The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin Review — Honest Verdict (March 2026)

📊 Category Scores

Combat Review — Does The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin Feel Good to Play?

The short answer is yes — the combat in The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin feels genuinely good. The tag-based system strikes a balance between the accessibility of mobile action games and the depth of console action RPGs. Switching between characters mid-combo is fluid and responsive, and the animation quality during skill activations and Ultimate abilities is cinematic enough to feel rewarding regardless of the context.

The 8-element system adds genuine strategic depth without overwhelming players. Understanding which element counters which is straightforward enough for casual players to grasp quickly, but the nuanced interactions between status effects — chaining Freeze from Jericho into a Petrify from Elaine, then landing a charged Earth attack from Diane for massive damage — provide a high ceiling for players who want to engage deeply with the mechanics.

The 12 weapon types serve as the primary build customization axis, and the difference between loadouts is meaningful enough to warrant experimentation. The removal of weapon gacha means players can craft their preferred weapon types through gameplay, eliminating the frustration of being locked out of a playstyle by gacha luck. This is one of the most F2P-friendly structural decisions in any action gacha game released in recent years.

Gacha System Review — Is The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin Pay-to-Win?

The gacha system in The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin occupies a middle position in the pay-to-win spectrum. It is neither the worst offender nor a paragon of generosity — but it is meaningfully better than average, particularly post-CBT adjustments.

The 80-pull SSR pity and 120-pull Limited character guarantee (with 50/50) are industry-standard at this point. What differentiates Origin is the removal of weapon gacha — all weapons are crafted through gameplay — and the generous launch resource package (approximately 288 pulls worth of free currency and tickets). For F2P players, securing one copy of the premiere SS-tier character (Meliodas or Elaine) is very achievable within the launch window.

The honest pay-to-win concern lies in full breakthrough: 11 copies per character is steep. A fully maxed Meliodas dramatically outperforms a single-copy Meliodas in endgame content. For competitive PvP content, this gap is where the game leans pay-to-win most noticeably. For PvE — which represents the majority of content — one to three copies of an SS character is sufficient for all but the hardest raid content.

Our assessment: fair enough for casual F2P play, noticeable pay-to-win pressure only in competitive PvP endgame. The gacha is a funding mechanism, not a barrier to enjoying the game.

The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin Censorship — What Was Changed?

The censorship controversy surrounding The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin centers on visual changes made to certain characters for the global release, specifically characters who appear youthful or childlike in the original manga and anime. These visual adjustments were made to comply with content rating requirements in various regions and platform policies.

The changes primarily affect character costume designs and body proportions for a small number of characters. The most discussed instance involves adjustments to certain female characters whose original designs included revealing costumes or age-ambiguous appearances. The global version implements more conservative designs for these characters.

Reactions in the community have been sharply divided. A segment of players — particularly those who followed the game from its initial announcement — feel the changes compromise the source material's artistic integrity. Another segment considers the changes appropriate and notes that they do not materially affect gameplay. The gameplay mechanics, story content, combat, and co-op features are completely unaffected by these visual adjustments.

For players whose primary interest is the gameplay systems, co-op, or the broader story experience, the censorship changes are unlikely to significantly impact enjoyment. For players who place high value on visual authenticity to the source material, this is a legitimate point of friction worth researching before committing time to the game.

The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin vs Genshin Impact — Which Is Better?

Comparisons to Genshin Impact are inevitable and not entirely unfair — both games feature open-world exploration, real-time character-switching combat with elemental reactions, and free-to-play gacha monetization. However, framing Origin purely as a Genshin clone undersells what it does distinctly well.

Co-op is the most significant differentiator. Genshin Impact's co-op is limited: co-op dungeons are available but open-world co-op has restrictions, and the story is entirely single-player. Seven Deadly Sins: Origin was architected for co-op from day one — four players can explore, fight world bosses, run raids, and complete dungeons together with no restrictions. For players who prioritize cooperative gameplay, Origin is the clear winner.

The IP factor also matters significantly. Seven Deadly Sins is one of the most popular anime franchises globally, and fans of the series get to fight alongside characters they have emotional attachment to. Genshin's original world is beautifully crafted but lacks that pre-existing fanbase connection.

Where Genshin maintains an edge: years of content (Origin is brand new), a larger and more established player community, more refined quality-of-life features built up over multiple years of live service, and a proven track record of consistent content delivery. Origin needs to prove itself over its first year of live service to compete at Genshin's level of long-term engagement.

The verdict: both games are worth playing for different reasons. Origin wins on co-op and IP authenticity; Genshin wins on content maturity and community size.

Is The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin Worth Playing as F2P?

For free-to-play players, The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin is a qualified yes — with realistic expectations. The launch resource package of approximately 288 pulls gives new F2P accounts a genuine shot at securing an SS-tier character. The weapon crafting system (no weapon gacha) means F2P players can access all weapon types without additional spending. The pity system provides a guaranteed floor for character acquisition.

The realistic F2P experience involves: obtaining one or two copies of your priority SS character at launch, steadily building toward higher breakthrough over months of daily play, and accepting that full 11-copy max investment on any character will take a very long time without spending. The story, open world, co-op dungeons, and most raid content are accessible without max-investment characters.

The area where F2P players will feel the gap most is competitive PvP, where whales with fully broken-through characters have a meaningful statistical advantage. If PvP is your primary motivation for playing, the pay-to-win dynamic is real and worth acknowledging. If your focus is story content, co-op exploration, and casual PvE — The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin is a generous F2P experience by genre standards.