Isle of Siptah – I first started Conan Exiles in 2017 at website https://ta888.ing/ but that was when it was in its early access stages, so any scrutiny I may have had about the game was to be expected as I had played many an early access game in my gaming life. I love a good survival game that makes me work my skinny derrière to the bone which Conan Exiles gave me in buckets, unfortunately I didn’t anticipate how unforgiving it would be. The crafting system was very convoluted with the combat also being very clunky and unsatisfying so a poor review on steam was inevitable, all the while personally taking in consideration for the fact it was early access so I only spent around 20 hours total with a few friends until it became too much for me.
Skip to May 27th 2021. Conan Exiles came out of early access and a whole new expansion was released named Isle of Siptah. Oh boy, was I surprised with the sheer amount of content that awaited me. Isle of Siptah begins with you shipwrecked and alone, nothing to your name but the rags on your back. At first it can seem overwhelming (and oh boy was it overwhelming for a long time) so I got right on the task of building my first little camp (which I was very proud of, may I say) crafting my puny stone axe and crude weaponry, slowly increasing my level until I started to become an absolute Arnie lookalike. “For us, there is no spring. Just the wind that smells fresh before the storm”.
Next came the new dungeons known as Vaults. At first I was nowhere near strong enough to take it down so I invited a good friend of mine, experienced in the ways of Conan Exiles, to assist me in my first Vault. We put our brains together to tackle the puzzles and enemies awaiting us. I couldn’t get enough of us finding Vault after Vault, collecting better and bigger gear from the treasure rooms. Soon enough I had the strength to take them on solo, and boy was I having a ton of fun. Each Vault was vast with enough variety to keep me hooked.
Now for the Maelstrom, a new event that randomly spawns around the island centre that spawns monsters from the Outer Void. It is one of the only ways to obtain the new resources required for a lot of the newer content. Once again I initially found myself rather lacking in strength and unable to fight these new monsters solo, as I stumbled across it very early on with the new Rhino Mount (yeah, you heard me right!) which I obtained near Rhinohorn Ridge – one of the beautiful new areas that Funcom have implemented – but I came back later with a new purpose; new gear; and a whole lot of gusto. I still struggled, but with a few friends it was a ton of fun and I got what I came for.
Lets talk about the new areas on the Isle of Siptah. I do have to give credit where credit is due: each new area is more beautiful than the last.
Funcom went all out with gigantic Egyptian influenced structures cradling the side of cliffs, or the vast forests that you will no doubt find yourself in (or lose yourself in). Some areas being tedious to navigate can spoil the experience, but there is no doubt a lot of love went into these landscapes.
All in all the Isle of Siptah expansion adds a much needed content injection that will leave you in awe of the vast landscapes and huge variety of new and interesting monsters you will come to face in your time spent on Siptah. Maybe one day I’ll see you there amongst the many that have fallen at my feet, and we shall see who’s head is on the floor and who stands the victor in this wonderful action adventure from Funcom.