World of Dragon Nest beta gameplay and character creation are OK, I guess

Pardon me for not feeling terribly exciting when I look at the latest World of Dragon Nest beta gameplay. It feels like it is shaping up to be a wasted opportunity, another one following the release and subsequent closure of Dragon Nest 2: Legend in 2017 – you guessed it, that was a mobile RPG.

World of Dragon Nest looks like your cookie-cutter mobile MMORPG. It all begins with the skimpy character creation. You have four classes that thankfully aren't gender-locked: Archer, Cleric, Warrior and Sorceress. The problems start when you realize that you don't have many customization options – choose your hair, a few colors and the outfit and you are good to go. It's light-years behind Genshin Impact, an upcoming anime RPG that isn't using mobile limitations as an excuse for lackluster graphics – although it's not an MMORPG such as World of Dragon Nest, it also features multiplayer, so I'm willing to make the comparison.

Don't get me wrong – World of Dragon Nest doesn't look bad. When you watch the gameplay, you'll notice that it is cartoonish, colorful and extremely cute at times. But it also feels tailored for mobile, with the PC version indefinitely delayed. Dragon Nest is a game that deserved a true, fully-fledged sequel – it was one of the precursors of action combat in MMORPGs along with Vindictus, but both games seem to share an agonizing lack of PC sequels.

World of Dragon Nest is an open world game, but there are loading sections between each region. It has auto questing and auto combat (sigh), although it looks like the latter won't be available against some of the tougher bosses.

The footage below is from a pre-closed beta version recorded by MMOCulture. The actual World of Dragon Nest beta held by Nexon Thailand for Southeast Asia should begin in a month or so. There is a Taiwan server being worked on, but still no news for North America or Europe.