Fellowship Preview: The New Dungeon Crawler That Kills the MMO Grind in 2025

Every year a new gaming genre seems to take off and dominate the market, and Chief Rebel is hoping that MODA (Multiplayer Online Dungeon Adventure) is that next big genre. Chief Rebel’s game Fellowship which released earlier this year in Early Access is the first of its kind, taking a format, PvE focused dungeons, that have found success in MMOs such as World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV, and New World (RIP) and making it the singular focus.

What the Heck is a Dungeon?

The key difference is that in MMOs dungeons are just a part of the whole pie, whereas Fellowship makes them the whole pie and the cherry on top. For those unfamiliar with the dungeon format, it is very simple. Parties of 4 players battle through groups of enemies from no name grunts to mini bosses, and culminating with one or even multiple bosses to finish the dungeon and get that sweet, sweet loot. The biggest win for Fellowship is that it skips the grind, no need to level different characters or be forced to log on for daily quests in order to maintain your power. You just simply log on and start blasting.

The game has two different types of dungeons, a one boss dungeon that takes only ten to fifteen minutes and allows for quick and fun gameplay, no need to dedicate hours to set up and prepare, you just simply queue up and are in a group within minutes and ready to go. The other option are longer three boss dungeons, meant to take twenty to thirty minutes; these large scale dungeons are sort of the final boss of each bracket. Beating these three boss dungeons unlock more powerful rewards and are a key to player progression.

Great Execution, if you understand the Concept

The best thing that Fellowship has going for it, is the simple ability to pick it up and put it down at ease. As a long time MMO player I am very familiar with the daily quests and forced log on events that feel almost mandatory to stay caught up, Fellowship skips all of that you can just hit play and feel ready to go even if you missed a week. In addition, the game has no leveling needed, gone are the days of being forced to take hours or even days to catch up a new character, two clicks and boom you are on a new character and ready to hop right into the next dungeon. With the standard MMO triangle of tank, healer, and damage dealer the concept brings a nice amount of familiarity to those experienced in any MMO PvE game with the characters containing several nods to classes from other games while remaining unique enough to avoid feeling like copy paste jobs.

Perhaps the biggest barrier to Fellowship is unfortunately the concept itself, while anyone with MMO experience knows what a dungeon is, to those outside that genre understanding Fellowship might prove to be a barrier that prevents entry. The other day I was discussing the game with a co-worker here at TheGamerzTheory and I found it hard to explain exactly what to expect for someone with little experience. Finding ways to bring players with no attachment to the dungeon concept is going to be crucial to the long-term success of the game.

What Does the Future Hold?

Going forward as with any title in early access the next months between now and an official launch are going to be key. At the moment Chief Rebel has done a great job avoiding the usual pitfalls of new games, there currently are no battlepasses or paid cosmetics everything you can get in the game has to be earned which is a refreshing call back to the days of old, but in today's world how long can they hold out is the question. With Season One set to be coming in early 2026, the game should quickly find its identity. Seasonal Resets which are promised to contain more heroes, three more are already planned, new dungeons and even redesigns of old heroes could allow for the game to feel new and fresh every season and continuously draw players back in. As with any multiplayer game a healthy population is going to be key, the game has no single player component so finding your solid community of players that will keep the game thriving and not have newcomers be stuck in purgatory has got to be goal number one.

Everybody can use some Coffee

Fellowships first appearance in the major gaming news cycle happened only last week with it being reported that Embracer group has transferred publishing rights to Coffee Stain Group. For now the move has been positive, Chief Rebel is remaining as developer and the move will take away the third party Arc Launcher that was required with Fellowship. Thankfully soon the game will become a simple click ‘play’ and go on Steam as opposed to the dreaded hitting play only to be asked to hit play again. This alone would be maybe the biggest win for Fellowship all year.

The Water is Warm Jump in

I highly recommend Fellowship as a much check out game as the year winds down, especially for anyone who loves multiplayer PVE, as the game absolutely nails the fun and excitement of PvE encounters while also making sure the needed time investment is reasonable and does not require long sessions without breaks. The ability to queue up for a dungeon and be done in ten minutes especially during the upcoming holiday season cannot be understated on how much freedom it gives players. I have been having an absolute blast so far and while I have no idea if MODAs will become the next hit genre in gaming, Fellowship has done an excellent job in laying the foundation for what to expect from those looking to follow in their footsteps.

Have you checked out Fellowship yet or are waiting for the time to jump in? Hop in our Discord and let us know, trust me the game is even better with friends and who knows maybe TheGamerzTheory can push to the top of the leaderboards.