It’s been a while since we heard of a new project coming from Crytek, but now they’re returning on a positive note with their atmospheric monster slayer survival game, Hunt: Showdown.
In Hunt: Showdown, players are thrown into sessions with a maximum of 10 players to fulfill monster bounties. You can enter these sessions with one other player to form a two person group. The catch is that you won’t know how many other players are in the session.
This creates a tense atmosphere where each group in the session is seeking out their own bounty, but they are also exposed to other monsters in the map. Opening fire on these other monsters may give away your location to other players who may be roaming nearby.
If you exchange fire with other players, it could lead to you being permanently wiped from the session and this will allow the other players to collect your loot.
Also, when you finally get around to slaying your monster, you need to banish it before you can extract the actual parts required to fulfill the bounty. When you banish the monster the location of the banishment is broadcasted on the map for all players in the session to see. This means that players can continue to lurk around after collecting their bounty in the hopes of stealing other players bounties.
In the demo we saw, the bounty was for a giant spider but there will be a variety of different monsters in the final game. We also saw the players come across zombie like creatures along the way.
Although perma-death is a thing in Hunt: Showdown, there will be a background XP system that ensures you’re never missing out on progression even if you’re killed. The only thing you lose when dying is the cash needed to buy yourself some better gear and possibly all the bounties that you’ve collected up to that point.
With survival games really taking off on the PC, it’s nice to see a game that takes a new approach in the delivery. Hunt: Showdown is a perfect blend of survival and horror. Its visuals are so realistic that it was actually terrifying to watch the Crytek team slay the spider. The spider’s movements were cringe inducing and the speed in which it ran between hiding spots sent chills down my spine.
Hunt: Showdown wasn’t shown on the E3 2017 show floor, so unfortunately, not everyone was aware of it being one of the shows standout games. All you need to do is do a Google search for the game to see just how highly praised it is among those who witnessed it.
Hunt: Showdown will arrive on PC sometime in 2018.
