The bounty hunting multiplayer experience from Crytek, Hunt: Showdown, has only been in Xbox Game Preview for a few months and it’s already found a way out to launch as a fully fledged title on Xbox One. Do you have what it takes to claim a bounty on a gruesome creature before your fellow humans do?
As a first-person shooter and survival game hybrid, the aim of Hunt: Showdown’s main Bounty Hunt mode is to compete for the bounties out for horrible monsters in matches comprised of up to ten players, either going solo or in teams of two. Each Hunter has the ability of Dark Sight to enable them to see that which cannot be seen by regular mortal eyes. That’s rather handy for tracking monsters, with a ghostly light guiding you towards your next target.
It attempt to create a fresh combination of PvP and PvE elements, because once a bounty is taken by a player, the other Hunters will instantly see them as a target – as if the monsters of the Louisiana swamps weren’t enough to worry about. A single mistake in this game could cost you everything, and death is permanent, so it’s a balancing act between risk and reward. There’s always progression to be made at least though as experience earned will carry over to the next life.
Fortunately, Bounty Hunt isn’t the only mode on offer, with Quick Play providing a shorter match where up to ten individual players race to scavenge gear and find and close four rifts, competing for a dwindling bounty reward. The first Hunter to make it to the final rift absorbs its energy, but must then survive the final countdown to complete the mission. When the timer runs out the winner keeps their Hunter, with the rest perish for their failure.
We’d highly recommend a read of our hands-on preview of Hunt: Showdown, before then deciding whether to make a purchase from the Xbox Store for £33.49. Hunt: Showdown’s also available on PC, but whichever platform you buy it on, be sure to let us know your thoughts on it by leaving a comment below!
Game Description:
Savage, nightmarish monsters roam the Louisiana swamps, and you are part of a group of rugged bounty hunters bound to rid the world of their ghastly presence. Banish these creatures from our world, and you will be paid generously—and given the chance to buy more gruesome and powerful weapons. Fail, and death will strip you of both character and gear. Your experience, however, remains in your pool of hunters—called your Bloodline—always. HIGH RISK, HIGH REWARD, HIGH TENSION Hunt’s competitive, match-based gameplay mixes PvP and PvE elements to create a uniquely tense experience where your life, your character, and your gear are always on the line. At the beginning of each Bounty Hunt match, depending on whether you have chosen team play or solo play, up to five teams of two or ten solo players set out to track their monstrous targets. Once they’ve found and defeated one of these they will receive a bounty—and instantly become a target for every other Hunter left on the map. If you don’t watch your back, you’ll find a knife in it, and your last memory will be of someone else walking away with your prize. The higher the risk, the higher the reward–but a single mistake could cost you everything. Hunt’s Quick Play game mode offers a shorter match, during which up to ten individual players race to scavenge gear and find and close four rifts as they compete for a diminishing pool of bounty. First Hunter to the final rift absorbs its energy, but must survive the final count down to complete the mission—while the other Hunters attempt to take them out and take the prize for themselves. When the timer runs out the winner keeps their Hunter, while the rest perish. PROGRESSION Even in death, you will be able to progress among the ranks of Hunters via your Bloodline. Though one character may die, their experience will be transferred to your Bloodline, where it can be applied your other Hunters. If you make it off of the map alive, you will be able to use the money and experience you earn to kit out new Hunters and prepare for the next match. If you die, you lose everything but your experience. DARK SIGHT Dark Sight allows Hunters to see into the veil between worlds, making that which cannot be seen by mortal eyes visible to those who have been initiated. Use Dark Sight when you are tracking monsters, and a ghostly light will guide you toward your next target. Dark Sight also marks players carrying a bounty, making them more vulnerable to ambush while trying to escape.
