…and then I slayed the Dragon
I have a confession: I am kinda terrible at survival games. Somewhere between “build a shelter” and “don’t starve,” I inevitably get distracted by a shiny rock or something in the distance only to end up dying horribly to some monster. So, when RuneScape: Dragonwilds landed on Xbox, I figured I’d either find my new comfort-food game or get killed by a dragon within the first hour. Spoiler: there were dragons.
MSRP: $29.99
Platforms: XBOX (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $29.99
RuneScape: Dragonwilds is a cooperative survival game, otherwise known around here as a ‘tree-puncher’ game. Instead of allowing for massive players like ARK and the recently released Dune: Awakening, Dragonwilds is just for you and your friends allowing for up to 4 players. The save will exist on the host player, so they will need to be online, but the players’ characters and their skills can be played in any world, and you keep your levels which is nice. Unlike most of these games Dragonwilds has a fantasy story other than just surviving. Players will need to take down the Dragon queen Kuldra, a massive 5-headed dragon which was like a raid boss fight. In a lot of ways, Runescape: Dragonwilds feels like an MMO-lite in a lot of ways.
What won me over is how approachable it is. The game introduces its mechanics gradually, so you aren’t buried under crafting menus in the first ten minutes. Chopping trees makes you better at chopping trees, mining makes you better at mining, and before long you’ve got a little settlement and a weapon that doesn’t feel like a stick. And since this is Runescape players won’t have to wait long before they are able to cast spells. Some of them are for crafting like the axe spell Axtral Projection which is used to chop down a row of trees in one go. While others can allow players to summon elementals to assist in combat. I’m a sucker for that “just one more level” loop, and it kept me going well past my bedtime. The world of Ashenfall is also colorful and inviting, which is a nice change from the grim-and-gray look of most survival games, or in Dune’s case just tan and brown.
Now for the grind, because this is a RuneScape game after all. Resource gathering gets repetitive, and there are stretches where you’re hauling the same materials back to base for the fifteenth time. Inventory management is also extremely clunky when compared to some other survival games that have come out recently. Navigating it with a controller means more menu juggling than I’d like, especially in the middle of a fight. Speaking of fights, combat is fine, but it lacks depth. Magic helps spice things up, but you’ll mostly be swinging, dodging and repeating. Boss encounters like the Dragon Queen are a nice payoff, but the road there can feel like homework.
RuneScape: Dragonwilds is a game best played with friends. If you’ve got a crew, a Game Pass subscription and a high tolerance for gathering, Dragonwilds is a great place to lose a few weekends. Solo players will still have fun, but the repetition hits harder when you’re on your own. But being able to move your character between modes helps to make things a little easier. All in all, Runescape: Dragonwilds feels like a good entry point into the overarching Runescape universe, and it’s on game pass so that makes the barrier to entry pretty low.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.