Dauntless – Impressions (PS4)
It’s hard to pinpoint when my fascination with Kaiju began. I remember watching an old black and white Godzilla movie when I was a kid, but I was somewhat uninterested. If I’m really being honest, and I’m probably going to lose some nerd credit here, I think my love began with the release of Digimon: The Movie. There’s something special about an orange dinosaur mopping the floor with a giant parrot that stuck with me from that moment on. Ever since, I’ve been drawn to games and movies with gigantic monstrosities – and that’s where Dauntless comes in. With equal parts Bastion and Monster Hunter, there’s no way I wouldn’t love this game.
I’m not typically heavy in to gameplay. But even I know that the combat in Dauntless is pretty milquetoast when compared to its contemporaries. This might sound like a bad thing, but I assure you it’s not. Coming from someone who loved Monster Hunter World but really sucks at it, there’s no better compliment. Chaining combos, using items, and overall survival is much more streamlined in Dauntless. There’s only a handful of options in combat, which helps sausage fingered kids like myself find just as much enjoyment as any veteran of the Monster Slaying genre.
Dauntless’ mass appeal doesn’t simply come from its control scheme, it is also derived from the One Dauntless Initiative. This allows players from every console to not only play together, but also includes cross progression. No matter who you want to play with and on what console you’re easily accommodated. Sadly, these features aren’t perfect. A massive influx of players causing astronomical queue times and an in-game chat that cuts out whenever you’re in loading screens brings down the experience. But damn… is playing with friends fun, as long as you can actually log in, that is.
Last, but certainly not least, I have to mention the art in Dauntless. From God Eater to Monster Hunter and beyond, most other Monster Slaying games have art styles that reflect their dire and mature worlds. But not Dauntless. Its art style conveys an element of whimsy even when being pummeled by a gigantic lava slug, which is exactly what makes it special. It seems as though the world isn’t meant to be taken to seriously and that’s something that I hope the team at Phoenix Labs leans in to in later updates.
It remains to be seen if Dauntless has real staying power or will be relegated as just another fad. But if the developer continues to innovate and update their game, including a fix for chat in load screens and queue times, the gameplay loop and world have real potential to become the next show stopper.
An early code for Dauntless on PS4 was provided by the publisher, but this fact did not alter the reviewer’s opinions.
