Previously I had reviewed Hunt: Showdown as a game I really wanted to enjoy but was put off by the poor performance on consoles. While the portion about console performance is still a large problem with the game, in its current state it runs in a much more acceptable state. I have put in significantly more time into this game since my last review, and I have had to reevaluate my thoughts on this game. Now, I absolutely adore this game.
At the time of this review, its been a little bit since the Tide of Shadows event has ended, and it was during this event that I put a large amount of playtime into this game once again. When I talk about this game to my friends in an attempt to get them to purchase the game as well, I always say the same thing: "This is probably the coolest game I have ever played". The commitment that the Hunt: Showdown team has put into nailing the aesthetic of this game is nothing short of phenomenal. There are very few games that dedicate so much of their efforts to nailing their specific style of how their game is portrayed that the only other close contender I can think of is Persona 5 Royal. There are a couple games that have had their take on Southern American Gothic Horror but none have been quite as well realized as Hunt: Showdown. From the map design, monster design, gameplay elements, perks, guns, and music; everything forms a cohesive whole that entrances me every time I play. The game is rot and despair; a hopeless fight against the odds. Even after mastering the systems of the enemy AI (which will still surprise you and manage to hinder your hunt countless hours into the game), your ears will always pricked up and head on a swivel for the other hunter teams in the Bayou with you. Its almost always a possibility that the back of your head is facing the receiving end of a rusty single shot sniper and you could be none the wiser. The folks over at Crytek on the Hunt: Showdown team have my immense respect for what they were able to achieve with this game artistically, with a special shoutout to the sound team and the Port Sulphur band, a fictional band within the universe of Hunt that always comes out absolute bangers. While for me the biggest draw in for Hunt: Showdown is their commitment to the aesthetic, the game is more than the sum of its artistic choices.
From a gameplay and mechanical perspective, this game also knocks it out of the park. It may have some of the well established extraction shooter DNA that has become a staple of the genre, but Hunt: Showdown manages to shake it up enough to feel as though it has its own distinct identity within the genre. Fighting through the dimly lit swamp with grandpa guns is both scary and thrilling on both the sending and receiving ends of conflict. Death is quick and punishing and emphasizes the players fragility as just a man amongst the decay and despair of the bayou. Sound is your greatest ally and the game is littered with sound traps that will trip up even the most experienced hunters and give away their position. With the game having such a heavy emphasis on sound, it impresses me how the Hunt: Showdown team plays around with its soundscapes to vastly changes the gameplay experience. From the last event, Tide of Shadows, they introduced the thunderstorm soundscape. In most games it would be a seemingly small thing to change the ambient weather of the game, but in Hunt when there is pounding rain and crackling thunder it provides unique opportunities for attackers to make more aggressive pushes on teams without being heard a mile away. The Hunt: Showdown team has also started to explore variations in how they approach boss design with the introduction of the Rotjaw wild type crocodile boss that came along with the Tide of Shadows event. It is a boss unattached to the main points of interest on the map and once found its a lower risk lower reward bounty for a player to pick up. Many developers are afraid to toy around with their established mechanics in such drastic ways, but the Hunt: Showdown team does it so boldly and with a purpose that even if it is not perfected yet at time of release its always fun and interesting to experience.
Hunt: Showdown is an amazing package that I'm always excited to see more from. Console performance aside, this is a game you should check out and keep an eye on in the future. It's already a great product, but the sky is the limit on its potential.
At the time of this review, its been a little bit since the Tide of Shadows event has ended, and it was during this event that I put a large amount of playtime into this game once again. When I talk about this game to my friends in an attempt to get them to purchase the game as well, I always say the same thing: "This is probably the coolest game I have ever played". The commitment that the Hunt: Showdown team has put into nailing the aesthetic of this game is nothing short of phenomenal. There are very few games that dedicate so much of their efforts to nailing their specific style of how their game is portrayed that the only other close contender I can think of is Persona 5 Royal. There are a couple games that have had their take on Southern American Gothic Horror but none have been quite as well realized as Hunt: Showdown. From the map design, monster design, gameplay elements, perks, guns, and music; everything forms a cohesive whole that entrances me every time I play. The game is rot and despair; a hopeless fight against the odds. Even after mastering the systems of the enemy AI (which will still surprise you and manage to hinder your hunt countless hours into the game), your ears will always pricked up and head on a swivel for the other hunter teams in the Bayou with you. Its almost always a possibility that the back of your head is facing the receiving end of a rusty single shot sniper and you could be none the wiser. The folks over at Crytek on the Hunt: Showdown team have my immense respect for what they were able to achieve with this game artistically, with a special shoutout to the sound team and the Port Sulphur band, a fictional band within the universe of Hunt that always comes out absolute bangers. While for me the biggest draw in for Hunt: Showdown is their commitment to the aesthetic, the game is more than the sum of its artistic choices.
From a gameplay and mechanical perspective, this game also knocks it out of the park. It may have some of the well established extraction shooter DNA that has become a staple of the genre, but Hunt: Showdown manages to shake it up enough to feel as though it has its own distinct identity within the genre. Fighting through the dimly lit swamp with grandpa guns is both scary and thrilling on both the sending and receiving ends of conflict. Death is quick and punishing and emphasizes the players fragility as just a man amongst the decay and despair of the bayou. Sound is your greatest ally and the game is littered with sound traps that will trip up even the most experienced hunters and give away their position. With the game having such a heavy emphasis on sound, it impresses me how the Hunt: Showdown team plays around with its soundscapes to vastly changes the gameplay experience. From the last event, Tide of Shadows, they introduced the thunderstorm soundscape. In most games it would be a seemingly small thing to change the ambient weather of the game, but in Hunt when there is pounding rain and crackling thunder it provides unique opportunities for attackers to make more aggressive pushes on teams without being heard a mile away. The Hunt: Showdown team has also started to explore variations in how they approach boss design with the introduction of the Rotjaw wild type crocodile boss that came along with the Tide of Shadows event. It is a boss unattached to the main points of interest on the map and once found its a lower risk lower reward bounty for a player to pick up. Many developers are afraid to toy around with their established mechanics in such drastic ways, but the Hunt: Showdown team does it so boldly and with a purpose that even if it is not perfected yet at time of release its always fun and interesting to experience.
Hunt: Showdown is an amazing package that I'm always excited to see more from. Console performance aside, this is a game you should check out and keep an eye on in the future. It's already a great product, but the sky is the limit on its potential.