Nexon has shown off Arad: Dungeon & Fighter in an extended trailer at The Game Awards. Arad is an open-world action-RPG, and it will be released on Steam, console, and mobile. The anime-style game features a large cast of characters in a colorful fantasy setting.
Arad’s reveal trailer begs a comparison to Hoyoverse’s gacha giant Genshin Impact, with its idyllic fantasy open world, cast of elaborately costumed characters, and anime-style visuals. The trailer shows a number of its characters carrying out their daily lives in the city–shopping, drinking, and playing card games–before they embark on an adventure out in the world on board an airship.
While not a gameplay trailer, it does hint at some of the traversal and combat mechanics, showing characters using glider-type devices, surfing across the top of a lake on skimmers, and fighting with weapons including swords, guns, and magic. While most of the trailer is light and fun, darkness sets in at the end as a swirling vortex of malevolent power threatens the formerly idyllic world. For anyone who enjoyed the trailer’s upbeat backing music, Nexon has revealed it as Someone to Love by Atomic Tom.
Arad is developed by Nexon Games in Unreal Engine 5. The game doesn’t currently have a release date, but The Game Awards premiere revealed it will be released for PC, console, and mobile. A post from the game’s official X (formerly Twitter) account also suggests it will also have some degree of cross-platform play.