Yee Family: Adventure For Less in Dragon Nest
A great way to play games for less is to use the devices and computers you already have in the home. One way my family has done this is to play free to play MMOs (Massively Multiplayer Online) like Dragon Nest. Dragon Nest is an action combat game with anime art style that when played as a family feels more like a traditional multiplayer game than an online game.
Outside of town hubs you don’t actually see any other players and while that is a bad thing normally it actually works out well when playing an online game with an eight year old. Beyond making it a safer environment for younger players this style of game will also run on computers with lower specifications. In fact, we’ve gotten it to work on her Dell Stream laptop that we received for free.
Dragon Nest is a fun, if formulaic, game that follows the standard theme park style of MMO design. It consists of multiple towns that act as hubs sending you out into various dungeons in a distinct order. Gameplay is fast and fun action combat that doesn’t require highly accurate aim but does reward those skills long term.
It is very forgiving and when playing as a family the challenge can be adjusted as skills improve. The story is pretty straightforward and easy for basic readers to follow along with a bit of humour here and there.
As a free to play game the worry can be that it can’t be enjoyed without spending money but I haven’t found that to be the case with Dragon Nest. The cash shop is full of cosmetic items and since we’re not really playing the game for PvP or anything competitive there isn’t really that drive to be “better” pushing you to spend money. The game is now on Steam which makes it easier to find and get into the game but it still requires using their website for adding any money into the in game store.
In the end I’ve found with my daughter has a penchant for moving from game to game so I have to try games that are entertaining and fun but with a low cost to entry in case she leaves sooner rather than later and Dragon Nest fits that mould perfectly.
There are many great hours of gameplay to be had here but there’s also the freedom to come and go at any time without that nagging feeling of wasted money. The game is obviously dated but that is also a good thing as it allows it to play on hand-me-down machines or low power PCs. It also has gamepad support for those who are not comfortable with mouse and keyboard yet.
All in all I’d suggest any family looking for a fun dungeon romp with fun and colourful characters to give it a shot if you have enough PCs in your house to pull it off and it’ll cost you nothing but time.
