get past the jank and the terrible UI and theres an amazing game under there once you get a handle on everything!

After 25 years, this game has more than stood the test of time, with some caveats.

Problems up front: The game is very jank, and somewhat ugly and clunky. Now, some of the clunkiness does have a reason I'll go to here in a bit, but do not expect a modern, polished, gaming experience. In addition, server choice matters; unless you subscribe, you have 3 primary server choices-Firiona Vie, Bristlebane, and Bertoxxolus. In addition, combat is not flashy. Similarly, the live, non-subscriber requiring servers, are a bit of a race to max level.
However, this is one of the most immersive and RP-friendly/encouraging games I have ever played without requiring you to actually act in your character. Almost all the ways you interact with NPC's are the same you interact with players-talking to them and giving them items and such. Languages matter, especially on Firiona Vie which doesn't have common tongue, and you actually have to keep a spellbook and use spellslots as a caster. The game, by most metrics, is still populated, with almost 100k annual users, its official discord having 15k members (compared to ESO's 40k), and sometimes servers will have log-in queues-namely the Beta server which gives all players access to subscriber benefits, and newly launched subscriber Time-locked Progression, a subscriber only series of servers which unlocks new expansions over time, launching from vanilla or one of the first expansions, it's just most players don't use Steam to play the game.
TLDR: If you can put up with its age and clunkiness, you will get an immersive, community experience that plays incredibly like a tabletop west marches RPG, and there is no alternative on the market

sigma