Recent reviews by Sinister

game has melted into total ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. I remember that it used to be a ton of fun and now its not worth 5 minutes of your time.

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Introduction:
Hunt: Showdown, developed by Crytek, is an atmospheric PvP bounty hunting game combined with PvE elements. Set in the haunting, late 19th century bayous of Louisiana, it provides a unique blend of competitive shooter, survival horror, and pvpve elements. We are gonna cover some of its standout features:

Graphics and Atmosphere:
🌟 Rating: [★★★★☆]

The CryEngine is at its best in Hunt: Showdown. The game offers AMAZING IMMERSION. It feels as though every nook and cranny has had thought put into it and how it would best suit the environment and ambiance. The world is beautifully dark, misty, and brooding. From the decaying buildings to the unnerving zombies, every detail in this world feels meticulously crafted. The game"s lighting effects, especially during day time thunderstorms, make the experience really standout.

Sound Design:
🌟 Rating: [★★★★★]

Sound plays a pivotal role in Hunt: Showdown. There is always some kind of branch crack or moaning support beam that sets you on edge, Its a constant thrill. The sound design and choice is this game is probably one of the best of any game I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying. It not only immerses players in its eerily realistic environment but also becomes a strategic element; every gunshot, animal cry, and creaking floorboard can give away a player"s position. ( pro tip to the new players: crouch walking isn"t silent and can be heard by other players...)

Gameplay and Mechanics:
🌟 Rating: [★★★★☆]

At its core, Hunt: Showdown is about hunting down nightmarish monsters and surviving against other player teams doing the same. The PvE and PvP blend, honestly, pretty seamlessly, making for some intense encounters. The AI at some points can feel a little overwhelming, you can be entering a new area running away from enemy players and AI will just spawn in your face. The hives will track your ass to the end of the world even passing through closed doors and windows. The gun play feels VERY rewarding when you are able to hit shots and requires lots of finesse in addition to forethought. I would say that most of the guns just feel great to shoot and look amazing. Positioning is BEYOND key in this game. The TTK(time to kill) is essentially instant as most weapons in the game can one shot head shot at 60-70% of the distances you will be fighting at. Learn to start shooting at the head and not just taking body shots like you would in most other games. The range of weapons and tools, from Sparks snipers to crown and cringe shotguns, allow for diverse play styles with everything from bushwookies, to extraction campers, to pixel angle holders, and everything else between. The permadeath feature for hunters adds another layer of tension, where every decision counts. You are going to die. A lot. It is going to suck but just keep treating every encounter like a learning experience and try to find an action you could have played better. 8/10 times you made a dumb decision that got you killed.

Monsters and Boss Battles:
🌟 Rating: [★★★☆☆]

The monsters in Hunt: Showdown are extremely well unique and fit the atmosphere of the world. They are well designed and pose a constant threat to you, as they will not only damage you, but can give away your position, and be used as a tool from enemy players to F you up ( I"m looking at you immolators) There is a good amount of variety to the mobs that will spawn and for the most part I don"t have a problem with them. The boss battles stand out for their challenging mechanics however. There are a few main boss monsters you will face in this game. i will provide a breakdown of them and what they are like at the bottom of the review.

Multiplayer and Team Dynamics:
🌟 Rating: [★★★★★]

Working with a partner or a trio, the game emphasizes teamwork and communication. YOU WILL HAVE TO COMMUNICATE EVERYTHING. Unless you"re a gaming god, do not even consider not communicating with your teammates. This game not only requires extreme forethought and game sense, but planning and communication. Information is how you win. The more information you have, the more correct and informed decisions you can make. {You paid attention to the explosive barrel and know that is sitting on (x) side of the entrance of a building, 2 min later you hear footsteps over there so you wall bang the barrel and explode and kill them. Make sure you tell your teammate, that just ran towards to footsteps to cover the entrance, to move away from the barrel so you don"t blow him up.} There is a very high skill ceiling in this game. However, the difficulty and losses you eat will just make victory that much sweeter. The thrill of going up against other player teams, especially during a multiple team shootouts in the boss lair, is incomparable. It is honestly addicting to say the least.

Performance and Optimization:
🌟 Rating: [★★★★☆]

Running on the CryEngine, Hunt: Showdown has seen a few bugs here and there but honestly in my opinion nothing too critically bad. Normally when something game breaking comes along it gets fixed pretty quickly. Currently a bug that has been annoying me and my group is that the game will say you have violated anti cheat and have been banned, just to 3 seconds later(after booting you from the beginning of the match you just joined), tell you to reconnect. It is just an annoying 60 time waster. On my setup, which consists of an - AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8-Core Processor, 3801 Mhz, 8 Core(s), 16 Logical Processor(s), Nvidia rtx 3060, 32gigs of ram, and some nicer end parts- I experience the game at 100-120 fps on max settings. I do not really ever see dips. The game pretty much always runs smoothly. I play with people that run the game on the minimum settings with much lower end parts and they still see pretty good (over 60fps) frames.

Conclusion and Recommendation:
Hunt: Showdown offers an unparalleled multiplayer experience, mixing horror, strategy, and competitive shooting in a beautiful yet nightmarish world. Its immersive graphics, stellar sound design, and thrilling gameplay make it a must-play for anyone looking for a challenge. I"d highly recommend it to FPS LOVERS/SURVIVAL HORROR ENTHUSIASTS/CO-OP FANS/etc.



BONUS BOSS REVIEW:

Firstly lets cover how bosses are found, then what they are like and my thoughts on them.

Clue Mechanic:
Players in Hunt need to first locate the bosses before engaging with them. To do this, they collect clues:

Finding Clues: Scattered across the map, these are blue, glowing rifts that, when investigated, narrow down the possible locations of the boss.

Compound Narrowing: Each clue you find reduces the potential area where the boss could be, blacking out sections of the map.

Dark Sight Boost: After collecting all clues and banishing the boss, hunters receive a boost to their Dark Sight ability, allowing them to see nearby enemy players for a limited time.

Bosses:
-The Butcher:
Description: A hulking brute wrapped in chains with a flaming hook and pig-like features.
Abilities: Immune to fire damage and charges at players with devastating melee attacks that will catch you on fire and actively eat health chunks.
This boss is the easiest and probably my favorite.
-The Spider:
Description: A grotesque, large spider with human-like features and rapid movement.
Abilities: Can quickly scale walls and ceilings. It attacks with swift melee strikes and can poison hunters.
This boss feels like a crackhead had a baby with the giant spider thats friends with Hagrid from harry potter.
-The Assassin:
Description: A creature formed from swarms of insects and capable of splitting into smaller copies.
Abilities: Can rapidly move around the environment, turning into a swarm to evade damage, and stab hunters with sharp, blade-like arms.
This guy really just makes me angry, he and the spider feel really annoying to fight.
There are 2 more bosses as of writing this, Scrapbeak and Rotjaw - but im out of characters xD

The game is a lot of fun to play and i have big expectations for the game! there is alot to comb over but overall i give it a 8.5 out of ten. im upset however as i am 20 hours into the game and i have come across a game breaking bug that constantly respawns me over and over again saying that i am leaving the mission boundary and it kills me after 4 seconds. i can no longer play the game and there is nothing that i can do to fix it. however, outside of the buggy multiplayer, the 20 hours i got to enjoy were a total blast. idk why everyone is trying to witch hunt the game. everyone seems to just want to find something to hate instead of just enjoying everything the game has to offer and let you experience. keep an open mind and go into trying to enjoy the game and you will find it hard to be dissapointed!!