I've been impressed by Fellowship ever since I first got my hands on it last year. The pitch for the game is one I'm surprised nobody ever thought of: MMO dungeons without the MMO.
Imagine a typical MMO party—one healer, one tank, and some damage-dealers—and then give them names and characteristics that resemble MOBA heroes. That's Fellowship, a hero-based co-op RPG where parties of four clear through increasingly difficult dungeons and collect loot.
Fellowship is the fun of grouping up with your buddies (or randos) and seeing if you can coordinate well enough to overcome bosses with room-filling attacks. There's nothing more thrilling than wearing down a big health bar and barely squeezing out a victory because everyone was able to maximize their role in the fight. And that's just the boss fights. There are tons of strategies for how to work through the packs of enemies efficiently that you'll need to adapt to as the challenge increases.
After a handful of betas, Fellowship is launching in early access on Steam this week. Developer Chief Rebel dropped a trailer showcasing its Blizzard-like art style and some of the bosses you'll encounter, like a giant monster made out of gold coins.
When Fellowship launches on October 16, you'll be able to pick it up for $24.99. And there will also be three supporter packs containing skins and a mount for $19.99 each.
Chief Rebel expects the game to be in early access for at least six months as it tunes the game and adds new features based on community feedback. The last time I played the game alongside the developers it was pretty far along, and it sounds like most of what I saw has been streamlined for the influx of new players.
A Quick Play mode will let you run dungeons that only take 10 to 15 minutes, and then you can see how you fare in one of the Challenge Dungeons that modify enemies with extra health and abilities. Even if you're not a leaderboard chaser, the game has gear upgrades and cosmetics to collect as you climb through the ranks.
As someone who hasn't seriously touched an MMO, or anything close to one, in quite a while, Fellowship's focus on dungeon running might be the thing that drags me back in. You can join me in giving it a shot when it launches on October 16.
1. Best gaming laptop: Razer Blade 16
2. Best gaming PC: HP Omen 35L
3. Best handheld gaming PC: Lenovo Legion Go S SteamOS ed.
4. Best mini PC: Minisforum AtomMan G7 PT
5. Best VR headset: Meta Quest 3
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