Hunt: Showdown - Louisiana welcomes me for the first time
Hello Hunters
Have you ever felt like a bounty hunter from classic westerns such as The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly or Django Unchained? These magnificent films feature brave cowboys who make their living using revolvers and rifles, hunting down people and collecting bounties. As a big fan of the western film genre, I was thrilled when Crytek announced they were developing a game in this very genre, about hunters fighting for their lives and money in a dark fantasy world. I couldn't wait to see its release. In 2019, Hunt: Showdown saw its sunrise, and it was awesome. Today, we will talk a bit about this magnificent game I finally tried for myself.
You Are the Hunter Now
My first encounter with this game was on YouTube. I was captivated by what was happening and how it should be played. It felt like watching a beautiful movie. This holiday season, I bought the game and dove into Louisiana, 1895. First, the game guided me through an informative and well-crafted tutorial. I learned how to move, shoot, use different tools, and confront local threats. In this game, you won't meet any friendly souls. Other hunters who aren't on your team will gladly kill you, and the PvE content is full of bloodthirsty monsters and beasts. The main goal of your hunt is to avoid making too much noise, find three clues that will help you locate the main monster's lair. Of course, you might be lucky and stumble upon the boss accidentally or know where it could be. After a hard battle, I managed to finish off the Spider, banish it, and claim my bounty. If you think that's the end, I have good news for you. Once you kill the boss, the real game begins.
Hunt: Showdown - Just look this detailed hands, weapon and environment.
You might be lucky because generally, the game generates two bosses on the map, and other hunters might ignore you and go for the other epic monster. Then, you can sneak your way to an extraction point and get a pretty good reward with XP and Hunt dollars. But in 90% of successful boss-killing operations, other hunters will try their best to hunt you down, kill you, and claim your bounty. Confrontations with players still make my hands shake and my heart beat faster. Hunt: Showdown really captures my emotions and immerses me in its atmosphere.
Hunt: Showdown - Lovely ladies are waiting you on Louisiana swamps.
Gear is What May Cost You Everything
Before you start your mission, you must hire a hunter. Every hunter has their own weapons and gear. It's quite important what you take with you on a mission. Healing items, explosives, different disabling grenades, or traps—everything could bring you victory and help you survive the match. To make your hunter even stronger, you may choose different perks that make your build more flexible. Of course, every gear part costs money, and here we encounter an unpleasant but still realistic part of the game. If you die in a mission, everything you took with you will be lost, and you will have to buy everything again. It could be cheap, but some builds are pretty expensive, so you need to manage your money wisely. Some say it is hard to collect money in Hunt: Showdown. I disagree. I donated 10 euros and bought a legendary skin. Every time I take my hunter, I pay 100 dollars plus gear costing about 300 to 400 dollars. After three days, I had 27,000 dollars. You start with 8,000 dollars or something like that. So you can draw your own conclusions about the game economy.
Hunt: Showdown - recruitments screen with hunter's gear and weapons.
Knowledge is Power
To understand the story, lore, and be more educated, you can read a comprehensive book about every monster, boss, gun modification, and almost everything you encounter in the game. The stories are pretty exciting, especially those about monsters and how bosses arrived in Louisiana. Kill monsters and unlock new information about species. This is quite interesting to me. And, of course, the gun descriptions and historical facts are quite exciting and interesting to read.
Hunt: Showdown - book of weapon knowledge.
Listen to Survive
Considering that Hunt is a shooter game, shooting is not the most important part of the gameplay. Tactics, strategy, and movement are also crucial to success in this game. Many people mistakenly think that sitting the whole match in a bush is a tactic, but I am talking about something different. Sound is one of the biggest keys to victory. You may ask why? What is so important about sound? In this game, almost everything makes a sound that will reveal your current position to opposing hunters. A broken branch under your feet, a dying house's scream, mad dogs in a cage, and many more sound sources will make your life hard if you ignore them.
Hunt: Showdown - One of the possible bosses Assassin.
Several times, my partner and I heard suspicious sounds nearby, giving us a good opportunity to ambush approaching enemies. What's even more important is the sound your hunter makes while running, walking, or even crawling—your boots will make noise. When you try to play stealthily, you must consider that every step may attract the attention of your opponent, and this could be the end of you. It is hard to describe my feelings when my partner and I banished the boss and, through the surrounding sounds, I heard the quiet steps of a crawling hunter. Within seconds, a huge gunfight began. That is just an awesome feeling, you know. So use your ears and avoid making unnecessary noise!
Hunt: Showdown - crows will be one of your worst enemies.
The Most Realistic Gameplay I Ever Tried
You've probably heard a lot about different reality combat simulators or survival games. Forget about those. Crytek managed to create almost a perfect example of how such a game should be made, and that is its main feature. Your hunter is not superhuman. Yes, there is a bit of the supernatural because of Dark Vision, but physically, he will not survive with a bullet in his head or five holes in his heart. Headshot—you’re dead. Several bullets in the chest—you’re dead. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a powerful rifle or the weakest pistol. Firearms in this game are lethal and won't let you make too many mistakes. Every shot could be your last, and this makes your nervous system work at 200%.
Hunt: Showdown - one of the most beautiful nature I ever seen.
Every weapon has a bunch of different parameters: not only damage or accuracy. They even added things like the angle your weapon will make after you fire a shot. Bullet speed also plays a huge role when you decide to take a long shot. Models and sound design are crafted at the highest level. Every shot and every reload feels great, and I can feel the effort the developers put into making everything look ultra-realistic.
Hunt: Showdown - Every weapon is extremely detailed.
Graphics are also a strong point of this game. Everything is animated: nature, water, monsters. They all live their own lives and react immediately to your actions. Leaves fly, water makes waves and sprays around you, monsters shout and try to get a piece of you. Every house and village is probably unique because I didn’t notice much of the copy-paste technique. Of course, some of them are similar, but in general, you will not notice unless you are a pixel hunter looking for flaws on purpose. Animations and collision impacts feel great.
Hunt: Showdown - trio stalking for another team.
And, of course, I cannot forget about the super memorable main music theme. It is so simple but can capture you for a long period. I will leave it here for you to listen to.
Hunt: Showdown - best describing video I found on Youtube with both female and male vocal.
Minuses That May Make You Sick
As with any project, no matter how good it is, you will probably find some flaws. For me, the greatest minus is campers. Don't get me wrong. While you are moving across the map, I see no problem spending several minutes checking the situation around main objects and investigating if it is safe to take clues or start fighting the boss. What I don't understand is high-level players sitting in a bush near some road for 15 minutes hoping to make several headshots on running hunters. Such players ignore bosses and bounties; the only thing they do is camp, which really sucks. Tactics are a great tool for players like me whose shooting skill is far from perfect, but many players confuse tactics with camping.
Hunt: Showdown - biggest game problem in current days.
Sometimes you will get unlucky when you bring good gear into a match and get ambushed or come across a skilled player and get killed. That feeling is frustrating, and you might want to uninstall the game, but it is just part of the experience. After dark times, you will get a bright light when you manage to collect bounties and escape several times in a row. I am sharing my own experience, so I know what I am talking about.
Is Hunt: Showdown the Best Game I Came Across in 2024?
I guess that was the biggest question, and right now I can say absolutely—yes. This game has been on my mind since 2019, and finally, after spending a solid amount of time in it, I can tell you that this is the most exciting, captivating, and interesting game I have tried this year. Without any hesitation, I will recommend it to every game lover, western fan, or anyone excited about a realistic shooter game. I had a lot of doubts about my ability to play this game, but at the end of the day, I can say—this is my game to play, and it will take a good spot on my tier list of favorite games of all time. Soon, a huge patch should come with a new map and probably new mechanics, guns, and bosses. I can't wait to try it. That is all for today. Play the best games and stay with Radiant Team for the best reviews!
Hunt: Showdown - Louisiana is waiting for you Hunter!
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