The online game Dauntless has finally transitioned from beta into the official release on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Our author Benedict has taken a look at the game for a while and has fallen a bit in love. Something that Monster Hunter World did not manage to do.
Since the release of Dauntless on May 21, I have played a few rounds again. I had played earlier, during the beta in 2018, but only up to level 7 and only for a few hours. I didn’t get very far.
Nevertheless, Dauntless excited me back then and still does today, drawing me in time and again for a while. I could never really get into the unofficial template, Monster Hunter.
That’s why Monster Hunter World couldn’t captivate me
I have been following the Monster Hunter series since around 2010 with Monster Hunter Tri because a friend pointed it out to me back then. I actually like action RPGs and brawling with cool weapons quite a bit.
However, with Monster Hunter, I was always a bit bothered that the enemies didn’t really seem to react to the players’ hits.
Whenever I saw gameplay, it was a group repeatedly hitting an enemy, which didn’t really seem to be affected by the blows. Unless a part fell off.
Also mechanics or cool events, like those that occur now in the new Monster Hunter World, couldn’t get me excited.
Even though I have checked out every new release of Monster Hunter in the past few years to see if perhaps it might be something for me, I always stayed outside. And then Dauntless came along.
That’s why I like Dauntless
Dauntless is, at least from the outside, very similar to Monster Hunter. But Dauntless had, at least for me, some significant differences:
- It has a bit less of an Asian look
- The weapons looked more interesting from the start
- It offers cross-play between PS4, Xbox One, and PC
- The story of the breaking world that we must save from extinction captivates me more
- It is free
Especially the last point made me want to check it out – and also, that my colleague Leya was so enthusiastic about Dauntless at the launch of the beta. And I actually enjoyed following the rather oppressive story in Dauntless and hunting the Behemoths.
The story of Dauntless simply speaks to me more. In Monster Hunter, I hunt monsters because I belong to the Hunter guild and it’s more or less my job. In Dauntless, I hunt them because they consume the Aether that holds the entire fabric of the world together. If I don’t kill them, everyone dies.
The desire for better weapons and armor then drove me on – as well as playing with friends.
Two minor annoyances
Even though Dauntless has captivated me, there are two smaller criticisms:
- Tougher battles require a lot of preparation and theorycrafting to exploit elemental resistances and vulnerabilities
- The fights are cool – but anytime I want to execute a particularly nice combo, I have to interrupt to dodge
Especially the last point annoys me a bit. Dauntless offers really cool weapons, including pistols for ranged combat. They also have really cool combos, but only if you can pull them off.
But the two things are more minor evils and only hinder me from playing excessively. Dauntless is still fun.
Conclusion: Why I prefer to play Dauntless
All in all, I really enjoy Dauntless. Especially in small doses. I go on a hunt maybe once or twice a week and then turn to other things. This makes for a very pleasant experience.
However, Dauntless also shows me that I don’t want to actively play Monster Hunter World. I would only play it exactly like Dauntless: as a casual. For that, Monster Hunter just feels too complex for me.
Moreover, Dauntless also allows me to play with friends on PS4 or Xbox. Something I personally highly appreciate, even though Dauntless currently has a few issues:
