RuneScape: Dragonwilds

RuneScape: Dragonwilds is an early access survival crafting game blending familiar elements from RuneScape with inspirations from popular survival titles like Valheim. Players praise its vibrant, colorful graphics and engaging building system with intuitive snapping mechanics. Combat, especially melee with its parry mechanics, is often described as challenging and somewhat "souls-like," though magic and ranged combat are currently underdeveloped. The game features a limited but atmospheric storyline with some memorable side quests, and cooperative play enhances the experience significantly.

However, the game suffers from various early access shortcomings. Players report frequent bugs, performance issues, and clunky mechanics such as constant eating and drinking requirements that disrupt gameplay flow. The dragon attacks, while intended to add tension, are often seen as annoying and poorly balanced. Content is limited, enemy variety is low, and the world feels small and repetitive. Many hope for more skills, spells, and quality-of-life improvements in future updates. Overall, it shows promise but needs substantial polish and additional content to fully shine.

Highlights

Players highly praise the colorful and vibrant graphics and the addictive building system that allows creative base construction anywhere. The melee combat with parry mechanics receives positive notes for its challenge and depth. The spell system, though limited, adds tactical variety, and the soundtrack and atmospheric world design enhance immersion. The storyline, while brief, includes engaging side quests that resonate emotionally with players. Multiplayer co-op is highlighted as a rewarding way to experience vaults and boss fights.

Criticisms

Common criticisms focus on the overly frequent need to eat and drink, which many find tedious and immersion-breaking. The dragon attacks are viewed as frustrating and unbalanced, often forcing players into limited building zones. Combat outside melee is underdeveloped, with magic and ranged skill trees missing. The game world is described as small and repetitive with limited enemy variety, reducing exploration appeal. Performance issues, including forced motion blur and bloom, cause visual discomfort. Additionally, animation locks in combat frustrate players, and the lack of pause function in solo mode is inconvenient. The overall content is sparse, leading to concerns about long-term engagement.