Conan is FunCom's new survival, crafting and open world RPG. But is it any good?

FunCom officially released the first ever alpha build of Conan Exiles back in May of this year, and whilst it had a bit of a bumpy start, the concept behind the game makes it worth a deeper look into.

 

So lets start from the beginning then... Conan Exiles is your typical survival, crafting and generally full of AI mobs that want to kill you at every corner... ehm... style of game. It is set in a desert like world with some occasional shrubbery and trees where players must embark on an epic adventure to survive this harsh world with the possibility of even starting your own settlement. You need to fight hunger and thirst on a regular basis as well as keep under control your level of insanity which increases as you explore dungeons. There are fancy weather effects such as sandstorms which don't really do much except look pretty and you need to avoid large settlement of native cannibals which are pretty much around every corner.

 

The combat system is quite good, except for archery.... that is just terrible to honest and needs a lot of work. The gore is nice though, with the possibility of severing limbs and chopping off heads from your poor victims.

 

So the aspect of the game that attracted me the most, is the building and slave system. The game comes with a substantial amount of blocks, tools, furnishings... basically you can build a huge fortification. Opposing players can even use siege warfare to try to break into your city with trebuchets. You have a variety of crafting tools from forges to workbenches, tanneries, armories, etc... You can literally build anywhere, but sometimes are limited due to the clanky building system of the game, which I hope will improve in the coming months.

 

There is also the concept of taking slaves (or thralls as they are called in game), and converting them to your cause with the infamous wheel of pain. Some of these slaves can be used to enhance crafting tools, such as the forge and workbench, and even allow crafting of items unavailable in normal circumstances. There are also Thralls that can help improve your morale, decrease insanity and generally look just super sexy in your throne room. I am talking of exotic dancers of course... some of which can be found wearing some interesting items of clothing.

 Hubba Hubba!!! That's one fine Toosh!

 

So religion plays a big part of the game. You can choose from 3 available gods that come with special perks by building altars and bringing them offerings. As your religious ambitions grow, you can eventually summon and take control of towering avatars, that can eradicate huge settlements in just a few seconds.

 

The game itself is still in it's infancy, and the fact that it uses the unreal engine makes it a bit laggy at times. It feels quite similar to another title with the same engine - ARK Survival Evolved.... and even has a rather similar leveling and crafting system. The building system is quite good, but does have a bit of issues which can get rather frustrating at times. The thrall system is also a very good idea, and it's nice to see your settlement populated... but they are not as interactive as I hoped they would be.

 

That being said, I enjoyed my time in Conan Exiles, and updates are being released on a rather regular basis. The world is impressive with a ton of points of interest for you to explore and dig into...

 

Steam Curator Review: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/sandboxdudes#curation/app/440900/