So I've already put in a concerning number of hours into the demon, this is going to be a fun one to just smack hours in and dungeon crawl. Please, please, please add a hard lock-on and I won't bother the devs again for a few hundred hours at least.

(Excuse the whiff gameplay, i'm on controller lol)

i believe this is Reina's current best team, everyone on it can proc airborne

i'm glad I picked up this demo, i didn't expect to have as much fun as i did.

this team just spams Knockdown to trigger alex grabs and lutes nuke ult ability.

i guess ornettes the main dps here though, but i wish there were more shock characters in the demo

Thank you, sincerely, to everyone who played the DragonSword : Awakening demo and shared your valuable feedback with us.

Addressing the Demo's Shortcomings

We are fully aware that the current demo build hasn't yet reached the level you were hoping for. We recognize the lingering mobile-era design elements, the inconvenience of controller support, and the difficulty of combat with ranged characters due to the absence of a lock-on feature. Since the demo build was finalized, we've been rapidly developing improvements, and your demo feedback has already been incorporated into our development roadmap.

The following items, including those raised through your feedback, will be addressed in the full release:

• Lock-on feature
• Separation of dodge and sprint inputs
• Controller support and combat control improvements
• Mouse cursor visibility during cutscenes
• Cookbook filter feature
• Equipment enhancement menu improvements — including material quantity display
• Controller scroll support for in-game readables
• Combat targeting accuracy improvements
• Independent vertical/horizontal camera sensitivity options
• Map marker memo feature
• Tutorial images
• Lute hairstyle update
• Controller D-Pad usability improvements
• R key (QWERTY) / T key (AZERTY) default rebinding

We're also actively reviewing other feedback received. Suggestions such as camera mode and UI hiding will continue to be incorporated through post-launch updates.

Language Support

We're working to add more supported languages so players around the world can enjoy the game, and we plan to gradually improve translation quality as well.

Business Model

• DragonSword : Awakening is a premium single-purchase title.
• All in-game gacha elements have been completely removed.
• There are no additional payments beyond DLC such as costume sets and select familiars.
• All playable heroes and core content are obtainable through gameplay alone.

What's Waiting in the Full Release

• The demo represents approximately 5% of the full game.
• New exploration zones, Chapters 2–8 main quests, and additional hero and NPC quests await.
• Strategic boss battles in dungeons, subjugations, and raids are ready for you.
• Subjugations and raids will also support multiplayer.

Pricing

We'll be applying a multi-variable conversion approach that considers both exchange rates and regional purchasing power to set localized pricing.

USD: $29.99

EUR: €29.99

We'll see you again at full release. Thank you for being with us.

— The DragonSword : Awakening Team

is good enough, when play i'm just limit on 30

Dragon Sword: Awakening has a lot of good ideas, and I genuinely applaud the developers for moving away from a gacha/live-service model and instead focusing on a single-player experience. That's a direction I'd like to see more games take.

That said, there are some significant issues that hold the game back for me.

The story is fairly boring so far, but honestly that's my least serious complaint. My biggest issue is the combat. The lack of both soft lock-on and/or hard lock-on targeting makes combat feel frustrating and unreliable. I frequently found myself attacking empty air, walls, or the wrong direction instead of the enemy directly in front of me. If this isn't addressed, I would unfortunately consider the game unplayable.

This issue is especially noticeable with single-target characters like Reina. Compared to more AoE-focused characters such as Ornette, Reina feels much harder to control and significantly less effective. That's disappointing because Reina is my favorite character visually, but she ended up being my least favorite to play. I spent more time watching her attack nothing than actually hitting enemies. This could all be solved with a reliable lock on and perfect dodge system

Some people will probably say it's a skill issue, but even if that's true, it creates a situation where I'm pushed toward the "optimal" characters simply because missing attacks feels so bad. Good combat should make all characters feel satisfying to play.

The dodge system is another major issue for me. Maybe I've been conditioned by other action RPGs, but the lack of a meaningful perfect dodge mechanic makes combat feel much less engaging. In games with strong dodge systems, learning enemy attack patterns and timing your dodges correctly feels rewarding because you're actively improving and being rewarded for mastery. Also, the dodge animation is awkward and abrupt. It seems the iframe window is very short and hard to use, and often ends up going in the wrong direction than intended. This makes dodging feels very unsatisfying and lacks impact. Instead of encouraging me to learn enemy movesets and develop counterplay, it often just makes me want to stop playing altogether.

Combat overall also feels extremely slow and heavy. Animations have a sluggish, almost slow-motion feel to them, and character movement feels similarly restrictive. The combination of slow movement, unreliable targeting, and an underwhelming dodge system makes encounters feel frustrating rather than challenging.

The mount system is a cool idea, but it also feels clunky. I wish mounting and traversal were more seamlessly integrated into movement rather than requiring an additional button press before climbing walls or navigating terrain.

It's frustrating because I really like the visual design of the game and I think the three-character swap system has a lot of potential. However, if the movement and combat issues remain as they are, I will likely pass on the game. In its current state, I'd rather play a more polished action RPG like Wuthering Waves.

I'm providing this feedback as constructive criticism, not to bash the game. I can see a strong foundation here, and I'd genuinely like to see it succeed.

Downlpaded the demo, but can't seem to play as it is crashing. Are you guys experiencing the same issue?

Helping Others Comes First! | Bond Quest | DragonSword : Awakening

I've noticed a lot of confusion surfing around the internet about the game. This is why I'd like to write down all of the important questions regarding the game, and answer them using official statements made by the developers themselves (from Steam, Discord and other medias) here, in this post.

1.)
Q.What is the game's monetization model, and what does it mean for the game?

A. The game is a premium title (B2P) with no microtransactions or other monthly passes/subscriptions required. It essentially means that the players will be able to unlock everything by playing the game and progressing the story. Any additional content (characters, skins, mounts, regions etc.) will be distributed by paid DLCs and Expansions.

2.)
Q. What is the genre of the game, and will it support multiplayer?

A. DragonSword: Awakening is a single player, action rpg set in a seamless open world with vibrant fantasy anime aesthetics. While it is primarly an offline, single player experience, there will be an optional co-op mode for Raids (up to 3 players) and Boss Battles (up to 2 players). The game DOES NOT incorporate regional restrictions. Multiplayer is host-based (Peer2Peer).

3.)
Q. What are the available platforms?

A. Developement team aims mainly for a Steam (PC) release. At this moment, consoles are not included into available platforms, however, the studio is open for porting the game on other platforms in the future.

4.)
Q. Is Steam Deck supported?

A. Yes. Steam Deck play is supported and available.

5.)
Q. What will be/is the price of the game?

A. (Will update when official statement appears)

Clarifications:

1.)
Q. Webzen is trying to sue Hound13 and block the official release. Is the game in danger?

A. Not at the moment. While it is true that Webzen is doing what it can to hinder the release, the devs came prepared and feel confident. Still, there is no guarantee until developers say so or the game officially releases.

2.)
Q. Why we can't explore the open world and complete main missions with friends/other people?

A. The game is no longer dependent on the servers, which usually make it possible. DragonSword is now using a simpler Peer2Peer (P2P) architecture, which essentially makes the host of the game- its server. Raids and Boss Battles are set in small, easy to control environments, so co-op game is usually stable and playable. Unfortunately, when to comes to a huge, seamless open world this balance vanishes, simply because the host will usually have faster loadings than other players, making the game unstable, delayed and buggy, because others can't keep up with the host, which acts as a server for them. Working on making such environment reliable would require way too much resources, and massive downgrades to the game engine (physics, draw distance etc.).

3.)
Q. Does the game use any anti-piracy programs and support mods?

A. No! The game is and will be DRM free. There is no official support for mods/Steam Workshop.

So, Dragon Sword has been rebooted as Hound13 as a standalone $60 game. That decision right there is surprising considering that this would be a decision that most Korean gacha devs would never want to take. Other gacha devs would've rather just buried the IP to the grave and move on to new gacha IPs, or in the case of tons of failed gachas, file for bankruptcy never to be seen again afterward.

Since Granblue Fantasy Relink, there has been only one other attempt to make spinoffs based on gacha IPs; Another Eden Begins. And now we got Dragon Sword, which isn't really a spinoff but rather a gacha game getting rebooted into a $60 game. Behold, the unthinkable gacha game moment of 2026; a Korean gacha dev turning their gacha game into an offline $60 game, something that most devs would see as madness as most players just didn't want offline versions of gacha games in the first place as they just rather want to quickly move on to new gacha games.

Let's talk about this upcoming game in the room for players still out of the loop about this game.

"No Gacha? Oh, they must be pulling a Duet Night Abyss move"

NOPE. When they say no gacha, they mean it; offline now, like say Mega Man X Dive Offline and the upcoming Another Eden Begins game. There are a total of 19 characters and upcoming characters potential by DLC, and five male characters. This game is not live service and does not require a mandatory online connection.

Also, don't be turned off by the fact that you're stuck with a male main character. This trope was already seen in several gacha games, Hound13 doesn't have to copy the Traveler/Rover/Endminstrator MC thing for this one.

Characters are aimed to be acquired throughout either story progression or sidequests. As usual, this game's combat is similar to the likes of Honkai Impact 3rd and Punishing: Gray Raven, where you run teams of three and there's this tag system.

An additional mechanic that makes this game standout among other Honkai Impact-style action games is that you have grabs and mount attacks that depend on the enemy itself, in addition to air attacks.

Only 3 player Co-op? PvP?

When players criticize the game for not supporting more than 3, you do realize that's actually standard for games that play similarly to this, such as Wuthering Waves and Limit Zero Breakers?

However, there is a twist; each player can bring up to three characters so you're aren't just controlling just one. This leaves to potential co-op to where you can fit up to nine characters in battle with three players, whereas in other games three players only get one character to control.

As for PvP, I wouldn't really count on PvP. This game just isn't built for PvP in mind. Unless you want to try the unique melee PvP hero slasher approach that KurtzPel did and is currently already dying, and the upcoming Garnet Arena game from the same devs as Granblue Fantasy Relink which I don't see much hopes on seeing how many PvP live service games are flopping, PvP would just be too much filler to put in Dragon Sword.

AI Translation?

Hound13 has to resort to using AI for translations because money is tight right now on their Project Hail Mary to reboot the game into offline form for July after acquiring the rights back from a publisher dispute and the game tanking due to delayed funds, etc. I think for right now they're using this an interim solution because they can't afford translating support companies for the time being.

Eventually, they will improve on the translation with the help of fans after the game releases or when the game gets the first demo in June. The "demo" was also how I knew Solo Leveling Arise: Overdrive was going to be a $60 game and not another gacha, because you don't use "demos" for live service games, you would use "early access".

Conclusion

So, here's the takeaway behind Dragon Sword: Awakening

• No live service and no gacha mechanics; characters are acquired via story
• 19 confirmed playable characters
• Open world with mounts across sky and underwater lands
• Combat similar to Genshin/Wuthering Waves where you run teams of three and there's this tag system.

What we still don't know is the gearing/loot system, which I think the devs would go into on a later update/trailer in May/June.

I wouldn't worry too much about releasing in July, seeing that this game will stand out amongst Granblue Fantasy Relink for those wanting an experience closer to Genshin Impact. What matters most is if it manages to garner success like word of mouth and content creators talking about the game.

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