As a quick (and reductive) refresher to what Dauntless is, it's Monster Hunter without the... well, hunting. You choose a specific Behemoth (Pursuits) or type of Behemoth (Patrols) to go after, you gather your party (pre-made or matchmade), land in the small area where the Behemoth is, and then fight it. You need to do a little running around to find the Behemoth, but no need to first find tracks or sniff some... I'll say "clues," in order to see where it is and keep tabs on it. Not that all that stuff isn't fun, it's just Dauntless has pretty much condensed the whole experience down to "go fight this boss-like foe, rinse and repeat." You don't even have to skin the thing when you're done; parts that get broken off are automatically acquired and everything else is rewarded for completing the hunt. Then you're back in town to craft some new gear from your outing, all of which has a variety of different perks and bonuses to help you in your hunts. There are nuances to all of this - different types of Behemoths, strengths/weaknesses of the different weapons, etc - but it is a lot more straightforward and easier to get into than many of the Monster Hunter entries; Monster Hunter World partially included in that statement.

While the official console announcement was made recently, it has been the plan from the start to see Dauntless possibly end up making its way from just a PC title onto your favorite gaming platform. The official site even noted in their support section that; “Right now we’re focused on a executing a smooth launch on PC, getting our feet underneath us, and operating Dauntless as a live service. Once we are confident we will consider porting to other platforms and operating systems (such as Steam, PS4, Xbox, Switch, and Mac).” Check out the official video below where they announce console inclusion.

"The Coming Storm" update will be available to download at some point today and it is absolutely free to everyone, whether you've been playing for months or just checking it out now. While Phoenix Labs hasn't detailed what's getting released when, it sounds like you can at least expect to see the new Behemoth, Koshai, starting today. Here's what the studio had to say in the official press release:

Along with the new weapon, the war pike, and the two new behemoths, the armored Skarn and the agile Kharabak, the "Sharpen Your Skills" update also includes a change that may prove fairly significant. Previously, there wasn't much distinction between the different weapons other than whatever you personally preferred. With the update, damage types have been added to all the weapons and those damage types will affect the behemoths in different ways. For instance, all hammers do blunt damage, which is effective against armor (HI SKARN!) and for stunning behemoths. Other weapons do piercing damage that will weaken a behemoth's limbs, making them more vulnerable to slashing damage. As the developers point out in the video below, it's not necessary to go hunting with a mix of all these damage types, but they do add a new strategic level to the game. Weapons can be customized further with the new "Cell System" that adds slots to a hunter's gear into which "cells" can be dropped to enhance damage, defensive values, or add elemental damage/effects.

There are any number of Monster Hunter-likes out there today, so what separates Dauntless from the those, at least for now, is that it feels a little more streamlined. Choose a weapon you like, choose a Behemoth to hunt, and away you go. Killing the Behemoth rewards you with materials you can use to craft new gear or upgrade existing gear to make it more effective at resisting damage, or grant new abilities. There aren't any character classes to distinguish your Slayer from another, just what weapon you use. The mouse/keyboard interface also makes the game a little more reminiscent of something like Diablo, which helped me get into a bit easier than some other titles in this genre.