Massively multiplayer online games are big business. Yet not every developer likes the idea of cash regularly pouring in from subscribers, so they created free-to-play MMOs. Today there are hundreds of free-to-play MMOs available, ranging from World of Warcraft clones to side-scrolling platformers. And just about all of them are terrible. This means finding the best ones around is an epic challenge. Yet, it is a quest that we’ve succeeded in! So here, in no particular order, are the eight best free MMOs for you to play. (Well, seven free, and one not-quite free.)

Free Realms

Free Realms is a World of Warcraft clone that’s aimed at teen players, but one that manages to avoid ostracising adult gamers, while still being bright and colourful and surprisingly easy to get into.

The class system is based around jobs, which you can change at any time, allowing you to sample all of the game’s considerable content with just one character. In addition, there are lots of minigames and fun things to do (like cart racing). Like Perfect World, you can buy powerful in-game items with real-world cash (when you feel like lording it over the poor). Free Realms has modest monthly subscription costs, but cheap still isn’t free.

Dragonica

Dragonica is a side-scrolling action adventure that’s part beat-’em up and part MMO. And it’s very cute. Sickeningly cute. In fact, it’s an addictive sheep-slaying, teddy bear-filled, physics-defying, happy-go-lucky cartoon adventure that’s so sweet it could induce nausea. It’s the red-headed stepchild of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles meets Hello Kitty Adventures, and the gameplay is pure Tom and Jerry action all the way. Being of Chinese origin, it’s bizarre and utterly baffling, but it’s great fun, if worringly child-focused, character-wise.

Anarchy Online 

The first sci-fi MMO deserves a place in the hallowed halls of MMO history. While its popularity has dwindled over the years, the fact that it is now completely free-to-play makes it a worthy addition to this list. With some highly atmospheric locations and a truly innovative random mission generator, this is a game well worth checking out.

Atlantica Online

A turn-based MMO in which you control a party of adventurers on your quest to power and glory through a generic fantasy world. Entering combat transforms the game world into an isometric grid where you manipulate your fighters, wizards and henchmen to victory in battle (instead of hitting the same function keys in repetitive strain injury inducing monotony). This game has an interesting concept, but ultimately, like all Asian MMOs, no matter how pretty or clever it thinks it is, it always devolves into a grindfest in the end.

Guild Wars

This is not really an MMO in the traditional sense, but Guild Wars’ PvP gaming is superior to almost any other MMO of its type. Heavily instanced, the questing/role-playing elements are weak, but you can skip all that by creating a high-level character solely for the purposes of getting straight into the PvP action. It does cost you $20 to start, but then it’s free all the way.

RuneScape

Java-based RuneScape should be called The Graphics That Time Forgot! This visuals-lite game is slow and dreary, but what it does have is a great story. Lots and lots of it. So, unless you like battling your way through pages of text before (and after) every battle, this isn’t the game for you.

Runes of Magic

Runes of Magic is basically a lesser version of World of Warcraft. What it lacks in polish it makes up for because it’s free-to-play (to a point – you have to spend more of your cash on the game’s currency, Diamonds, if you want to get ahead). If you’ve grown bored of WoW then there’s enough here to rekindle your enthusiasm for the genre. Aside from a few cosmetic differences though, it’s practically the same game. The account registration system is a real pain, too.

Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited

Poorly designed, poorly implemented and not at all what the pen-and-paper fans wanted, Dungeons & Dragons Online was a random dungeon generator attached to the basic shell of an MMO. Fast-forward a couple of years, make the game free, and things change dramatically. Based (very) loosely on the D&D 3rd edition rule set, it’s actually got a lot going for it with some truly fun quests and many exciting high-level adventures to be had. It’s better still with a group of friends to adventure with.

In closing

What you have are arguably the eight best free-to-play MMOs out there in the virtual world. However, be warned: while a game may seem free-to-play, there are often hidden costs lurking just under the surface.

You really need to be a paying customer to get the best out of these games, whether that’s buying in-game currency, paying for a subscription, or simply being able to buy virtual items with real-world cash. Every title sets out to compel you to spend your hard-earned money. RuneScape has a huge bar at the top of the screen saying “Subscribe, for God’s sake! Our children won’t eat tonight if you don’t pay for membership!”

Clearly, there’s no such thing as genuinely free, so if you want to play these games as they were intended, then you’ll simply have to pay for them.