Summary
A new dungeon crawler,Dungeonborne,has launched in Early Access to high praise, with a 9/10 rating onSteamfrom over 1400 players within its first day, which currently stands at a “Mostly Positive"on the platform after a few days. The title had previously gained traction after being the most-played demo at Steam’s Next Fest in February 2024. During this time,Dungeonbornejumped from the top 500 to the top 50 most wishlisted games on the platform, with over 19,000 concurrent players and a peak of 68,000 viewers on Twitch.
Dungeonbornesees players hunt for treasure and battle terrifying monsters across a series of dungeons in either solo or co-op.In some ways, it has been compared to anotherdungeon-crawler title,Dark and Darker, as both titles used assets from the Unreal marketplace. However, the dynamics of the games, in particular the combat, seem different, with many agreeing thatDungeonborne’s combat is not as “clunky” asDark and Darkerand feels far more fluid.
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Dungeonborne Combines Extraction Gameplay With The Fantasy Genre
With A Range Of Different Classes And Races With Unique Abilities
Dungeonbornesees players delving into maps with plenty of verticality, such as Clouseau Castle or Sinner’s End in a bid to acquire valuable artifacts and defeat the otherworldly creatures tasked with guarding them before quickly trying to reach an extraction portal before they become entombed. Upon the Early Access launch, the game features eight classes, each with their own unique skills that range from casting spells to either damage or heal, close-quarters combat, stealth, and more, ensuring that the game caters to a variety of different playstyles.
Dungeonborne’s eight classes and their specific attributes are as follows:
Attributes
Fighter
Extremely skilled in close-quarters combat. Can shield allies from harm while exploiting enemy weaknesses to deal precise, lethal attacks.
Priest
Wielders of Divine Magic. Particularly helpful for healing teammates, but can also use this magic to deal ranged damage in battle.
Rogue
Adept in stealth. Extremely quick and agile, allowing them to outmaneuver opponents and deliver a killing blow with their daggers.
Provide highly destructive fire and explosive damage from afar.
Death Knight
Skilled in close-quarters combat with the ability to deliver heavy damage, with this bloodshed restoring their energy. They also have a unique ability to pull enemies toward them.
Cryomancer
Skilled in summoning Ice Magic to freeze enemies and keep them at bay.
SwordMaster
Equally proficient in magic and swordsmanship, enabling them to attack foes up close or from afar.
Druid
Can shapeshift into animal forms to attack enemies with their claws and fangs while also summoning the forces of nature to deal further damage on the battlefield.
The Main Dungeonborne Experience Is Free To Play
But There Are Some Additional Ways To Support The Developers
Unlike some other Early Access titles on Steam that use its earlier launches as a way to fund their development,Dungeonbornecan be played for free, and this will be the case for the base version of the game after its full launch. In a post on the officialDungeonbornesite, developer Mithril Interactive stated that all gameplay content, including classes, skills, maps, game modes, shared stash, character slots, custom games, and other items, can be experienced completely free of charge to ensure players can get the fullDungeonborneexperience.
While the title was originally intended as a buy-to-play game, this change to free-to-play came after thesuccessful Steam Next Fest playtest. Mithril Interactive saw how well its new anti-cheat measures were paying off to ensure a satisfying experience for players, so the studio felt more comfortable going with the free model to reach the largest potential player base.
For those who want to support the developers, however, there are a couple of ways to spend money. The first is a paidMithril SatchelDLC that contains a textured cloak, a lantern burning with a special cyan flame, as well as supplies for $9.99, but this is “100% optional.” While trading is available to all as part of the buildcrafting mechanic,creating auction listings for sale requires an “Auction Membership Pass"to ensure players don’t get overwhelmed by listings and can just focus on the more valuable and rare items. This membership pass is also intended to generate revenue to support the game’s ongoing development.
Mithril Interactive has stated that more stash tabs will be offered at “a couple dollars” for those who want more storage, but players will be able to unlock a total of 4 tabs in the game’s free mode.
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Dungeonborne’s Developers Are Intent On Listening To Fan Feedback
Providing A Better Gaming Experience Through Early Access
AccompanyingDungeonborne’s July 19 Early Access launch onSteam, a statement from Mithril Interactive read, “We’ve embraced Early Access as a way to involve our community in the shared development and refining of the game. By gathering your feedback and suggestions, we can better understand player needs and optimize the gaming experience, as well as address any issues before the official launch. Your participation and insight are invaluable to us, and we’re committed to working together to bring Dungeonborne to its fullest potential.”
This matches the studio’s comments following Next Fest, in which it promised that “every piece of feedback will be thoroughly reviewed and combined with data analysis” to guide the future development plans and release strategy forDungeonborne. Currently, the plan seems to be to keep the game in Early Access for approximately 3-6 months, depending on community feedback, with seven playable classes, 40 types of monsters dungeon exploration, more than 100 items and pieces of equipment, some of which are customizable, as well as trading and the competitive Arena mode in which players can challenge one another without risking losing any gear they’ve previously acquired.
Players are encouraged to give feedback primarily onDungeonborne’s official Discord server, but Mithril has also stated that it will check Steam forums, official X, and other social media sites.
With the title being free and already boasting plenty of content, there’s certainly plenty of reason for players to grab their friends and dive in. While there is currently plenty on offer in Early Access, whenDungeonborneenters its full version, Mithril promises new races and classes, new monstrous bosses, new maps and gameplay modes, new weapon types, and more that’s sure to keep players coming back to the title.
