Gaming

Hunt: Showdown PS4 review – multiplayer survival horror


Hunt: Showdown – fear everything (pic: Crytek)

Survival horror and battle royale mix together like the video game equivalent of pineapple on pizza (and that’s a good thing).

The first time we played Hunt: Showdown was way back in 2014. At that point it was called HUNT: Horrors Of The Gilded Age and there was talk of it being set in many different parts of the world, but what we saw of it then was a co-op game in the zombie-filled Louisiana bayou of the late 19th century. Despite the enormous changes that developer Crytek has endured in the intervening years that still stands as a rough description of Hunt: Showdown – the best new multiplayer game we’ve played this year.

The history of Hunt is long and complicated, but the short version is that it was originally to be made by a new studio staffed by many of the same people that worked on Darksiders 1 and 2. Crytek’s financial problems led to the studio being shut down but Hunt survived and development was shifted from the US to Germany. Early access to the PC version then began in early 2018, with a full release in August 2019 – a few months after the game was released for Xbox Game Preview.

This month marks the first time the game has been fully available, outside of early access, on both Xbox One and PlayStation 4 and against all the odds it’s not only survived this long but has been entirely worth the wait. We’re always dubious about multiplayer games with a high concept gimmick, as the appeal never seems to last, but with Hunt: Showdown we think it will. Because being scared never gets old.

As a currently multiplayer-only title there isn’t much story to explain what’s going on in Hunt: Showdown, at least when you start. For that matter, the tutorials aren’t all that helpful when it comes to the gameplay either. But there is a complex lore behind everything, revealed in bite size chunks on the official website and via unlocked book entries when you defeat each of the different demonic horrors the game sends against you.

There are only two maps at the moment, so whether the game is ever going to stretch beyond the swamps of the American deep south we’re not sure, but they are very large maps that work much like battle royale games such as PUBG (we would say Fortnite but Hunt takes itself much more seriously than that – and definitely isn’t for children).

The main game mode is called Bounty Hunt. Here you team up with two other players to collect clues as to the location of a particular boss enemy. Clues are visible as blue orbs when you use a special vision mode and finding them gradually shrinks the area of the map indicating where the boss is. Beating the boss is no easy task but that’s not the end of the match, as there are also other teams of players trying to collect the same bounty and the second you kill the boss they’re told exactly where you are.

Left 4 Dead was clearly a major influence here but Hunt genuinely feels like a straight survival horror game at times, as while the map is teeming with lesser enemies few of them are pushovers and the ones that definitely aren’t will be altered to your presence the more noise you make. That means that stealth is usually the best tactic for the early part of your mission, as you gingerly make your way through the impressively ominous-looking swamp, desperate to pull the trigger but worried that doing so will bring you more trouble than you can deal with.

And all that’s before you even think about how to tackle the boss and get past the other teams. You’re never told which boss you’ll be up against when you start and although there are only three – an ugly great bullet sponge, a sneakier assassin type, and a truly horrible giant spider – their tactics and position vary greatly. The bosses are the biggest single threat in the game but even once you do beat them you’ve immediately got the other players to worry about, which creates an entirely different strain of fear and paranoia.

Hunt: Showdown – playing at night is even worse (pic: Crytek)

Hunt: Showdown is probably the best combination of co-operative and competitive elements we’ve seen in a multiplayer game and all the better because the way it works is so unregimented and unpredictable. Plus, there’s an extra reason to be cautious, since if you die you’ll lose your current character and all their equipment. Although there is an overall ‘Bloodline’ ranking that is retained through your whole online career and gives permanent access to various unlocks.

Crytek have always been known for their graphics and Hunt is certainly a good-looking game, but it’s the sound design that stands out the most, especially given how important stealth is. You wince almost every time a gun goes off, as it’s made clear just how far the sound has travelled, and the game world is littered with obstacles that will give away your position, from a flock of squawking crows to the crinkle of shattered glass on the floor. But just as worrying is that you can hear the enemy too, with many an engagement starting with you and your team kneeling nervously behind a fence or line of vegetation, waiting for an enemy to lumber into view.

But although there is a reasonable variety of lower level enemies, from simple zombies to Lovecraftian tentacle monsters, there is only the three bosses at the moment and that combined with the lack of maps is going to limit the game’s longevity eventually. There is a roadmap to add more but that doesn’t help mitigate the fairly high asking price for the game at the moment.

The other game mode is simply called Quickplay and is as straightforward as it sounds. Here you just play on your own (there’s also a training mode to practice on) and instead of looking for clues you’re after magical rifts – find three and you can activate a wellspring, which you then have to hold until a timer runs out. It’s fine, and you get to keep the randomly assigned character you play as if you win, but it’s Bounty Hunt that makes the game as interesting as it is.

But while it may be lacking in content Hunt: Showdown does not feel unfinished. What’s here works perfectly and turns the mixture of survival horror and battle royale into a glorious blend of high tension and panicked action. Rarely has a multiplayer map felt so dangerous and unpredictable; Hunt: Showdown almost makes you too scared to pick up the joypad and try again, and for a game this entertaining that is a considerable achievement.



Hunt: Showdown PS4 review summary

In Short: An inspired mix of survival horror and battle royale that also manages to blend competitive and co-operative gameplay into a terrifyingly entertaining whole.

Pros: The survival horror and stealth elements are well balanced and the enemies suitably horrifying. PvP aspects are equally good, especially towards the end of a match. Excellent sound design.

Cons: The game’s main problem is simply that it needs more of everything, but especially maps and boss enemies.

Score: 8/10

Formats: PlayStation 4 (reviewed), Xbox One, and PC
Price: £34.99
Publisher: Crytek
Developer: Crytek
Release Date: 18th February 2020
Age Rating: 18

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