Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE - The Grind That Crashes Hard
The early impressions were solid
- Combat is flashy, responsive, and satisfying. The parries, combos, summonable shadows, class and weapon-based builds are awesome.
- Visuals and animations capture the anime vibe well, lots of cel-shaded effects, dramatic cut-scenes, cinematic panels.
- No gacha: a buy-to-play entry with everything supposedly unlockable via gameplay.
I strapped in full throttle. For a couple of hours? Fun. Real fun. But then reality started to settle, especially after the zeal wore off.
What Works and Where the Game Still Hits
- Combat that feels good: Dodging, parrying, combo-chaining, switching weapons or classes, for brief flashes, the combat delivers. It scratches the itch for action-RPG satisfaction in a big way.
- Style points: audiovisual presentation is solid: The art direction, cutscenes, and animations show love for the source material. In its best moments, ARISE OVERDRIVE feels cinematic and powerful.
- Clear of gacha & pay-to-win trappings: On launch, at least, there’s no pay-to-advance. Everything must be earned (or grinded) a rare sight in recent anime-RPG games.
The Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE Bugs I found and the Frustrations to go with them
As hours piled up, a lot started to feel broken. Here are the things that really annoyed me the most and perhaps you will feel the same.
Always-Online DRM & Progress Rollbacks
Even solo story mode demands a constant internet connection. That means disconnects can kill progress, especially after tough boss fights. I had instances of finishing a boss only to have the game freeze or crash and lose all progress.
One time I was stuck on a loading screen indefinitely when trying to start a story mission.
Bugs, Performance Woes & Technical Hiccups
My own sessions saw several issues from frame drops during cutscenes, stutter when navigating menus, missing dialogue lines, and weird loot duplication glitches. Combat runs fine, but everything else, menus, story scenes, UI navigation often feels glitchy.
Co-op mode, which sounded promising, seems especially broken. I had disappearing weapons, “god mode” enemies, desynced skill loadouts, and general instability.
Repetitive Loop & Lack of Long-Term Depth
After a few hours, the gameplay loop starts feeling like a checklist. Dungeon, then loot, then level up and then repeat. Despite the build variety, the dungeons feel similar, enemies are often clone-pastes, and the “progression” becomes a grind rather than growth.
The game feels like the same content again, with co-op only fun with friends, random matchmaking being a gamble at best.
How to Fix Solo Leveling ARISE OVERDRIVE Crashing on PC
If Solo Leveling ARISE OVERDRIVE keeps crashing on your PC, you can try the following fixes in order to restore stable gameplay.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please carry out some research before moving on so that you are familiar with how everything works and do not end up making things works, if you are unsure then do not continue.
1. Verify Game Files on Steam
Corrupted or missing files are a common cause of crashes. Open Steam, right-click the game in your Library, select Properties, go to Local Files, and click Verify Integrity of Game Files. Steam will automatically repair any damaged files.
2. Change Launch Options (DirectX Fix)
Compatibility issues can sometimes be resolved by forcing a specific DirectX version. In Steam, open the game’s Properties, go to the General tab, and add -dx11 or -dx12 to the Launch Options field. Restart the game after applying the change.
3. Run the Game as Administrator
Right-click the game’s executable file, choose Properties, open the Compatibility tab, and enable Run this program as an administrator. This can help prevent crashes caused by permission restrictions.
4. Update or Reinstall Graphics Drivers
Outdated GPU drivers often lead to stability problems. Update your drivers using official tools from NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel. For best results, perform a clean driver installation by selecting Custom (Advanced) during setup and enabling Perform a clean installation.
5. Install Visual C++ Redistributables
Make sure all required Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable packages are installed. Download and install both the x64 and x86 versions from Microsoft to fix potential runtime errors.
6. Disable Overlays and Background Apps
Disable overlays from Steam, Discord, NVIDIA GeForce Experience, and other third-party apps, as they can conflict with the game and cause crashes.
7. Use Dedicated GPU and Compatibility Settings
Set the game to use your dedicated graphics card by selecting High performance in Windows Graphics Settings. You can also try disabling Full-Screen Optimizations and running the game in Windows 7 or Windows 8 compatibility mode.
8. Reinstall the Game (Last Resort)
If none of the above solutions work, uninstall and reinstall the game to ensure a completely clean installation.
For Fans, Not Newcomers: Story & Flow Hurt Without Context
The story tends to demand fan knowledge. If you don’t already know the original manhwa/anime, the narrative can feel shallow or confusing as plot points are rushed, and important lore moments don’t always land.
If you enjoy action-packed games that promise firepower but sometimes deliver friction, check out Tales of Xillia Remastered – These Bugs Broke My Run
Want to see all the official info, patches, and updates for Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE? Visit the official Netmarble page
Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE – Deformed or Broken Sword Issue
This might have happened to you but I recently found a deformed or broken sword bug in Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE, where the weapon appears visually glitched, stretched, or misaligned during gameplay or cutscenes. This issue is usually cosmetic but can be distracting and, in rare cases, affect animations or combat visibility.
The problem is most often caused by graphics rendering errors, outdated GPU drivers, or conflicts with graphics settings such as DirectX versions or resolution scaling. Mods, corrupted game files, or unsupported aspect ratios can also trigger the broken sword appearance. I found that working on my setting for my graphics driver has resolved this for me, mostly at least.
So, how melty is it?
Initial Hype & Power Fantasy — 8.5/10
Jumped in as Jinwoo; felt unstoppable. Combat, visuals, promise, all aligned.
First Glitches & Online Roadblocks — 9/10
Crashes. Wait times. Bosses bugging out. Nothing destroys immersion faster than lost progress.
Grind Reality Check — 8/10
When the loop becomes routine, excitement fades. Grinding for loot feels less fun over time.
Co-op Chaos & Multiplayer Frustrations – 9.5/10
Bugs, desyncs, disappearing loot, when co-op breaks, it breaks hard.
Total Melt Score: 8.4/10
Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE has flashes of brilliance, but right now, it feels like a half-baked promise under pressure.
If you’re a fan of the original Solo Leveling series and just want to feel powerful for a few hours then yes, this game nails that moment. When combat lands, when a build feels good, when a boss goes down in a cinematic flurry, it scratches an itch few games touch.
But it comes at a cost. Progress depends on servers, bugs lurk often, and the grind isn’t for the weak-willed. For every moment of “I’m the strongest,” there’s a risk of “lost loot, lost time.”
If the devs stay active, fix the networking and kill the bugs, and maybe expand the content beyond dungeon loops, this could still become the “anime action RPG done right.” Until then, treat it like a roller coaster with amazing peaks, brutal drops.
