Kayla "Reiyami" Smith checked out the new demo for Nexon's cute and deadly free-to-play action MMO at PAX East.

Nexon unveiled the new hands-on demo for its upcoming free-to-play action MMO Dragon Nest at PAX East. The game is developed by Eyedentity Games and is scheduled to launch this summer in North America. It combines fast-paced action with a distinct art style to create a fun to play fantasy game. Global Marketing Assistant Moon Kim was excited to walk me through the new demo and showcase the game's real-time instant gameplay.

"The strength of Dragon Nest is that everything happens in fast action. All the actions you take are real-time actions. So you dodge in real time and you attack in real time. Even if you have only one hit point left, you can dodge and attack to stay alive and still have a chance to defeat your enemies," said Kim.

When you first glance at Dragon Nest, you see chibi-like characters in an incredibly colorful and detailed world. From the demo, I could instantly tell that the fast pace of the game can become really intense. The demo included two dungeons: Valley of Mourning and Forest Santuary. Starting out, players get to choose between the Warrior, Archer, Cleric and Sorceress classes, each of which branches into two sub-classes.

“Dragon Nest is about the lightning fast action, skills you can combine, and the PvP gets really intense. It's not just about hitting 1-2-3-4-5 and that's it. It's not just about abilities; it's also about control and skills. If you're not hardcore, you can just play and enjoy the story,” Kim said.

Playing through the demo, you feel in control of the character and the environment. The fast-paced action lends itself to a console feel while remaining true to an MMO format. You attack enemies in real time and use your own skills to defend, block and dodge against attacks. The environment also encourages players to be more creative, providing places to jump from, hide behind, and really use to your advantage against enemies.

“If you play stylishly and do the combos, it pays off by giving you better a score, giving players an incentive to play creatively,” Kim said. Players are rewarded through a points system that will give rewards upon completion of the zones. This includes combo attacks as well as breaking things in the environment to urge players to explore the world.

The story of Dragon Nest starts out as a huge mystery. “You hear that a lot of monsters have been seen in different areas,” Kim explained. “They become more aggressive and hostile. As you go out and explore, you find out that there's more going on that has to do with the origin of the world, and of course dragons.”

The game also features less NPCs than your average MMO, but they play a more vital role. “A lot of MMORPGS have hundreds of NPCs appearing all over. In Dragon Nest, you get to see a couple NPCs that stay with you on your journey and you come to care about them. You can also engage in a lot of side-quests that have to do with these NPCs and their back stories. You come to care a lot about them because each of the NPCs have unique personalities,” Kim said.

The game also features a guild system and more chances to interact with the community through large cities and a full chat system. As far as the free-to-play model is concerned, the game includes micro-transactions that allow players to pay to further customize their characters with outfits, hair and even facial expressions.

In Dragon Nest, you never really have to think about whether or not you're going to get aggroed and if you can take more than one mob. You have the skills to not only fight, but dodge and control the pace of the battle. It feels more natural than lining up a chain of actions to achieve a desired result, much like a math problem. You don't have to worry about knowing the next attack dealt by the enemy is going to kill you based on the amount of damage it does and the amount of hit points you have left. You have an array of options to fight through attacks, even if you're close to death.

Dragon Nest may look cute at first glance, but it becomes readily apparent that the game requires a lot of skill to master. Regardless, players of any skill level should have a good time thanks to the interesting storyline, visuals and overall feel of the game.

Dragon Nest Cinematic Trailer:

Dragon Nest Gameplay Trailer: