For the second day of Next Fest, I will be playing a demo of Dungeonborne for the PC. I’ve managed to play through the demo and will give my thoughts about the game. There will be hundreds of games releasing their demos this week so I’ll be on the hunt with unique games and eye-catching gameplays that can truly excite any player for the days to come.
About Next Fest 2024
Next Fest is Steam’s yearly celebration of upcoming games by giving out free demo versions. Different genres from different developers with a multitude of selections ranging from adventure to horror.
Steam is changing the landscape by promoting all new games that will soon release on their platform. Customers are left to explore and play hundreds of demos and can also watch the games’ developers try their own game in livestream.
I will be checking out 7 games in 7 days in this multi-day extravaganza and will do my best in giving my first impressions for each game. For second day I’ve decided to download and play the demo for the upcoming release of Dungeonborne.
About Dungeonborne: Next Fest Demo Day 2
Dungeonborne is an online first-person dungeon battler that is more derivative of an extraction looter game. Created by Mithril Interactive, this game pits you against other players as well as other monsters haunting the medieval grounds.
To start this review, the overall gameplay for Dungeonborne is very similar to extraction looter games, but setting it in a fantasy-based atmosphere gives a fresh new pallette to the genre albeit with a dark and ominous undertone.
Dungeonborne’s Gameplay
If you’ve ever played PUBG or Call of Duty: Warzone, then this game is right up your alley. Although there maybe a ton of non-player enemies including area bosses that you can loot about and kill, the player versus player aspect of the game is still there.
There are about 7 classes of characters to choose from. From the versatile and balanced Fighter to the undead spellcasting Cryomancer, Dungeonborne gives you options to choose your play style with each run of the game. Each type of character gives a lot of diversity in choosing your own play style.
Being an online PvPvE experience, Dungeonborne has the right combination of mystified ambience and tense player battles the genre is craving for. As the Red mist creeps in inside the circle every few minutes, you are forced to fight your way through chaotic enemies or succumb to your cowardice by using a portal to escape them.
Combat is fast paced and the range attacks get the job done, though melee fighting is absolutely essential because of certain terrain locations. The darkened corners of each crevice of the map also makes a great hiding spot to ambush or even escape enemies.
The urgency of extraction games, a.k.a. go inside the big circle so you don’t die, tends to have a cliche effect on me. It has been done hundreds of times and I was hoping for another game mechanic to keep the players fighting. And of course there is the possibility of just hiding your way to victory as the map itself has a lot of hiding spots and mostly revolves in a castle ground setting. I’ve used the portal many times just to avoid getting my equipment looted from my cold corpse.
Graphics and Audio of Dungeonborne’s
The graphics and music in this game is a perfect blend for the theme Dungeonborne is going for. Although I’m not quite the fan of a surprising mimic suddenly attacking me, I’m very much satisfied with the overall look of the game. Character creation is also adequate as it gives you a selection of different characteristics.
Though the artwork for the game could be misconstrude as below par to some of the newly released games, Dungeonborne clearly focused on the gameplay aspects as a theme. It is not noticeable in any way as the whole map level is quite clearly enveloped in the shadowy night.
But to be fair, I have to admit that the graphics in this game does lack a bit of polish. As I was playing hours upon hours trying out different characters, I got so engrossed in the gameplay that I completely disregarded the graphics.
All in all, the graphics and audio are serviceable at best. But it does not diminish the game overall. On the contrary, Dungeonborne made me focus on the gameplay, which is quite a remarkable feat.
Who’s this game for? Next Fest’s Dungeonborne Demo
PvP players will get a kick in playing a classic extraction looter with a fantasy style dungeon theme. Dungeonborne brings a breath of fresh air to the genre. The selection of other characters gives its replayability is definitely one of its strong suit. You can play for hours and mix and match your round with different characters and never be bored. The selections will be suitable to your everchanging styles.
The extraction genre has been overdone for almost a decade now and we currently need more games like this. I played Vermintide a lot before and I keep drawing comparisons to certain aspects of its thematic gameplay.
Not everyone will find this game a gem because of its new take on the genre. Medieval fantasy settings are a dime a dozen. I agree with players out there that it has already been tried a few times in recent memory. I do hope this game takes off. We need to bolster more innovative ideas to every other genre in the market right now.
Final Verdict for Dungeonborne: Buy or Bye
This is definitely a BUY in my opinion. Endless hours of playing through hordes of enemies with different classes will certainly surpass its price worth. I’m excited to see what they will come up next or even a large scale tournament scene in the future.
I can predict that this game will have a ton of fans the moment it breaks its release date. The game could easily become a go-to staple to scratch that PvP itch. The genre Dungeonborne is trying to get a foothold has been saturated by literal hundreds of mish-mash clones. Players will definitely enjoy and have a different experience playing this particular game.
