Chris InglisDawn of Defiance is a survival crafting game developed by Traega Entertainment and the game just launched on Steam early access and Epic Games Store. The theme is inspired by Greek mythology and the game’s core mechanics are well-executed while not bogging the player down with monotonous elements like encumbrance. The visuals of the game are as we explore the world filled with towering cliffs, lush forests, and serene beaches with a satisfying loop of resource gathering, crafting, building, and combat.
There is no encumbrance in the game – hallelujah! I get that things have weight but in a crafting game, we have been plagued with encumbrance for decades now. To have a game that just uses inventory slots as the carry limit is so refreshing. Another way the game respects the players time is in instant crafting for simple items like tools and potions. Those saved seconds adds up, and the crafting system is intuitive and rewarding with a great flow of progression. There are dirt roads with archways and beacons of light that guide your initial steps in the game, but for the most part where you explore and build a base is up to you.
Combat in Dawn of Defiance provides a decent challenge, with melee and ranged options offering distinct playstyles. I loved when it started to get dark, hearing the howls of wolves and being stalked by them creeping slowly towards me before attacking. Combat sounds are great with the thump of a shield block and the whistle of a spear whizzing past my ear. The enemy soldier units are scarily accurate with their spear throws, with the spears tracking your movement which is a little off-putting. One tip we learned is to place a bed at the entrance to a dungeon or combat encounter, so you have less distance to run to get back to your corpse, if you chose to have corpse loot enabled.
Building your base is a satisfying process with the freedom to make whatever structure you like. I went with a traditional box shape with a roof, and I loved the sound effects as it was raining where the sound dulled when I stood under a roof piece. Justin on the other hand went for an open-pit style house with crafting benches undercover and things that utilised fire and collection of resources in the middle pit. You have great control over how the pieces are laid and angled, though it was a little fiddly getting the foundations not to float off sloped ground.
After following the main quest line over the starter island, you gain skills such as glide, negating fall damage and flight, and flying is limited by your stamina. Getting wet in the rain hinders your stamina regen, so I feel there is a good balance in using these magical abilities as you advance. The first island in Dawn of Defiance has enough content and variety to help you learn the game, and then once you portal over to the mainland, the game really opens up with quests galore and POI’s that you can see off in the distance that beg you to explore them. There is a large section of the map that is yet to be opened so we are excited to watch the game develop over the early access period.
Justin and I played the game in co-op and connecting was quick and seamless, however I had to start a fresh character when joining his game. It would be great to be able to bring at least my skills and progression unlocks across, but for now the game is tied to the host’s progression. We were progressing his quests when I played on his server which I didn’t mind once I worked it out. Playing together made the combat encounters much easier as I didn’t feel there was a difficulty jump for the enemy units like in other games.
My PC is a potato and so I experienced some crashes to desktop, but that’s not uncommon for my system, whereas Justin’s game ran smoothly with no crashes. The graphics and lighting effects are impressive, and the overall feel of the game is a chilled experience. Not having to worry about encumbrance or eating and drinking meant we could relax as we built up our character skills, expanded our bases and explored the lands.
So far, Dawn of Defiance is a great game to play in co-op but is also a lot of fun playing solo. There’s around 20-25 hours of gameplay available in this early access build and the developers plan to improve and expand the game further over the next 2 years. They have a feature up-vote page where you can recommend and up-vote some requested changes to the game. I highly recommend the game for fans of survival crafting games, especially playing in co-op.
This review utilised keys provided by Sandbox Strategies and Dawn of Defiance is available now on Steam early access and Epic Games Store.
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