I expected a Genshin clone before playing this upcoming MMO spinoff of a massive Chinese MOBA, but the depth of its hot-swappable combat styles proved me wrong

GDC 2025 Announcement Trailer | Honor of Kings: World - YouTubeWatch On I wasn't sure what to expect from my GDC 2025 preview appointment for Honor of Kings: World. It's an upcoming action RPG MMO, a spinoff of Tencent's mobile MOBA Honor of Kings—a game I've never played and rarely see mentioned in western games media, despite it being one of the best-grossing games of all time thanks to its massive popularity in China. Having bounced hard off of Genshin Impact and Wuthering Waves in the past, I'll admit I was skeptical about whether another PC-and-mobile open world action MMO could wow me.A week and a half later, I'm still thinking about how good Honor of Kings: World's combat felt.An initial presentation from lead game designer Simen Lv didn't provide a ton of clarity about what I'd be playing. Lv described how World would, like Honor of Kings, incorporate Chinese culture and mythology into a fusion of fantasy and futuristic aesthetics as a gameplay montage showed partied player cha...