Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 76 | 20 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 93% | 87 | 7 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 100% | 97 | 2 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (May 1, 2025) · 2 reviews sampled · 2 total reviews in window · weighted 2 up / 0 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (34)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 70
“Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the loop of hunting monsters and collecting their parts to craft better weapons and armor. That being said, its performance issues in the open-world hub and the inability to earn any substantial amount of platinum through regularly playing the game inhibits me from giving further praise. However, with some improvements, this game could be a sleeper hit within the library of free-to-play Nintendo Switch games.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Though this Switch port mightily struggles from a performance perspective, it’s still enjoyable on a consistent enough basis that such issues can be mostly overlooked. It literally costs you nothing more than time to give Dauntless a try, and we’d highly recommend you give it a shot.”
read full review ↗ - 30
“Uninteresting and uninspired, Dauntless is certainly impressive in its own right, but as far as actual gameplay goes, what's present fails to engage beyond the surface level. Perhaps that'll be enough for most who download the free title, but between aesthetically resembling Fortnite and aping Monster Hunter's combat wholesale, Phoenix Games has failed to contribute anything truly novel to the experience. Dauntless is as derivative as they come, and while that lack of price tag may be appealing, there are much better games to spend one's time (and even money) on. Go play Monster Hunter instead.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“The pure focus on hunting and looting monsters feels amazing, with fun missions and even better weapons. It thrives and pushes you constantly to completion, and slowly moves that completion goal further down the pipeline. As a free-to-play title, it is absolutely one of the nicer ones and makes for a great time with your friends.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“If you're a fan of the action RPG genre and love to dish out major pain to monsters that would otherwise eviscerate you, you've found the game.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“A fantastic multiplayer experience and vibrant art direction help make Dauntless stand out, despite feeling a little empty at times.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Although hardly original in its premise, Dauntless offers an extremely fun and accessible take on the monster-hunting roleplaying game. It wastes no time in throwing you straight into the action and while easy to pick up there's plenty of depth there for fans of the genre. What's more Dauntless is completely free to play, gracefully sidestepping those annoying monetisation pitfalls we're so used to seeing.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“If you enjoy going out and fighting progressively tougher monsters while working your way to new rewards, then Dauntless is a game you need to checkout.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Although it's not as great as Monster Hunter: World, but Dauntless is good enough as a free-to-play online game. It might be your best choice before Monster Hunter: World's Iceborne Expansion released.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Dauntless is a free-to-play action RPG developed by Phoenix Labs and debuted a full release across Windows, Xbox One, and Playstation 4 with fully functional cross-play. The game closely resembles the gameplay structure of the popular Capcom series, Monster Hunter. Though not without its problems, Dauntless might be one of the best free-to-play games currently available.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Dauntless hits the mark across the board, and delivers an extremely compelling and engaging monster hunting game that genre newcomers and veterans alike can enjoy.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“It's hard to play Dauntless without comparing it to Capcom's incredibly successful and popular Monster Hunter franchise. The free-to-play title captures many of the aspects that fans loved about those titles here. Killing monsters, gaining loot, and crafting new gear. It's a little disappointing that a bulk of the personalization options are locked behind microtransactions but this is a small issue. Dauntless successfully crafts an addicting monster hunting formula with lots of incredible Behemoths to kill.”
read full review ↗
Pure Nintendo
Nintendo Life
Cubed3
NintendoWorldReport
GameGrin
GameSpot
TheSixthAxis
MMORPG.com
Gamersky
Level Down Games
GamingBolt
NoobFeed…and 22 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Defense of the Dauntless v 1.1 -- Endless UpdateMay 1, 2025significant · resets scoring window