “hang out with strangers and grind cozy pixels” vibe rather than tab-target modern MMOs like Final Fantasy XIV.
Quick comparison
| Game | Best for | Free to play | Cash shop tone | Where it runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MapleStory | Nostalgia + polished side-scrolling | Yes | Aggressive but skippable | Windows |
| Ragnarok Online | Classic isometric guild play | Free private servers, Steam Renewal is paid | Old-school | Windows, Mac (private) |
| Mabinogi | Life-skill sandbox with music | Yes | Cosmetic-heavy | Windows |
| Ravendawn Online | Modern top-down sandbox MMO | Yes | Land plots and cosmetics | Windows, Mac, Linux (Proton) |
| Ravencast (Trickster Online re-issue) | 2D nostalgic grind with drills | Yes | Cosmetic and premium quests | Windows |
| Old School RuneScape | Long-term skill grinding | 15-hour free trial | Membership subscription | Windows, Mac, Linux, browser |
| Ryzom | Open-source sandbox on a living planet | Yes | Optional subscription | Windows, Mac, Linux |
Why Soul’s Remnant players start looking around
Ten years in development shipped a game that is loved and lean at the same time. Community posts on the Soul’s Remnant Steam forum and Discord keep listing the same wants after the first week:
- More endgame content than the current dungeon rotation offers
- Guild systems that go beyond chat and a shared bank
- A cross-platform client for Mac and Linux friends (Proton works, but is not official)
- A larger player base for open-world events
- The same social-first, pixel-forward feeling in something more mature
The seven alternatives below span that request. None replaces Soul’s Remnant. Together they cover the itch while the game keeps building.
MapleStory – Best for polished 2D nostalgia
MapleStory is the reference point for anyone who liked Soul’s Remnant’s side-scrolling combat. Nexon has kept it running since 2003, and the current version has roughly 40 classes, seasonal Reboot servers with no trading (closer to an OSRS-style ironman ruleset), and a leveling curve that has been aggressively rebalanced in the last three years.
Where it falls short: The cash shop still sells cosmetics and quality-of-life items that some players find aggressive. Nexon has also had server merges that break guild continuity.
Pricing:
- Free-to-play with a level 275 cap and full endgame access
- Optional cash shop and NX for cosmetics and pets
- vs Soul’s Remnant: free with more classes, more zones, more decades of content
Migrating from Soul’s Remnant: No import, but the muscle memory transfers directly. Party play, boss rotations, and guild raids scale further than anything in Soul’s Remnant today.
Download: Steam | Nexon Launcher
Bottom line: Best pick if you want a bigger, older cousin of Soul’s Remnant with 20 years of content.
Ragnarok Online – Best for guild-heavy isometric play
Ragnarok Online is the isometric MMORPG that shaped a generation in Southeast Asia and Brazil. The original client, private servers like TalonRO and OriginsRO, and the official Renewal client on Steam all offer a slightly different flavor of the same 2002 formula: pick a job, learn the maps, grind with friends, join a War of Emperium castle siege on Saturday.
Where it falls short: The official Steam Renewal server is region-locked and paid. Private servers are free but their longevity varies. The interface has aged.
Pricing:
- Free on most established private servers
- Paid on Steam and Kakao regional clients
- vs Soul’s Remnant: free if you pick a private server, more strategic than action-oriented
Migrating from Soul’s Remnant: Different perspective, same “the guild is the game” spirit.
Download: Steam (region-restricted) | TalonRO | OriginsRO
Bottom line: Best pick if the guild politics of Soul’s Remnant were what kept you logging in.
Mabinogi – Best for the life-skill sandbox player
Mabinogi takes the MMO template and softens it into a life sim. You can spend a week composing music with the in-game score system, another week cooking, and another running dungeons. Combat is skill-based rather than level-locked, and the world responds to seasonal events.
Where it falls short: Server population is thinner outside Korea. Some translated quests have odd phrasing. Nexon has been rolling out a Mobile version that shares brand but not save data.
Pricing:
- Free-to-play
- Optional pet capsules and outfits in the cash shop
- vs Soul’s Remnant: free, larger world, softer combat loop
Migrating from Soul’s Remnant: Different pace. Mabinogi is what you play when you want to log in and cook or fish rather than run dungeons.
Download: Steam | Nexon Launcher
Bottom line: Best pick if the “hang out on the server between fights” moments were your favorite part of Soul’s Remnant.
Ravendawn Online – Best modern sandbox option
Ravendawn Online launched on Steam in 2024 as a top-down open-world sandbox with player-owned land, seafaring, and a dual-archetype class system. It has a smaller footprint than the mega-MMOs on this list but a strong Discord and a dev team that ships weekly.
Where it falls short: Land plots and premium accounts create a two-tier system some players call pay-for-convenience. Combat depth is still growing.
Pricing:
- Free-to-play with core content unlocked
- Premium accounts around $12 a month, land plots priced individually
- vs Soul’s Remnant: modern client, wider systems, less pixel charm
Migrating from Soul’s Remnant: Same “small enough to know regulars, big enough for a real market” scale.
Bottom line: Best pick if you like the socially small server feeling and want more modern systems.
Trickster Online re-issue (Ravencast) – Best for the 2D drill grinders
Trickster Online was the drill-and-dig MMORPG from Ntreev shut down in 2014. Community re-issues like Ravencast have brought the pixel art, character-class dice rolls, and drill-based exploration back with modernized net code.
Where it falls short: Fan-run servers can vanish. The client is unofficial by definition. Progression curves vary between servers.
Pricing:
- Free
- Some servers accept donations
- vs Soul’s Remnant: free, closest match to Soul’s Remnant’s pixel-density
Migrating from Soul’s Remnant: The closest visual and tonal match on this list. Grinding for pets and drilling into hidden zones scratches the same nerve.
Download: Ravencast
Bottom line: Best pick if you specifically loved the 2D presentation of Soul’s Remnant and want a similar palette.
Old School RuneScape – Best for long-term investment
Old School RuneScape is the 2007 snapshot of RuneScape that Jagex committed to keeping true to its roots. Every game update goes through a 75 percent player poll. Skills cap at 99, quests are hand-designed rather than radiant, and the community is famously stable.
Where it falls short: Skills grind in hours, not minutes. Some late-game bosses require deep mechanical practice. Not a game you dip into casually.
Pricing:
- Free trial covers roughly 15 hours of tutorial and low-level content
- Membership around $14 a month or $110 a year
- vs Soul’s Remnant: paid past the trial, but the world is roughly 100 times bigger
Migrating from Soul’s Remnant: Different tempo entirely. OSRS is what you play if you want a decade of progression rather than an afternoon.
Download: Steam | OSRS official
Bottom line: Best pick if you want to commit to one MMO for the next several years.
Ryzom – Best open-source finale pick
Ryzom is the open-source MMORPG most players have never heard of. The client is GPL-licensed, the world (Atys) is a living planet with wildlife migrations and seasonal weather, and there are no character classes: you build skills as you use them. The team is small, but the game has been running since 2004.
Where it falls short: The player base is small and mostly European. The learning curve is opaque without a starter guide.
Pricing:
- Free-to-play up to level 250 in every skill
- Optional subscription around $9 a month for higher caps
- vs Soul’s Remnant: free, radically different world, tiny but loyal community
Migrating from Soul’s Remnant: Different flavor entirely. Ryzom is what you try when you want the MMO to feel less like a theme park and more like a country.
Bottom line: Best pick if you want to see how an open-source MMO can survive on community effort.
How to choose
- Pick MapleStory if you want the biggest 2D MMORPG with modern quality-of-life
- Pick Trickster Online (Ravencast) if you want the closest visual and tonal match
- Pick Ravendawn Online if you want something modern that respects your calendar
- Pick Old School RuneScape if you want a game to grow old with
- Pick Mabinogi if the crafting, fishing, and idle-together moments were your favorite part
- Pick Ragnarok Online if you miss guild sieges and market-camping
- Pick Ryzom if you want to try something no marketing team has ever pitched to you
- Stay on Soul’s Remnant if the developer’s weekly patch cadence and small server feel are what you actually love. Early Access games shift fast.
FAQ
What is the best free Soul’s Remnant alternative? MapleStory. It is the biggest 2D MMORPG that is still free-to-play with a real endgame, and the class variety is unmatched.
Which Soul’s Remnant alternative runs on Mac and Linux? Ravendawn Online works well through Proton on Steam Deck. Ryzom and Old School RuneScape have native Linux and Mac clients. Ragnarok Online private servers run through Wine.
Are Ravencast and Trickster Online safe to install? Ravencast is fan-run. Most re-issues are volunteer projects with public GitHub repositories and community moderation. Read the community subreddit before downloading and prefer clients distributed via the official project site.
Is Old School RuneScape worth the subscription? For players who commit hundreds of hours a year, yes. For a weekend try, the free trial is enough. Membership unlocks roughly 85 percent of the world.
Does Soul’s Remnant have plans for Mac or Linux? The developer roadmap mentions macOS after Early Access. Linux is not officially targeted but the game runs on Steam Deck through Proton with community-reported success.
