When a game designer narrows down a complex genre into a standalone game, it’s often a fresh take on something familiar. Remember how MOBAs came about? They took just the hero aspect from an RTS and ran with it. Now, we have Fellowship stepping into the spotlight. Dubbed a Multiplayer Online Dungeon Adventure, this game focuses exclusively on team-based dungeon raids, which are the cornerstone of modern MMOs, but cuts out the extensive leveling grind to let you dive straight into the action.
After spending some time exploring a development build of Fellowship, I must admit the concept is as promising as it sounds. The game revolves around fast-paced, endlessly escalating dungeon runs with a four-player team. Each group consists of a tank, a healer, and two damage dealers, chosen from a set of distinct classes. Whether you craft your own group or use the game’s group finder, you can jump into either quick, single-boss adventures or more involved multi-boss dungeons. This flexibility lets you pick gameplay that suits the time you have, whether that’s a ten-minute break or a longer gaming session.
At the end of each run, you grab your loot, fine-tune your talents, up the difficulty level, and dive back in.
Initially, the idea of enjoying a genuine MMO-style dungeon experience sans the MMO seemed doubtful to me. However, Fellowship manages to capture that essence efficiently. Players maneuver through environments, taking down enemy hordes en route to boss battles. All the classic challenges are here: managing the tank’s threat, aiding the healer, preempting enemy abilities, and executing your class’s attack sequence effectively.
As an elemental mage, even at the start, I found myself juggling plenty of abilities. My character built charges to unleash mighty freezing meteors or to channel icy blasts. Our healer conjured plants that healed or harmed. It didn’t take long to see that each class is uniquely tailored with its strengths and limitations. Though, as I found out, my fragile mage wasn’t built to withstand boss-level aggro. My bad, tank!
The bosses in Fellowship offer a delightful mix of creativity and challenge. There was a ghost pirate dungeon where we clashed with a skeletal shipmaster, constantly pulling our spirits in and out of our bodies. In another encounter, we faced a giant treasure construct; instead of traditional tanking, our tank had to maneuver a ball to gather pieces of treasure knocked off the constructs. We also went up against a colossal zombie, summoning tidal waves, forcing us to anchor ourselves and dodge sharks.
It wasn’t all about clever mechanics, though. The developers emphasized balancing reflexive gameplay with crafting encounters that test your skill. One prime example was a tricky warlock boss that demanded constant attention to his spell barrages and summons, requiring quick thinking and quick action, especially when he conjured zones that either brought us together or sent us scattering.
What’s particularly impressive about Fellowship is its structural approach. Dungeon difficulty progresses through six levels, gradually introducing new enemy abilities and mechanics. Once you reach the intended challenge level, it ramps up further with unique curses that twist gameplay in fresh ways. For instance, some curses might inject empowered minions among regular foes, providing a short-lived but valuable buff upon defeat to give you an edge.
The idea of infinitely scaling dungeons, offering familiar challenges with fresh twists, is genuinely enticing. Couple this with the developers’ ambitious plans for competitive seasons—where players vie for leaderboard spots by being the first to conquer each boss—and my excitement for Fellowship’s upcoming release is palpable. I’m looking forward to gearing up, choosing my specialization, and diving into the trials that await.
