‘Conan Exiles’ Gameplay, Release Date: This Could Be The Next Open-World Title To Watch For

There seems to be a drop in original ideas in gaming lately, but Conan Exiles’ gameplay could inject fresh blood into the open-world genre. With a Summer 2016 release date expected, we may be looking at a game that tides us over in the survival genre until Dead Island 2 is either back in development or canceled.

In previous years, Warner Bros. has been known to take major film licenses and give us open-world titles, allowing us to experience first-hand what it’s like to live in Mordor as well as the Mad Max wastelands. Admittedly, the hand-to-hand combat was heavily borrowed from the Batman: Arkham series, but that didn’t make it any less fun. Shadow of Mordor and Mad Max both gave us a different take on the genre.

Conan Exiles gameplay could be almost a marriage of the two if Funcom takes the same route Warner Bros. did. It very well might take both concepts to heart, according to a description by Funcom.

“Unleash your fury in savage, fast-paced combat and execute bloody and bone-crushing attacks that will see heads rolling and limbs flying. Fight other players to dominate the exiled lands, and even call upon the wrath of the heavens to aid you by sacrificing enemy players on the [altars] of the gods.”

Fury was a heavy focus in Mad Max’s hand-to-hand combat, as entering this mode allowed you to take more damage as well as deal it out, as long as you kept the combo going. Heads and limbs flew off regularly in Shadow of Mordor, making it one of the most brutally satisfying games fans have seen in years.

Another franchise in the survival genre had a concept similar to this element of Conan Exiles gameplay. Dead Island had you regularly chopping off limbs and heads in your effort to finally destroy the legions of the undead on Banoi. It’s been hinted that Conan Exiles will offer gamers the chance to craft brutal new weapons out of what they find and pillage from other players.

The multiplayer concept is a majority of what was missing from Warner Bros. previous movie tie-ins, but VG247 reports that single-player gamers won’t be left out. The developer tried to use multiplayer in Batman: Arkham Origins, and it didn’t work as well as they’d hoped. Also, there has been nothing announced about whether Funcom is even working with Warner Bros. Games, so all we have to go on is what we saw in the announcement trailer.

Actual Conan Exiles gameplay will likely be revealed as the months close in on its release date for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. We will be able to see more closely at that time exactly what Funcom is planning to offer.

Conan Exiles Takes On The Open World Wasteland https://t.co/kpyc0qbpI5 pic.twitter.com/ZMbwrdBvkD

— Game Informer (@gameinformer) January 28, 2016

For now, we can only speculate that Conan Exiles gameplay will be a cross between Shadow of Mordor, Mad Max, Far Cry Primal, and Dead Island: Riptide, with PVP combat added for extra mayhem and brutality. This could be the next great open-world adventure or a massive disappointment.

A further clue was offered by creative director Joel Bylos about what this title will aspire to be.

“There is no better setting for an open-world survival game than the world of Conan. Hyboria is a harsh and unforgiving land where only the strongest can survive while the weak are swiftly cut down. Whether it is hunting animals for food, fighting monsters and other players, or building entire settlements, we want to make sure players feel like they are really fighting to survive and prosper in the most brutal fantasy world ever.”

Mad Max also had us “building” settlements, but that was mostly fetch quests as we hunted down parts to improve pre-existing strongholds.

A lot is up to speculation at this point, but as the Summer 2016 release date closes in, we will learn more about Conan Exiles gameplay and what it will offer.

[Image via Funcom]