Conan Exiles, the Hyborian survival game, shows off some gameplay

YouTube

Conan Exiles was revealed back in January as a survival-crafting game, which was both unexpected—whacking trees with rocks to collect wood for a hovel is a far cry from hearing the lamentations of their women—and perfectly sensible. The Hyborean Age, as we noted, was a pretty crappy time to be alive, and thus an ideal setting for a game in which survival is the central point.

We got our first look at the game—and the mighty Conan—in a February developer diary, and now it's time to check out the first actual bit of gameplay, posted on IGN's YouTube channel. It's very sandy, as you might expect, and there are giant bats, spiders, snakes, and a very sad looking rhinoceros. There are also explosions, and guys nailed to a cross, and an under-dressed lady who gets chopped in half, because sometimes survival means killing a whole lot of people.

It's not the most spectacular trailer I've ever seen, but it is pre-alpha, which is to say not even close to finished, and in theory, at least, it will look a lot better as the work progresses: Developer Funcom announced a partnership with Nvidia yesterday that it said will bring “cutting-edge graphics—including advanced graphical features such as real-time simulated sand that is impacted by everything falling into and moving through it” to the game.

Conan Exiles is slated for an early access launch late this summer. A full release date hasn't been set.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.