The most interesting thing about Dawn of Defiance might very well be how it underlines how genius a lot of the systems in Valheim are. Still, I’m glad DoD exists, so let’s talk about how close it is to “Valheim, but Greek”.

At first, you’re going to be inclined to say “a lot”. You enter an area of the game with rocks and sticks to pick up. There are trees and saplings around, boar and deer, and white skeletal guys that only come out at night. You’re building with large piles of wood, stone, and resin (only the addition of thatch is new). Your early game is about getting flint weapons and leather armor. The graphics are quite a bit prettier, but this is actually a downside quite often, as the game is not yet well-optimized and occasional jankiness and frame-rate issues are very common. Your first foods are raspberries and cooked boar meat. Your first house will be a square three or four tiles across with simple walls and a simpler roof.

If you like Valheim and like games, you should get this one and try it. But although the game’s mechanics and structures are in good shape, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done here to make a solid gameIf you like crafting, building, gathering, upgrading, good graphics, and awesome combat, get this game. You won’t regret it!