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0 RuneScape: Dragonwilds is a new survival game twist on the classic IP of the same name. It came roaring into Early Access out of nowhere in mid-April, with developing and publishing by Jagex Ltd (RuneScape, Old School RuneScape). It may not be free like the previous games, but is still at a reasonable price point. You can pick it up today on Steam for £24.99.
Solid Survival Gameplay with a touch of Dragons
I honestly don’t recall ever playing RuneScape growing up. The original launched in 2001 and that would have been the same time that I was more into Counter-Strike than anything else on PC. Before I really even knew what MMOs were. I wasn’t friends with anyone that was playing it either, so I’ve only roughly known bits and pieces about it. RuneScape: Dragonwilds caught many by surprise though, myself included, as a new foray with the IP into a different space. Check out my initial thoughts on the game below.
Gameplay
RuneScape: Dragonwilds bears the RuneScape name, but is a separate entity from the other games. It appears to pull in a lot of the same types of basic skill trees as the others but with a focus on the survival gameplay. The game also limits your multiplayer to up to four players playing co-op, which falls about average comparatively in the genre. In the current build, the game drops you right into the world with basic instructions and some primary and secondary quests. Oh, and there’s also a Dragon front and centre in the starting zone, flying overhead and occasionally spewing poison on top of you.
Discovering the parameters for progression has been my biggest struggle in RuneScape: Dragonwilds. Trying to stick to the primary quest and reducing the amount of extra exploring I was doing, though, was hampering me. Talking with a co-worker that has also been playing led me to discover this error, as he was describing areas of the initial zone that I hadn’t even been to yet. I also have a sneaking suspicion that him having been a RuneScape player for a long time gave him some advantage. Probably not too much, but at least some, at least as far as the skill progression goes. I was painfully ignorant in my awareness to just continue doing the same things for experience to unlock further items from the skill path.
RuneScape: Dragonwilds is also different from other survival games in unlocking further advancements. Where some games have unlocks through collecting materials, or building certain crafting stations, this one combines both of those. It also has a skill tree progression for unlocks. This was slightly confusing to me as I was stuck for a time trying to sort out what I was missing to better my building and gear. Things seem to flow better once I had an understanding of this.
Graphics & Audio
I realize now after including my screenshot of my building that at a glance one could possibly mistake it as being from Valheim. But this is truly RuneScape: Dragonwilds, I promise. Everything has just a bit more polish and doesn’t feel as rough. I don’t recall changing any of my settings apart from scaling down the resolution slightly. The aesthetic is definitely leaning toward the OG feeling, though. Even as a non-RuneScape player, I was able to recognize certain things that stood out. I didn’t have a chance to play around with this on the Steam Deck, as it appears that saves don’t transfer over at the moment, and I didn’t want to start over.
I found myself actually enjoying the background music in RuneScape: Dragonwilds. It provides a comforting casual feel when out exploring and then ramping up when engaging in combat. It also acts as an audio cue for when you may not have seen those pesky goblins sneaking up on you. Other audio clues, such as hearing the Dragon coming before it starts spewing down on you, are very welcome and important as well. I didn’t notice any issues or errors or things that otherwise felt out of place thus far in that area.
Longevity
With the game only just releasing into early access, it is already easy to sink time into RuneScape: Dragonwilds. The roadmap for development during this time is already packing quite a bit. These include improvements to things such as “tutorialisation” for poor souls like me that had to get tips from their co-worker. But with further content to come, it has quite a bit of longevity even now. Jagex expects the game to be ready for 1.0 release sometime in 2026, but this will largely depend on player feedback.
Final Thoughts
RuneScape: Dragonwilds already feels like it has a solid survival game at it’s core. With a lot of signature RuneScape flavour, of course. Having no first-hand experience with the IP, I’m enjoying it. I’m sure if you played the original, or latest version, you may even get more out of it. I plan to continue playing and hopefully post a future build review, or maybe one for the 1.0 release. If you’re a fan of survival games, it is definitely worth checking out — if not now, then in the future.
If you enjoy this preview, be sure to check out my reviews here.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this preview.
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