The last time I wrote about Conan Exiles was during its early access phase back in 2017. I then kind of forgot the game, as it's mostly geared towards fans of survival games and building games, which were all the rage back then. Not the genres I've ever been too keen about, but as it was one of the few Conan games out there, I still bought the early access and then just left it to brew till the official release. As it has been out for several years, it could be a good idea to check what's going on in it.
The adventure begins with you having been crucified and trapped in the Exiled Lands. This is where you design your character, choose gender and ethnicity as well as pick a deity and so on. Then, Conan himself approaches you and frees you, stating that the Exiled lands are harsh, but you can survive if you have enough will to do so.
Naked, you rise on your feet on the sandblasted desert, spotted by ancient ruins. People, who settled the lands in the past got greedy and waged a war against the giants who allowed them to settle there. To punish the humans, the giants created bracelets that trapped everyone in the Exiled Lands. You are now, trapped in the Exiled Lands, with a bracelet on your wrist. What you need now, is to find means of removing it so you can escape. And that's pretty much is, as far the background story goes. You do find more snippets and pieces of it here and there, but Conan: Exiles is not about the story. It's a survival game.
Just like in every survival game, you learn the importance of food and water very soon. After learning those annoyances, you'll learn how to craft crude weapons and armour. And that's how it goes. You survive, kill enemies and craft things, craft shelters, learn how to craft better things and be able to kill bigger enemies. There is a big emphasis on buildings as well. Those who have the will can use the building system in creating huge fortresses if they so wish. If the building styles on the offer are not enough, you can also purchase additional ones as DLCs.
Speaking of DLC, if you ever manage to play the base game to a point you consider finished, there's a brand new Isle of Siptah DLC, which adds a brand new island to explore. I haven't purchased the Isle of Siptah, but I assume it offers more of the same, but in a new environment.
It is fully possible to play Conan Exiles as a single-player game. Even the stronger enemies can be killed playing solo if you tweak the server settings a bit. That said if you are looking for a story-heavy game, then Conan Exiles will most likely disappoint you. While it is a gorgeous looking game, offering great visuals for the myriad of cultures Robert E. Howard's Hyperborean world consists of, the setting is not really used anything else beyond survival. You have to at least tolerate survival games if you want to fully enjoy Conan Exiles.
Of course, if you are more into building games, then Conan Exiles does offer quite a bit there as well. With the construction blocks on offer, there's a lot to do for anyone who is willing to put in some time and energy.
So, if like me, you are more interested in playing Conan: Exiles as a single-player game, that is fully doable. It might not be the most exhilarating experience though, especially if you aren't into either survival or building games. While there is combat, a huge world to explore and even some story, it still isn't exactly an action game, an adventure or an RPG. If you do like its constraints, then it's a fully enjoyable game for what it is.
Conan: Exiles is the kind of game that probably holds its own the best when you play it with a group of people who are willing to share the same goal. What that goal depends on whatever the group decides, really, as it is a sandbox game, where you get to decide the proper goals. It's not like you need to follow the game journal, which is mostly just a list of things you can do in the world.
I'm not much of an MMO player, but if you are and want to play Conan: Exiles as it's meant to be played, it still seems to have a healthy player base. Especially now after the Isle of Septah DLC, there seems to be well over 10k players online, so it's probably easy to find people to play with. Or just gather a group of friends and get at it.
In a way, it is a shame there still isn't a proper single-player game based on the world of Conan. Funcom definitely has shown they know how to illustrate the Hyuperborean world with their MMORPG Age of Conan Unchained and Conan Exiles. Maybe they don't see there would be enough profit in a single-player game, but I'd be more than happy to shell a couple of bucks if they'd decide to take the assets shown in Exiles and churn a proper single-player campaign out of them. The last single-player Conan game came out in 2007, so it would be a proper time already. It's not like Robert E. Howard has been milked dry yet, not in the same manner as his contemporary writer friend, H.P. Lovecraft.
Finally, I do have to add, that Funcom has allowed modding of Conan: Exiles, which is rather nice. There's a pretty active modder community around the game, who is tinkering away with it. You can find all kinds of stuff, ranging from cosmetics to full game conversions from Steam Workshop, so that's another thing Exiles has going on for it. So, if you want to give it a spin, go to Steam. it might be on other platforms as well.
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