RuneScape returns as an open world survival RPG in which you hunt a Dragon Queen

Jagex have announced RuneScape: Dragonwilds, a new open world co-operative survival game set in the same fantasy realm as their ancient MMO. It runs on Unreal Engine 5, looks a bit like Valheim and Enshrouded, and will launch into early access this spring. Dragonwilds takes place on the continent of Ashenfall, a wilderness abundant in winged lizards, and your overall goal is to "slay the Dragon Queen". I'm going to make the obvious prediction here: you will spend much more time in Ashenfall chopping down trees and composing their delicious, grainy innards into barn doors than chopping down any dragons, regal or otherwise. It's a survival game, after all. The ratio of dragons to logging and carpentry in the first screenshots is a nail-biting 1:1 - if it weren't for that subtitle, I might have assumed this to be a game about woodlands management with optional Smaug-bashing QTEs. Rather than dragon-felling cantrips, the announcement release gives prominent mention to a spell for summoning spectral axes to chop trees down for you, which feels a bit like a car salesman leading with the option to just buy a train ticket instead. Still, let's not be entirely miserable before we've even played the game. Here's the announcement trailer. Read more

Mar 31, 2025 - 18:20

RuneScape returns as an open world survival RPG in which you hunt a Dragon Queen

Jagex have announced RuneScape: Dragonwilds, a new open world co-operative survival game set in the same fantasy realm as their ancient MMO. It runs on Unreal Engine 5, looks a bit like Valheim and Enshrouded, and will launch into early access this spring. Dragonwilds takes place on the continent of Ashenfall, a wilderness abundant in winged lizards, and your overall goal is to "slay the Dragon Queen".

I'm going to make the obvious prediction here: you will spend much more time in Ashenfall chopping down trees and composing their delicious, grainy innards into barn doors than chopping down any dragons, regal or otherwise. It's a survival game, after all. The ratio of dragons to logging and carpentry in the first screenshots is a nail-biting 1:1 - if it weren't for that subtitle, I might have assumed this to be a game about woodlands management with optional Smaug-bashing QTEs.

Rather than dragon-felling cantrips, the announcement release gives prominent mention to a spell for summoning spectral axes to chop trees down for you, which feels a bit like a car salesman leading with the option to just buy a train ticket instead. Still, let's not be entirely miserable before we've even played the game. Here's the announcement trailer.