Valheim, Ark, Dune, and now Runescape. The latest twist on survival sims hit Steam Early Access back on 15 April, and this MMO spin-off certainly aims to stand out among the crowd. With talk of mystic skills, ancient lands, and dragons, Jagex debuted the newest entry in its massive franchise, and we finally got some time to sit down and get hands-on with the game. Traveling into the lost Land of Ashenfall, you’ve got to feel sorry for the poor adventurers in this expedition.
Washed ashore with barely more than a perky exuberance and a drive to survive, the future for these Gielinor explorers has changed. Right from the opening character select screen, it’s a vibrant 3D experience powered by the gloriously overpowered Unreal Engine. High-resolution but deftly sculpted bodies are a composite of Runescape style and current-generation graphics to give us all an avatar that is obviously inspired by, but not beholden to, the Runescape we already know.
Character Creator
I’d love to say that I was blown away by my first few steps in Dragonwilds, but the character is pretty light on content. Leaning into the Old School introduction to Gielinor, the character creator has two body types, a few present facial options, a spattering of facial and other hair, and a functional set of color swatches. Unlike Blade & Soul, or pretty much any big-scale MMO, there’s an absence of sliders, color wheels, facial changes, or other more minute customization options. While we’re not exactly venturing into a world brimming with other players, even during 4-player co-op, it still feels like there’s some obvious room for these lands to expand before Version 1.0.
The wider world of Ashenfall similarly looks utterly gorgeous and equally limited in its glory. Stepping out into the first few fields, there might not be mobs or monsters waiting, but the placid fields are an inviting backdrop to this adventure. Much like the character creator, they look fantastic, with ambient lighting like Old School has never seen, but diversity is a little limited. Currently, there are a number of biomes, and they never particularly stretch beyond the tropes of generic fantasy survival sims. Even when venturing into a putrid neon swamp, there’s a sense that you’ve seen the likes of Ashenfall before. This is something that much of Dragonwilds struggles with right now.
Opening Steps
Players used to survival sims will recognize a lot of the genre staples already in place. Begin the journey with an accessible tale of woe. Stranded and alone, a few survivors await a chosen one to punch chickens and take down dragons. The powerful General Velgar might be the end goal, but you’ll need to learn to piece together stone tools, chop trees, cook rat jerky, and clean water to keep yourself fed, hydrated, and rested.
Jagex balances survival difficulty so that even solo players have a reasonable chance of escaping death for the first few nights. There’s plenty of time to find water, scrounge together even the simplest of berries, and scoop tainted water from a lake. Even after entering a state of dehydration, health and stamina don’t infringe on your ability to scramble towards a life saving river or find food before death sets in. It’s a welcome choice that leans towards the more wholesome end of the survival market.
Goblin Bashing
As the days and nights roll on progression, skill unlocks, magic, and XP help climb the difficulty curve. None of these require an intricate knowledge of the Runescape IP. You won’t need to theory craft for the most optimized build. Simply concentrate on playing the game, learning the terrain, make the odd choice and Dragonwilds will largely take care of the character unlocks and build bonuses. Head out and find a goblin to bash or chop some wood, and begin to arm yourself through the collection and crafting gameplay loops.
The abundance of material, food, water, fauna, and more provides ample opportunity to learn a craft or two along the way. Building is one of the more accessible and well-developed elements of Dragonwilds, with an easy to understand click and build approach, while crafting gear, weapons, and supplies is as easy as throwing together raw material and waiting for the result.
Even combat, as quickly as it comes, doesn’t overexert adventurers. An entirely intuitive system of smash, slice, and shoot means downing dragons, punching 10 rats, or clubbing glowing golems is uncomplicated if a little slow. Don’t expect to start out feeling epic in Dragonwilds. Like any Tarnished, characters can utilize a range of basic tools and weapons in freeform combat which feels fluid but functional. Encounters never really get quite as complicated as Elden Ring, and that’s probably for the best. Even in the unforgiving arena of the Vaults, Dragonwilds’ dungeons, I’m left feeling a little less than epic.
RuneScape: Dragonwilds Builds
That same assertion can be leveled at the unique Skill Spell system too. Touted as one of the standout features of Dragonwilds, this unlocks the world of magic for players. Gather materials, craft runes, and combine them to unlock powerful new skills. Skill Spells are linked to the core gather and craft gameplay loop and consume their own magic ore. While the concept of astral axes. wind shields, and chucking energy bolts sounds intriguing, the implementation feels a little forced at times. The core concept is, in many respects, fantastic. Using these pre-prepared skills in a prescriptive fashion from a spell wheel, however, feels a little unengaging. Stopping the action to pick a skill is a little immersion breaking. I had imagined there would be more natural interaction between these spells, even more flexibility than slotting runes together, and maybe a skill bar for instant casting.
RuneScape: Dragonwilds is quite obviously stumbling out into a new world, and it’s trying to find its feet. While core systems are expertly crafted, there’s lots to work on to make this more than a cut and paste survival game. Sure, there are some moments of joy when the wider Runescape IP casts a spell across the screen, and the Skill Spell system is cool. There is some way to go to make this both unique and truly engaging quite yet. The great thing is, that this is an Early Access title. If nothing else, it’s a solid crafting survival game, where you and your friends can go and enjoy a jaunt in an environment that is never anything more than chill, even with a great big poison-spewing dragon hovering overhead. If you want to come ashore to something a little different to the unforgiving shores of Aeternum and have a fun time then check out Dragonwilds now on PC.
