Geoff Keighley described DokeV as an MMO where players get to collect creatures, but that doesn't nearly sum up the experience that this South Korean game looks to offer. Not only does it borrow elements from Pokemon, but perhaps other corners of the industry like the Xbox exclusive Sunset Overdrive with all of its brightly-colored mobility and Kingdom Hearts with its fantastical creatures and supernatural elements with a hint of k-pop thanks to the production group Galactika.
It's worth mentioning that not much is yet known about DokeV. Pearl Abyss has little to say about DokeV other than players can collect "adorable and whimsical Dokebi," the quirky creatures walking about the world, brandishing the ability to "gain strength from people's dreams." From then on, players will need to "get ready for an exciting adventure," but what that adventure will be is a big mystery, despite all of the gameplay DokeV's Gamescom 2021 trailer had to show off.
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DokeV's Illuminating Gameplay
To start off, it looks like players will be free to customize their own character in the MMORPG DokeV. These adorable but child-like humans populate the world players will get to explore. And much like Grand Theft Auto, it seems as this open-world game allows players to interact with one another freely and limitlessly.
And to throw in a little bit of k-pop into DokeV beyond the song used in the Gamescom 2021 trailer, "Rockstar," a character is shown drawing a symbol in front of them and transforming into a shimmering gold costume, complete with some dance moves. In another shot, the player's avatar transforms into futuristic gear almost anime–style, but now without an iconic k-pop dance pose. These choreographed costume changes seem to be how players get into battle mode.
Some gamers have compared DokeV's combat to Monster Hunter's, but fighting alongside creatures that players have captured along the way. The trailer didn't actually showcase any creature-collecting, however, so that is yet to be seen. As for the combat, weaponry so far ranges from melee items like hammers and bouncing balls, whereas long-ranged combat includes the use of water guns and even a magic hat.
In addition to the fighting and flying, DokeV allows players to take part in much more quaint activities as well, such as fishing and kite-flying. And crossing between Grand Theft Auto and Splatoon, it looks like exploration is a big draw of DokeV. Players can traverse the stunning scenery by way of umbrellas, jet skis, cars, and skateboards so far. There's also some kind of spectral grappling hook, allowing players to swing from one location to the next fifty feet in the air.
What makes this all possible is the whole world of DokeV is a dream world, which explains how psychedelic the trailer gets as time passes. One moment, the player character is floating to town with an umbrella, and the next, they're smashing a robot with a glitching rainbow hammer. Toward the end of the trailer, one character is shown getting sucked into a tiny dollhouse, presumably into DokeV's world, implying that it's some sort of alternate reality.
It's certainly very unique compared to AAA MMOs currently on the market. DokeV could be the next big MMORPG out there. While many MMOs end up being a lot of the same gameplay with different art styles—dungeon crawling, loot collecting, and monster killing—more recently, the games industry has seen developers take the genre in a different direction, such as with Palia, which is much more relaxing and community-based. DokeV, as well, breathes new life into MMOs.
So far, there's currently no release date or window for DokeV, but the developer says it'll "share more news" when it's able to.
DokeV is currently in development.
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