Metascore
64

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 9
  2. Negative: 1 out of 9
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  1. May 22, 2018
    88
    Conan Exiles is a truly addictive and enjoyable open-world survival game that has me hook, line and sinker!
  2. Jun 25, 2018
    80
    We are facing a very hard and demanding MMORPG with a huge world full of possibilities. It can be overwhelming for beginners in the genre, but it offers hundreds of hours of fun.
  3. Jun 19, 2018
    80
    Yes, the crafting does get overcomplicated, the first few hours are a real slog and there are some visual stutters, however, if you loved ARK: Survival Evolved and other games of this ilk, then this is a must buy title for you to experience.
  4. May 10, 2018
    80
    Conan Exiles is a good game which seems like a much more substantial experience than when it first appeared on Xbox One. If Funcom can perfect the console frame rate and eliminate the stuttering, then there's a chance that the title might be one of the most popular survival games on the system. However, even in its current state, Conan Exiles is addictive and will keep you coming back for more. The structured milestone system eases you in.
  5. May 28, 2018
    75
    This is a game with a huge map and with almost infinite content. Funcom has brought Conan the Barbarian’s world to a very complete game and improving what we saw in the early access, even though it has some flaws to be fixed.
  6. May 30, 2018
    65
    Conan Exiles is loaded with possibilities and danger. But the poor online performance and a long list of glitches are currently killing the game, which begs for fixes.
  7. May 29, 2018
    60
    Conan Exiles is a game that is rewarding to survive in, considering you start off with nothing at all. Going from an exiled criminal to the owner of a large riverfront property is a great feeling. Learning the ins and outs of how to thrive in the Exiled Lands is enjoyable, especially when doing so with other players. These positives tend to be forgotten though, and can be completely eclipsed by the game’s main pitfalls. The frame rate is unacceptable at times, which then affects the already subpar combat.
  8. May 31, 2018
    55
    In this particular version of the Conan the barbarian, the world was too dull and unpolished to lure me in. The crafting system – while confusing – is unquestionably deep, which enabled me to build some cool things in an environment that offered no true variety or immersion.
  9. May 24, 2018
    30
    Ultimately, Conan Exiles is one of the most unsatisfying games I’ve ever played. Its crafting and resource systems may be dense enough that the ultra-patient could find something to enjoy here, but anyone else would likely walk away with their hands thrown up in defeat. The mind-numbing tedium of harvesting resources, woefully boring combat, and a slew of bugs left me feeling completely underwhelmed and unimpressed when it was all said and done.
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  1. May 14, 2018
    Whether or not these are the end times for survival gaming or the onset of a necessary period of hibernation, despite the dead weight of dozens of unfinished games and the fact that there's not a great deal left to pick from now that Conan has taken his leave, perhaps it's just as well that the genre has saved one of its best till last. If there's half the life left in it that other survival games have enjoyed, it'll be a life worth living. [Recommended]
User Score
5.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 59 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 59
  2. Negative: 25 out of 59
  1. May 8, 2018
    8
    I’m a massive fan of the Xbox One Game Preview program and in my opinion I think it’s a little underutilized. Conan Exiles has been in theI’m a massive fan of the Xbox One Game Preview program and in my opinion I think it’s a little underutilized. Conan Exiles has been in the program for nearly nine months now and I’ve seen a lot of ups and downs along the way, but as it stands at the moment I think the developers have a done a brilliant job and they’ve definitely got more right than wrong over the months. One thing that’s really improved over the month’s is the combat that’s present in the game. The combat now feels awesome and there is a great deal of gore that will no doubt satisfy quite a lot of people. Another thing that’s improved are the building and crafting mechanics. These mechanics work extremely well now throughout and to say there are a lot of things you can build would be a massive understatement. One thing that the game has never really lacked is content and there’s more than enough here to keep you satisfied for thousands of hours. I know a few people who’ve done nothing but play this game for month’s on end and they’re still not bored, which shows you that the game has quite a lot of replayability. You will however take a while to get used to the game and you will notice that the game can feel a tad unfair at times. This can be quite annoying to say the least but I recommend that you ride it out because it does become easier as you progress thanks to the decent skill tree. One thing that will frustrate you throughout your time with the game though are the amount of bugs that are present. Don’t get me wrong none of these bugs are game-breaking its just that there are too many of them and this will no doubt be off-putting for some. Thankfully I was eventually able to look past the issues the game has and that was mainly down to the fantastic world in which the game takes place. The world is very enjoyable and has a great size to it, but most important of all it feels alive at all times which is great. The presentation side of the world may not be for everybody, but I actually quite enjoyed it and I think the visuals and sound design add to the gameplay which ultimately makes things become even more of an immersive experience. At the end of the day Conan Exiles has gone through quite the journey to get where it is today and if you’re one of those people who didn’t like what you saw a few months ago then I fully recommend that you check it out again because it has seen a lot of significant improvements. Without a doubt the developers have been listening to the community and for that reason it gets a big thumbs up from me. Full Review »
  2. May 14, 2018
    4
    The title has been updated to a full release meaning it’s no longer Early Access; you can review my (Chad's) initial thoughts at Garage BandThe title has been updated to a full release meaning it’s no longer Early Access; you can review my (Chad's) initial thoughts at Garage Band Gamers. While a number of the issues have been improved or even outright fixed, the game is still far from perfect. The visuals have been greatly improved with far more details and textures being used, although the graphics still have a great deal of bugs associated with them. Certain enemies or objects will regularly tear and pop through other environments, and items will display the incorrect texture all together - this happens quite often with the large scorpions I found a few hours into my time with the full release. While some look simply outstanding, you'll notice that upon death some will take on the textures from other creatures. This becomes more of an issue when there are more enemies on the screen, with some of the largest enemies often disappearing in the middle of a battle, or sometimes knocking the player through the ground into a never-ending fall. At their best, the creatures and enemies do appear to be on par with those featured in Skyrim, but at their worst they kind of look similar to those in Morrowind running on a barebones PC.

    As I stated earlier, there isn't much of a narrative to the game outside of some minor tasks given at the opening such as eat, drink, and essentially survive as long as possible within the game world. I chose to start a new character and just work my way north looking for something of interest. While you will occasionally come across a friendly NPC, they rarely have anything noteworthy to say or do aside from offer a minor XP bump for killing them. Some would say trying to survive is enough gameplay for them, but I prefer a bit more of a story from a game, even if it's a minimal one.

    In the pre-release, I found the survival mechanics to be a bit brutal, which is still the case when playing by default settings. Now when playing solo or in co-op, you can set up your game to suit your skill or lack thereof, which works when playing PvE, but on the PvP end of the spectrum it makes an unforgiving game even more difficult. After jumping into games to only be killed repeatedly after spawning I opted to play solo. This made the experience more enjoyable, but also took much of the challenge away. Sadly, once you've started, you cannot tweak these settings, which would have made finding a proper middle ground more attainable.

    The game world is huge and ripe for exploring, with new locals being added to your map as you come across them, giving the player the option to highlight specific areas on the map using icons or names of their choosing. Sadly, there is no quick travel or option to make the markers appear on the in-game HUD, making navigation tricky and cumbersome. Adding insult to injury, your only option for respawning at death is the starting point of the game, unless you are lucky enough to setup a bed to rest in or found a structure at some point in your journey. The game fails to tell you this in any meaningful way, which means your first death will likely be a devastating one.

    Logic says that just building stuff more frequently would help this, right? Well, this mechanic is a chore, as building is far from intuitive. You'll be given an idea of the size of the piece you’ll be working with similar to Fallout 4; however, nine times out of ten, you won't be able to place anything for some unexplained reason. Most of the other mechanics featured in the game are just as cumbersome, if not worse. Combat is a crapshoot if your attacks will even land, with many creatures or enemies being invincible while others die by you simply looking at them. The same can be said for crafting, as the game seems to ignore your full inventory of items needed and requires you to exit and re-enter the menu repeatedly to get the option of creating the item. Naturally, this is all done while being open to attack from lingering enemies. Since weapons and items can rarely be looted or found, crafting is a huge part of the game and will be required to keep up on your armor and weapons.

    With so many great RPGs on the market that offer a wealth of content and level of polish Conan Exiles will likely never achieve, it is hard to recommend this title. With its presentation and poor mechanics hidden behind some slick trailers, this is nothing more than a free-to-play game hiding behind a retail price point.
    Full Review »
  3. Jun 28, 2018
    0
    Horrible game company that tends to suspend their players at random and refuses to give players a reason (Except: Sorry, its extremely busy weHorrible game company that tends to suspend their players at random and refuses to give players a reason (Except: Sorry, its extremely busy we can't answer)). I highly recommend to not deal with this company.

    Funcom games are also in general extremely buggy but every game does has its unique flavor. Its just that the company is too horrible that I can't recommend any of their games.
    Full Review »