Conan Exiles

Conan Exiles is an open world survival game. Well, if you count Minecraft, this is not the first one of those I’ve played. I have not played anything like Rust or Ark, though, so I can’t compare. But how is Conan Exiles? It’s fun for a bit but can become tedious.

Due to some criminal charges, ridiculous and not, you have been exiled. Conan saves you from being tied up, but then he buggers off leaving you to fend for yourself. Go out there and get some!

Find it on Steam.

To start, you have nothing. Depending on server settings, not even clothes. You start out in the desert surrounded by people that didn’t make it. The game gives you a bit of direction, but really, just go out and explore. Not me. I followed the game’s directions.

Speaking of settings, there is a bunch you can customize on the game from player HP to gather rate. You can change things mid-game, though some settings require a restart. It helps alleviate things if you find the game too tedious or annoying.

To start with, though, things progress pretty fast. Pick up some branches! Get some stone! Pluck plant fibers! Make your starting gear. You are well on your way to surviving.

Combat in the game is pretty good. You combo together light and heavy attacks. There are different weapons with different moves. Sometimes, heavy attacks will land status effects on enemies such as bleed or cripple. You dodge around, managing stamina while hacking at the enemy. It’s solid and fun, though it doesn’t feel as impactful as it could.

Then, it’s time to start gathering food and materials.

It’s as simple as crafting the right tool and hacking away. Making anything, though, takes a lot of materials. I’m talking hundreds. A furnace is like, over 400 stone. And while stone is common, it just gets tedious and drags on.

The crafting menu is also pretty horrible. They have a reorder function which I don’t use. It just makes things harder to find. Also, you have encumberance, so if you try to mine enough materials to build something in one trip, it’s going to take a long time to get home. For how much crafting you need to do in the game, the interface is pretty bad.

Having enough food and water is pretty simple. Kill things and use a hatchet to get their meat. Or in my case above, steal eggs from a nest while the parents are away. Don’t judge. You do what you do to survive. For meat, you should cook it on a fire.

You can get water from any water source and even have a water canteen to take with you.

Speaking of fire, they are one of many crafting stations. The good thing about crafting stations is that they work independently of you. Just set them to work and off they go while you do something else.

Such as getting attacked by the local wildlife while exploring.

Being a survival game, you can expect most things to try and kill you. There are a few things that don’t but expect most things to mess with you. And regenerating health is mainly done through consumables.

This game does have a leveling system where you strengthen your character and unlock different crafting recipes. It seems fine. I don’t know how much difference they cause, yet, but it is cool.

And here is the map of the exiled lands. It is pretty large. Getting around can be a pain since I think it’s only by foot.

There is lots to see, but it will take a long while to see it all.

I’m enjoying it so far, but I don’t know how long that will last. Combat is pretty fun. The enemies have a good variety. Leveling up and getting stronger feels fine. Gathering materials to build things is really tedious. The amount required is really high. Also, the crafting menu is a mess. It’s basic, it works but it’s not easy to use at all.

Stay tuned for more adventures in the exiled lands!

Find it on Steam.