“Dauntless is Monster Hunter for individuals who concern grind”, mentioned Edwin Evans-Thirlwell when he wrote about Dauntless final yr. Hey! That describes me! After years spent smiling and nodding whereas folks instructed me about how absorbing Capcom’s earlier video games have been, I used to be assured I’d get sucked into the identical dino-trouserfying loop with Monster Hunter: World earlier this yr. I used to be not, and bounced off the sport after a number of hours spent repeatedly preventing the identical beasties in battles that dragged reasonably than thrilled.
Perhaps I’ll have extra enjoyable in Dauntless’s free open beta, which kicked off final night time. It sounds reductive to name it a cartoony, simplified Monster Hunter that nonetheless tries to match it virtually notice for notice – however that’s positively the vibe I’m getting from this trailer.
A splash of steampunk? Check. Big ol’ dinosaurs? Check. Encouragement to take down these dinosaurs in teams of as much as 4? Check. Varied weapons, every supporting a distinct playstyle? Check. A narrative that’s vaguely about dinosaurs upsetting a (ugh) pure steadiness as a justification for slaughtering the poor issues? Check test test.
That’s not fully truthful, as these dinos aren’t actually dinos and apparently additionally they wish to go and kill everybody dwelling in a frontier city referred to as Ramsgate. Here’s another trailer that expands on all that.
It’s additionally not fully truthful of me to be snide a couple of sport that I can truly get behind. I’m positive some will bemoan the comparable lack of depth, however forming a merry looking celebration with out stopping to fret about oils and potion stockpiles positively appeals to me. Edwin said much the same thing:
“Perhaps above all else, Dauntless feels a lot less grindy than Monster Hunter, though hooked up to the same compulsion loop of sallying boldly forth, killing outsized critters, harvesting their organs and transforming them into gear. The inventory is a lot gentler on the forebrain and you’ll spend less time managing it, with simple category slots and no apparent carry limit. You’ll want to farm maps and lesser mobs for crafting materials, but Phoenix Labs is keen that players spend more time tussling with the behemoths than picking off goats and wolves.”
Hopping into the open beta gained’t value you a penny, nor will the ultimate model of the sport. Developers Phoenix Labs have mentioned they’re limiting the icky fingers of monetisation to cosmetics, which might be pretty if true.
