I had the good fortune of getting a hands-on with Conan Exiles at this year’s Game Developers Conference. This particular build was running on Xbox One X publicly, for the first time. In early access since January of 2017, it’s finally gearing up for a full release this year.

I was able to get my grubby mitts on a preview build that showed off some of the new features, mainly the completely revamped combat system. Let me talk a little bit about my experience with the game.

Upon starting Conan Exiles, I was given a bit of background on what changes I’d be seeing. The original game had a very Skyrim-esque combat system, wherein you’d essentially trade blows with enemies until one of you keeled over.

I hate that kind of crap, and apparently so did the team at Funcom.

In the newest patch, they’ve completely redone the way you do battle in the game, the revamped combat seeming more akin to Dark Souls. There’s a lot of dodging, blocking, and an elevated importance of timing your attacks carefully.

There also seems to be completely different animations for each weapon, as well as varying attack types. When I was swinging around a pair of twin daggers, my weapons flashed red–I was informed this meant I’d be dealing bleed damage, which puts a damage over time effect on the enemy.

I fought a few AI-controlled baddies in my time with the game, getting a feel for the way combat flowed. I actually found myself enjoying it quite a bit, though I got in over my head with a few too many enemies at once.

I was also shown the perk system, which has also been drastically changed in the new update. By leveling up certain attributes, you unlock perks which can completely change your style of play.

Additionally, the armor you equip can have attribute boosts which contribute toward perks, making it advantageous to wear certain gear if you’re just a few points off from a specific perk. I only got a brief look at the list, but it seems like a lot of them are pretty substantial boons to your character.

The newest patch has over 600 changes, bugfixes, and improvements since the last version update in February, and it looks like things are coming along nicely.

You can look forward to a review when the game leaves early access, as well as additional coverage for the game as updates are released. For more information on what the newest patch adds to the game, head over here.

Conan Exiles will be seeing a full release on May 8th, 2018. If you’re looking to get your hands on the game, you can grab it for Windows PC via Steam or Xbox One via Xbox Preview.