Poonthers
2019
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.
2022
This review contains spoilers
A significant improvement from an already great formula established in the last God of War. Almost all complaints I had from the last (lack of boss variety, locked access to a fair bit of the realms) were addressed in this sequel. My only issue I have with this game is one of the pieces of side content.
Some of the berserker fights were too unforgiving for this game. Most of the berserker fights were well balanced and fun, but there were two or three that were just frustrating. When any berserker spawned in additional ranged enemies during the fight the balance of the game tipped from "hard but balanced" to "too hard and broken". Kratos' move set is fun and flashy, but in these fights success often comes from memorizing attack patterns because the length of your attack animations are too long to be used without knowledge of what comes next. What I mean is if you make a wrong attack you are punished extremely hard for it because you cannot move out of that long attack animation you started until it has run its course. You can of course mitigate this by disabling certain combos and by memorizing attack patterns, but unlike games like Elden Ring or Nioh, dying and retrying does not feel like a natural learning curve of the game and can be extremely frustrating.
Despite my complaint of one piece of side content this game has to offer, it is easily one of the best games released this year. If you enjoyed the last one, you'll love this one.
Some of the berserker fights were too unforgiving for this game. Most of the berserker fights were well balanced and fun, but there were two or three that were just frustrating. When any berserker spawned in additional ranged enemies during the fight the balance of the game tipped from "hard but balanced" to "too hard and broken". Kratos' move set is fun and flashy, but in these fights success often comes from memorizing attack patterns because the length of your attack animations are too long to be used without knowledge of what comes next. What I mean is if you make a wrong attack you are punished extremely hard for it because you cannot move out of that long attack animation you started until it has run its course. You can of course mitigate this by disabling certain combos and by memorizing attack patterns, but unlike games like Elden Ring or Nioh, dying and retrying does not feel like a natural learning curve of the game and can be extremely frustrating.
Despite my complaint of one piece of side content this game has to offer, it is easily one of the best games released this year. If you enjoyed the last one, you'll love this one.
2018
Held back by performance issues
2017
Fantastic art style and extremely challenging game. Remove or rework just 2 or 3 unfairly hard bosses and that would address all my criticisms.
2019
I want to like this game so much more than I do. Huge performance issues on console however drag it down massively
Perfect DLC
2022
This review contains spoilers
Really wanted this game to be better than it was. Until Dawn is not a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination, but none of its sequels have come even close to the same overall quality and personal enjoyment for me. First half of the game spends way too long with its really uninteresting setup for the romances and friendships. Also, almost every character in this game is obnoxious in their own terrible way, and unlike until dawn, I still hated half of them by the time credits rolled. Story quality and gameplay eventually picks up in chapter 7, but for the most part it was a slog to get there. Post chapter 7 the game gets significantly better and more fun and interesting, but even then they somehow didn't spend enough time with a second half of the cast that apparently just... don't matter? The QTEs are not as engaging, especially the "hold breath" QTE. Lastly the ending... man what a letdown. No satisfying ending for all of the "choices" you made within dialogue during the excruciatingly long intro, just a shitty "where are they now" montage. The whole experience kills me because it could have been so good, it just fell short in so many ways that it snowballed into such a mediocre experience. I want to like this game so much more than I did, and compared to the Dark Pictures Anthology, it is an improvement. I guess I will continue waiting for my next Until Dawn
2015
Not a huge fan of Bethesda game design. In Fallout all combat felt like it depends on VATS, and outside of the main loop the world feels like an empty shell compared to its competitors.
Amazing game. Despite it being one of the earlier entries into the Soulsborne Series, it has some of the best level design and mood of the entire series.
Runs poorly on Playstation
2020
One of the few cozy games I have ever been into playing. A great game to play before bed. Overall I think that the gameplay and story could be a bit tighter, but I enjoyed my time with the game a lot.
2022
Overwatch 1's formula was already great. I don't feel as though that much has changed in order to call this a "true sequel" but the 5 v 5 and free to play model have been very good for the game. I do wish there were more ways to earn skins other than paying direct money for them (this is the only time I will defend a lootbox model). Been having a blast diving back in to Overwatch
Easily the best version of the game. The game looks incredible and feels better to play than it has before (though most of the gameplay loop is the same). $70 is a tough price tag to swallow, but if its your first time playing its 100% worth it. For any returning fans, try to find it on sale if you feel like you want to dive back in to the game for the graphical/AI improvements.
Another yearly COD that I mostly enjoy. I prefer a little bit more of the arcade style COD personally. Campaign was decent, nothing revolutionary. Warzone 2 and DMZ are great additions to the game. I am just waiting for gunfight to be re-introduced to the game. I feel like gunfight was easily the best multiplayer mode in the last Modern Warfare and it the gunplay in this game would highly compliment it.
This is probably one of the best and most interesting single player Star Wars games to come out and its potential is exciting. However, every time I boot this game up to keep playing though it I get put off by either glitches or just general jankiness that happens when platforming. Facial capture also is off putting to me as well. Lastly, having played Sekiro within the last year (what I consider to be the best in class for this sort of combat style), it makes me want to play the mechanically better version and just restart Sekiro. While I mostly listed negatives about the game, this game does a lot of things well, it just could be a lot better.