A Dark Pixel-Art Descent
I like a pixel art game as much as the next man, and luckily there is another one heaving into view over the horizon.
Coming from Moonlight Games and DANGE Entertainment is Hunt the Night, a game that is being described on the Xbox Store as “A retro style action RPG”. Sounds interesting, right? Well, I decided to try my luck in hunting that night. Hold on tight, and bring a torch, will you?
We start with the presentation, and ‘retro style’ is exactly right. When I first fired the game up, my son looked up from whatever stupid video he was watching on YouTube and remarked that it looked like a Zelda game, and in a way, he was right. Hunt the Night features an appealing pixel art style, with everything from candles to the bosses we have to fight looking really good. It is presented as a top down extravaganza, with a fixed camera giving a good view of the action, and every room plays out as a different screen, just like in the old Zelda games. And there are lots of obstacles to overcome, as you’d expect. The ambience of the graphics certainly gives vibes of a world on the brink of destruction. But can your actions turn the tide?
Spooky Soundscapes
The sound is also very good, with creepy effects constantly keeping you on your toes – spooky crying and screams making you increasingly nervous. The music is also well done, blending with the action perfectly, and while there is no voice acting in the cutscenes, you honestly don’t miss them. All in all, a great start.
Saving Humanity from the Eternal Night
Story is next on my list, and here a lot of work has gone in to Hunt the Night. We are a Stalker called Vespa, trying to save the world of Medhram. Humanity apparently rules the day, while monsters take charge through the night, and as the Night (note the capital N) starts to assert itself, we must travel a dying world and try to save what remains of humanity. Oh, and we’ll need to do this while being the daughter of a traitor and also having the Night within ourselves. What can possibly go wrong?
Well, not too much actually, as the gameplay is pretty damn good. There is a decent amount of combat to get used to, but there is also quite a lot of puzzling to enjoy as well. It’s with that puzzling where the Zelda vibes pop up again; instantly familiar to anyone who has played that franchise. How can we press two pressure plates at once, for instance? With new powers that are obtained through the journey, a bit of lateral thinking is usually all that is required to make progress. Although making progress in a level usually brings you closer to a boss, so you may want to reconsider that!
Brutal Foundations
Combat is a lot of fun too, and has a good sprinkling of the systems from Dark Souls, I feel,The save point statues act like the bonfires in the seminal title, allowing the opportunity to save our progress but at the cost of reviving all the weaker enemies we killed to get where we are. That’s something else you may wish to bear in mind!
Combat takes two forms: melee and ranged. As we begin, a pistol is in place for long range combat, and this is aimed by holding down the left trigger. As we go through the game, we can buy different weapons, and using the right one at the right time can make all the difference: I actually killed the first boss by frantically firing the pistol, so don’t forget about this option! Melee combat is also very exciting, and best of all, hitting enemies with closer attacks will reload the firearm, so a combination of the two styles is always best.
Learning Boss Patterns
There are many melee weapons to find and utilise, and these, along with a very handy dash move that lets us get out of the way of incoming attacks, form the basis of the combat system. Smacking enemies is very good fun, until a boss appears, and in true Dark Souls style, they form some pretty intimidating roadblocks. Learning their patterns is vital, and many deaths will result until you manage to take them down.
In order to help, we can not only use Dark powers to help us put more damage out, but the equipping of various items ensures the opportunity to utilise numerous buffs, from extra firearm damage to more health. No prizes for guessing which one comes in the most handy…
A Fast, Challenging Pursuit of Perfection
Hunt the Night is easy to recommend. It seems to hark back to a time when you either got gud or failed miserably: there is really no middle ground. And that spirit is channeled admirably, as while the game looks cute, it is really anything but, punishing you if you let your guard down.
Of course, that means it won’t be for everyone, but I for one am here for the fast, challenging perfection it demands.
Important Links
Retro Combat Meets Modern Challenge In Hunt The Night – https://www.thexboxhub.com/retro-combat-meets-modern-challenge-in-hunt-the-night/
Hunt the Night announced for Xbox, PlayStation, Switch and PC – https://www.thexboxhub.com/hunt-the-night-announced-for-xbox-playstation-switch-and-pc/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/hunt-the-night/9pcckxk8vzmq
