Name: Hunt Showdown
Developer: Crytek
Publisher: Crytek
Platforms: PC
Reviewed on: PC
Early Access Released: 22, February 2018
Initial Release Date: TBA
We got the chance to try out the game during the closed alpha session. Here is my thoughts of the game so far.
What is Hunt: Showdown? – A multiplayer first-person shooter that puts players in a position of decision making in either solo or duo matches. Each decision you make, either if you decide to hunt the monsters or wait for another team to kill the monster and then kill them to gain the loot, is all up to you.
Developed by the creators of Crysis, Hunt: Showdown’s gameplay is slower and more methodical than other survival games in the genre. It’s not about looting as much as it is surviving and hunting, tracking down clues to find the main monster . If your decision was to take down the boss first, a second challenge appears; exiting the mission with the loot safely. Other players will attempt to kill you for your loot. Your hunter is fully equipped when entering a match so all players are on equal footing when it comes to having firearms.
Players recruit hunters to take into matches and level them up with experience, using cash to better equip them. Once a hunter is dead, they’re dead and other hunters will need to be recruited and leveled up. The main progression for players involves an overall rank which unlocks gear and consumables for use.
The Good
Hunt Showdown is gorgeous, smart design choices that adds the tension and the power behind the shooting mechanics in the game. Hunt: Showdown truly impressed me with environmental design, character design and the overall visuals and textures when they are in this stage of the development. (Alpha Stage, next big stage is Beta and then they go Gold). The tension and how my random companion whispered to each other so the other teams wouldn’t hear us was just a few moments I truly enjoyed during my playthrough.
It’s safe to say that Hunt Showdown is best enjoyed with friends, but if you encounter a random partner that won’t be angry with playing with a noob, funny moments will occur.
That your character is gone forever if you die is a nice touch, and made me extra careful (and anxious) during matches. You have to buy hunters before you can head out in the pit, survive the match and you’ll earn experience and the whole package, but if you die with your most experienced hunter, well press “F” to pay your respect.
The Bad
Playing in Alpha versions isn’t like riding a unicorn on a rainbow with Megan Fox though. I did encounter a few problems that I hope the developers will fix before a full release. Mainly, as many other big video game titles struggles with in the beginning, is stabile servers. Sadly I struggled a lot joining matches or was kicked out mid-game.
Besides the regular technical issues that everyone else is struggling with in this stage is the lack of variety and difficulty. What I mean is that there is only two main bosses for now, and the bosses isn’t that hard to kill (even though I did struggle a bit at first). I hope that the developers add more strategic aspects to defeat a main boss. The first 10-15 minutes of each match might get to “linear”, as you look for clues to find the main boss location and keeps distance from others players and monster to avoid detection.
I know many encountered FPS drops during gameplay, I personally didn’t encountered this but I’m sure that this will be fixed before any release.
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Verdict
I think Hunt: Showdown is going to be a blast, especially in the eSports community. Excellent gun mechanics and gorgeous visuals. The developers do struggle with some technical issues, but that’s expected in Alpha stage. And if they add more content such as variety in gameplay and more strategic elements it surely will beat a whole lot of competitors in the same genre (I’m looking at you Evolve).
