What is Lost Ark and why is it blowing up on Steam?

gamesradar.com:

Three years after its launch in Korea, Lost Ark has arrived in the West and is off to a blistering start. The second MMO to come out of Amazon's publishing arm in just a few months after New World launched in October 2021, it's already proved a smash hit on Steam – the day after its paid release, it had peaked at more than 500,000 players according to Steamcharts. That makes it the platform's sixth most-played game ever, and with a free-to-play launch coming later this week, that number could be set to rise.

If Lost Ark stayed under your radar until its near-instant climb up the Steam charts, allow us to fill you in. Released in 2019 by the RPG wing of South Korean developer Smilegate – best known for its hit FPS Crossfire (which arrives in the West tomorrow as an Xbox Series X exclusive) – its worldwide rollout has, until now, been pretty limited. A Russian region is currently in open beta, while closed beta registration is available in Japan. If this is the first you're hearing of Lost Ark, then you also need to know that it isn't a 'traditional' MMO by any stretch of the imagination. 

Lost Ark is an isometric action RPG (ARPG) – like Diablo or Path of Exile – which allows players to fight through hordes of enemies as one of 15 playable classes, or take on one another in punishing PvP arenas. Alternatively, you can simply take a load off and focus on non-combative experiences including fishing, mining, and even archeology. Combat – whether against basic hordes or cinematic raid bosses – is fast-paced and highly-skilled, with mechanical mastery to be found within the visual assault, but you'll be able to rest up at some of the game's more serene locations.

Ideas like those, however, don't set Lost Ark miles apart from