New Open-World Game on Steam Brings Valheim Exploration to a Dark, Elden Ring-Level World

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The survival and crafting genre, where players explore open worlds and build things, has become incredibly crowded recently, with new games appearing all the time. Because of this, new games need to offer something special to stand out. This could be through unique gameplay features, or simply a fresh and interesting setting. The upcoming Steam game, ENDALOR, is taking the latter approach. It combines the familiar survival and crafting gameplay of games like Valheim with a dark and expansive world similar to Elden Ring.

While the game’s world clearly draws inspiration from Elden Ring, ENDALOR also features combat similar to other FromSoftware titles, relying heavily on stamina management. Many open-world survival games include stamina systems, but ENDALOR appears to be significantly more challenging than most in the genre. Players will be able to experience this firsthand when the game launches in Steam Early Access in the first quarter of this year, and see if they can survive and build a life within its demanding world.

ENDALOR Looks and Plays Like if Valheim Were Trapped in Elden Ring’s World

ENDALOR is a survival and crafting game with all the key features you’d expect. Players roam a large, open world, collecting resources, loot, and valuable items. These are then used to build and improve their base, adding workstations and comforts. The main goal is to craft better weapons, armor, and tools, which allows players to explore further and survive in the challenging wilderness. This gameplay loop – exploring, gathering, crafting, and becoming more powerful – is similar to games like Valheim and is common in the survival genre.

ENDALOR’s Features at a Glance

  • HAND-CRAFTED OPEN WORLD – Vast seamless world from towering mountains and castles to dark dungeons and caves.
  • DARK FANTASY THEME – Grim, mysterious medieval fantasy world with brutal environments and foes.
  • STAMINA-BASED COMBAT – Unforgiving combat that rewards precise swings, dodges, and spellcasting.
  • RESOURCE GATHERING – Scavenge natural resources and loot from dungeons and enemies.
  • EXPLORATION AND LOOT – Unearth hidden treasures, loot ancient sites, and conquer perilous landscapes.
  • BUILDING AND CRAFTING – Construct everything from humble camps to fortified strongholds plus weapons, armor, tools, and decor.
  • SOLO AND CO-OP PLAY – Play alone or team up with up to four players in cooperative multiplayer.

What truly distinguishes ENDALOR from other survival and crafting games is its combat system. While Valheim‘s combat can be difficult, particularly at the beginning, it focuses more on managing resources like stamina and ensuring you’re well-fed. Losing a fight often feels like a failure of preparation rather than a challenging duel. ENDALOR‘s combat, however, is designed to feel more like the precise and demanding battles found in games made by FromSoftware.

Endalor features a challenging combat system where stamina is key. Players will need skill and endurance to survive, as battles are fast-paced and demanding, even for seasoned fighters.

The Steam page for ENDALOR really focuses on its combat system, implying it’s a key part of the game – more so than in most survival and crafting games. Even Valheim, a popular title in the genre, emphasizes crafting and exploration over fighting. This focus on combat could help ENDALOR stand out, potentially attracting fans of challenging, ‘Souls-like’ games who want something new. The game features tough boss battles, a common trait of Souls-like games, and its demanding, stamina-based combat system further leans into that style. While ENDALOR doesn’t explicitly call itself a Souls-like, it feels closer to that genre than games like Valheim do.

The Steam page for ENDALOR highlights RPG features like a variety of weapons and armor, and character stats that affect gameplay through five different attributes. There are nine weapon types, each with unique advantages and disadvantages, and it appears they’ll improve based on the player’s stats—a common feature in Soulslike games. This suggests ENDALOR’s combat will be more demanding than standard survival-crafting games, which could help it stand out.

What to Expect From ENDALOR’s Early Access

  • COMMUNITY-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT – Early Access is built around player feedback influencing ENDALOR‘s systems, balance, and future content.
  • 12–18 MONTHS PLANNED – The Early Access window is expected to last between a year and a year and a half, depending on feedback and iteration speed.
  • EXPANDING WORLD CONTENT – The full release aims to deliver a larger, more diverse overworld and dungeon spaces with additional regions to explore.
  • MORE GEAR AND BOSSES – New weapon types, armor, enemies, bosses, crafting resources, and regional threats are planned over time.
  • CORE FEATURES COMPLETE – Early Access launches with full single-player and online co-op, five open exploration zones, 40+ enemies, and eight bosses.
  • PRICE INCREASE LIKELY – The game is expected to cost more once it exits Early Access.

The complete version of ENDALOR is still some time away, but players will be able to try it out through Steam Early Access in the first three months of 2026, though the exact date is still being finalized. The Early Access version will cost less than the full game, and players who join will have a chance to share their thoughts and help Diorite Games continue developing the game over the next 12 to 18 months.

Early Access allows us to get helpful feedback from players and use their suggestions to improve the game as we continue building it.

When ENDALOR enters Early Access, players will be able to experience the main features of the game, including both single-player and online multiplayer modes. This includes exploring 5 distinct areas, battling over 40 different enemy types and 8 bosses, and testing out 9 weapon types with 5 customizable attributes. After the Early Access period, the full game will expand on this foundation with a larger, more detailed world. Players can look forward to even more weapons, armor, resources, enemies, bosses, traders, quests, and challenges.

The success of ENDALOR will hinge on whether it can deliver on its promise of tough, skill-based combat while still offering the enjoyable exploration and progression players expect from survival crafting games. It already has a solid base, with demanding combat, challenging boss fights, and plans for a larger world and RPG-style character development. If Diorite Games can strike the right balance between difficulty and lasting gameplay during its Early Access period, ENDALOR could appeal to players who like building and surviving, but also want to be tested by their own skill, not just their preparation.

ENDALOR launches on Steam Early Access in Q1 2026.

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2026-02-16 21:39