The action RPG Dauntless is a free alternative to Monster Hunter, which was released in May 2019 and will be four years old this year. But how does Dauntless stand in 2023 and who is it interesting for?
What is Dauntless? Dauntless is a free action RPG developed by the Canadian studio Phoenix Labs and was released in May 2019.
Similar to the “Monster Hunter” games or the Wild Hearts released in February 2023, you embark on hunts for dangerous creatures in Dauntless either solo or cooperatively with friends.
These creatures are called “Behemoth” in Dauntless and live on various floating islands that represent their own biomes. For example, there are forest, desert, or snowy areas in Dauntless.
You accept a hunt mission in the city of Ramsgate. There you can also refine your equipment.
30 million players, but only 70 viewers on Twitch
How many players does Dauntless have? We cannot provide exact figures on player numbers, but according to a press release in May 2022, Dauntless had a total of 30 million players at that time. In December 2020, Dauntless still had 25 million players, as stated by Phoenix Labs. This means that a total of 5 million new players joined in two years.
However, it is not known whether these numbers refer to active players or merely created accounts. The latter is most likely.
Since Dauntless is not available on Steam, but can only be played on PC via the Epic Games Store and on consoles, we do not have average player numbers available.
We receive more accurate numbers on Twitch.
Is Dauntless watched on Twitch? We’ll keep it short and simple: No, not really. In the past 90 days, the game category Dauntless had an average of 71 viewers on the streaming platform (as of March 29, 2023 via sullygnome.com).
Dauntless continues to receive updates and in-game events
Is Dauntless still getting new content? Yes, the hunting game is continually provided with updates. There are regularly new seasons that bring their own battle pass and new skins. Additionally, Dauntless frequently hosts in-game events, such as the upcoming Easter event “Springtide” in April.
Occasionally, there are also larger updates. For example, new Behemoth were added to the game in September 2022.
Content comparison between Monster Hunter and Wild Hearts: The gameplay of games like Monster Hunter can quickly become repetitive. Therefore, it is crucial to have a solid variety of different monsters and weapons that bring a bit of variety to the daily routines.
In the following overview, we have compared the number of weapons, monsters, and the average playtime of the main story from various games and expansions:
- The average playtimes are sourced from howlongtobeat.com
Players criticize repetitive gameplay
How do the ratings look? On the review platform metacritic, there are two opposing fronts.
While the press ratings for the PC version look acceptable, players have given harsh reviews. Users criticize technical issues and “boring and repetitive gameplay”.
- Press Score: 78/ 100
- MMORPG.com – 90
- Dualshockers – 90
- IGN – 85)
- User Score – 5.3/ 10
How does Dauntless play? MeinMMO author Dariusz Müller played Dauntless for several hours with a newly created account to give you an insight into how the game feels for new players in 2023:
For the weapon selection, I chose the hunting spear. This allowed me to perform quick attack sequences – exactly my taste. The fights themselves were very easy and beginner-friendly. You perform light and heavy attacks and dodge the monsters’ attacks. You can also attack with various combinations.
As beginner-friendly as the combat system is, it feels underwhelming after I played Wild Hearts in February. I miss actions that bring more depth to the combat system. I miss attacks that require more than just button spamming.
Also, the fact that I do not follow an interesting story from the beginning but only take on quests, hunt monsters, turn in completed quests in the city, and start the cycle over again did not help the gaming experience. I can empathize with the criticism that Dauntless feels very repetitive.
However, how the gaming experience changes after dozens of hours of playtime or in the endgame, I cannot say yet.
Who is Dauntless interesting for? Dauntless is primarily interesting for players who want to find out if they enjoy hunting games.
If you have never played a game like Monster Hunter, Dauntless is a great way to get a free look into the genre and decide whether you like the game mechanics. If you also bring friends with you to hunt together, you can have a few hours of fun with the title.
However, a long-time fan of Monster Hunter might be disappointed with Dauntless. Although the game mechanics are roughly the same, the gameplay does not feel as demanding and immersive.
If you have played Dauntless in the past, it might be worth checking it out again to test the new features. However, if you found the game mechanics too repetitive in the past, that will likely still be the case.
Since Dauntless is free to play, you can certainly take a look for yourself and form your own opinion.
