Despite the popularity of the Monster Hunter series of games on portable systems and on some home consoles, the PC has lacked that sort of experience outside of China for some time. Phoenix Labs’ first game, Dauntless, is the most Monster Hunter-like game yet seen for the PC platform and it’s slated for release later this year, with much of its gameplay and setting expected to be revealed at the upcoming E3 show.
Whether this is a jumping of the gun or a way to whet our appetites before the main E3 meal, this trailer is titled as if it debuted during the show itself, and though it’s hardly exhaustive, it does show us some new features of the game, as well as some team gameplay. In it a squad of four hunters with various weapons and armor loads take on a pair of the game’s “Behemoth” monsters, each with their own unique design, cries, and attacks.
Most notably, one creature has fire-based attacks and resides in a lush, wooded island, while the owl-creature that we have seen in trailers past found its home in an icy locale. Its snowy attacks seemed to work hand in hand with the environment, though it’s not clear if the weather of the various islands will have a significant impact on players and the items they need to bring, as is the case in Monster Hunter games.
We’re told that the elemental attacks you do can have an impact on the Behemoths, though. Fighting ice with fire and vice versa is a solid strategy. To augment your weaponry with such abilities, you’ll need to head to the populated hub-island of “Ramsey,” where airships come and go as they transport players to their respective hunting grounds. There you’ll be able to upgrade weapons and armor in order to take on your next foe.
Dauntless is slated for release in the fourth quarter of this year, with much more information expected to come out at E3 in the coming weeks.
