A brand-new open-world anime game launched on Steam late on July 22, and it has already gathered a very strong review rating from 500+ players on the platform. Overall, for fans of anime, open-world games, or games like Genshin Impact, this is something new on Steam to check out.
Of course, there are plenty of open-world games on Steam, but it’s how it approaches its “gacha” element that is eye-catching. It is NOT a gacha game, to be clear, but it has some of the most-loved features of the genre without the aggressive monetization (read no monetization) that comes with it. This anime-open world game is complete out of the box, and only priced at $29.99 on Steam.
DragonSword: Awakening is an Open-World Anime Gacha Game with No Gacha Monetization
Check Out DragonSword: Awakening on Steam
DragonSword: Awakening, which released on July 22 from developer and publisher Hound13Inc, is an anime-inspired open-world action RPG focused on flashy combat, character progression, and in-depth, in-universe mysteries. Its world of Orbis is built with Unreal Engine 5, and players explore it as a young boy named Lute whose destiny is to become the DragonSword and slay a reawakened dragon. Players recruit unique companions in this game, like the mercenary Johnny or the elf Castella, and get to use unique “tag team” abilities in combat.
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While DragonSword: Awakening has naturally drawn comparisons to games like Genshin Impact thanks to its anime visuals, open-world structure, character-focused design, and general gameplay, it takes a different approach by avoiding the traditional gacha system. Instead of building around randomized character pulls, the game focuses on direct progression, exploration, and improving characters through gameplay, as if this is a shocking and revolutionary new design approach. For players who enjoy the look and feel of anime open-world games but are tired of gacha mechanics, DragonSword: Awakening could appeal as an alternative that puts more emphasis on the adventure itself.
DragonSword: Awakening has quickly attracted attention on Steam, earning itself an 85% Very Positive launch after 500+ reviews. That’s not the most reviews on Steam, sure, but it’s a good size for the scale of this indie game. Plus, that’s still 500 people recommending the game’s combat, visual presentation, and ambition, with the number one complaint being the overall rougher edges found throughout this indie game on Steam. Hopefully a few patches will bring it back into line, but by and large, it seems players are happy with this new hit.
It’ll be interesting to see how the game is ultimately received and whether or not it is a financial and commercial success because, if so, perhaps fans will see more games that take the best of gacha games but leave behind the predatory mechanics. Of course, free gacha games on Steam and beyond are popular for a reason, so there’s always going to be another character to pull in the gaming space.