

At its heart, the gameplay is really just that simple, and though it may sound like the sort of thing that becomes repetitive with time, the incentives just beyond your reach have a way of keeping you up far too late in the night for just “one more hunt”. The only way to get better gear is to hunt monsters, harvest their corpses for valuable parts, and use what you can to prioritize new weapons and armour that will enable you to take on even tougher monsters with even more valuable parts. The gameplay in Dauntless follows a familiar yet rewarding loop in which you progress your character not via traditional level ups or stat gains, but purely through the equipment they wear. Naturally, it’s important that these Behemoths be culled as quickly as possible, so it’s the responsibility of you and all the other Slayers from the town of Ramsgate (no, not that Ramsgate) to hunt them down. These apex predators are a serious threat to the ecosystem of the Shattered Isles, not just because of their destructive behaviours, but because they feed on Aether, which is a rare magical substance that keeps the islands floating aloft. You, a Slayer, reside in a floating world called the Shattered Isles, which also happens to be home to all manner of voracious Behemoths. The premise of Dauntless is simple enough, perhaps a little too much so. In so doing, it also manages to craft an enjoyable and easily approachable experience that keeps the pressure of microtransactions to a minimum. The latest of these is Dauntless, a new free-to-play release from Phoenix Labs that endeavours to remove the more intimidating barriers to entry that Capcom’s storied franchise has become known for.

DAUNTLESS SWITCH SERIES
Since then, Capcom’s series has remained the undisputed king of this sub-genre, but many other players have arrived in recent years with their own take on the formula. Back in 2004, Capcom released the first title in the Monster Hunter series for the PlayStation 2, kicking off a long and successful franchise while also creating something of a new RPG sub-genre.
