UPDATED Jan 2023 - Changed to Positive Vote simply for the fun factor for the most part, the recent event was actually decent and not as tedious and stupid as all the others were. And the fact they removed SUMMONS which was the dumbest thing ever where they went as far as locking event progression behind stupid nonsense like dictating way too much what you had to do in a mission. Like for example, you must kill an enemy hunter with a certain weapon, but not just that. But it had to be a certain legendary skin in order for that to successfully complete. Or you MUST kill an enemy hunter with an explosive barrel. Again, this is by PURE luck & not easy to do. Let people use whatever the hell loudout they like is my motto. Below I have further edited my review.

Hunt Showdown - was once an awesome, unique & fun game. It still is a fun game for the most part, however, the devs butchered it and took its direction away from how it used to be that made Hunt a great and unique game. Now they are heading toward the run and gun crap. It WANTS to be like every OTHER game out there. But WHY?! No longer is it about taking your time to really enjoy the hunt of enemy players and sneaking up on the enemy. Bosses are banishing within the first two minutes of a match for Pete's sake. This alone makes it impossible to level up your prestige. Further more, reducing the match timer from 60 minutes down to 45, what the hell Crytek?! You barely would have time to get the clues and take down two bosses, plus have steady PvP because it will be about RUSH RUSH RUSH! We should ALL have the freedom of how we 'choose' to play. We all have our playstyle. Why should everyone rush through the match. Its bloody stupid! KEEP IT AT 60 MINS!! If people wish to leave early, then its THEIR choice but those that want to take as much out of a match in hopes to retire your hunter, THEN for Hell's sake LET THEM!!! I have lost count how many times we were engaged in some PvP but then that timer was getting close to the "END TIMER" forcing us or the enemy to dash for an exit. Don't even get me started on the events, where that extra 15 minutes can really make a difference when you are collecting event points.

What ever happened to the way Hunt used to be. Where it was fully emersive and the player had to rely on their OWN ears and eyes to detect danger? With the glowing clues when enemy hunters are nearby, and the boss compound flashing a big fat RED color to alert other players of your presence? You can no longer sneak in and get the jump on the enemy because the damn clues gives your presence away. Speaking of sneaking, the sound of an enemy's sneak is so loud, he could be across the road on the OTHER side, but you would be convinced he is just on the other side of the wall. Its misleading. It doesn't have to be THAT LOUD!! What an idiotic idea. And now, you can't even sneak over broken glass or bang into chains without making sounds. Way too many sound traps. It's BEYOND a joke and way over done. You can't run three steps before creating loud sounds. Do you take us as idiots that WE as the player need so many hints of a enemy player's whereabouts? Can you JUST LET US use our OWN emersive game play to detect that? "Oh look. That grunt over there is behaving oddly and walking toward that bush. Maybe there is a enemy lurking within that area."

Oh, and another thing. These fools decided to add drones. DRONES!!!!! That's right folks!! Damn drones to a late 1800's game. These are known as a BEETLE. So you have this little creature that your player can fully control and fly around to seek out enemy hunters. They can be used to unset traps, locked doors, smash against a player causing them to be poisoned (If they do not have an antidote ticking away on their hunter). Players have used them to block exits by positioning their drone in a well concealed location, and unless you find and kill the drone or the hunter that is controlling it, you won't be able to extract. Perfect tool for grievers who don't care if they lose their hunters or not. They are a nuissance and they have NO PLACE IN HUNT SHOWDOWN and should be removed!! It was a terrible decision to add this mechanic. Were they smoking crack when this decision was approved or what?!


Damn, Hunt was sooooooo good once upon a time ago. Now its nothing more than a generic piece of crap for the large part of the game experience. Nothing unique about it anymore.
It also seems that the devs added this annoying thing. If you play with someone from another region, and they are on your region, their shots do not connect. This issue happened after a particular update where fps dropped terribly for many players. That is a real shifty move on the dev's part. Is this their attempt to discourage people to play in other regions by hindering that player so that their shots majority of the time don't count even against AI? Talk about a hinderance. It even lets the partner down, because when you can really use the backup, the issue is preventing them from being useful. Yeah, we're onto you Crytek, and your cheap tactics. Shame on you!!!!

Oh yes, before I forget. Another dumb idea that you added was the unlimited amount of hunter revives you can do when you have a bounty. That time, with teamers, we spectated hunters killing enemy hunters only to revive them and to kill them over and over again, (clearly working as a team). What a cheap way to farm K.D.O. REMOVE this crap coz its like a complete exploit!!! And anyone out there that does this? You're a piece of ♥♥♥♥ and you should be ashamed. ill gained stats is nothing to boast about. You're nothing but a fraud! Just sad if you ask me. Maybe just L2P - and as much as this makes me cringe to say it but 'Git Gewd' and do it all legit! THEN maybe you will win some respect and have something to be proud about.

Another issue this game has are the cheaters that seem to know exactly where you are at all times and yet, these same people are still there months later. There are countless of videos clearly showing cheaters and yet Crytek sit on their hands and do nothing.

And MORE Anti-Camping stuff coming for this game. Jesus christ, sometimes you sorta have to do a bit of camping from time to time. It's all part of the game and a situational thing. You may hear hunters approaching so you dash behind a bush to shoot them as they run past. They cry "You're a camper!!" "Ugh, actually.. that is a tactical decision. Why stand out in the open when you can simply hide and take the first shot?" And what is wrong with setting up an ambush somewhere? Maybe some people like to play that way? We all have different play styles. Sometimes we play defensive, other times we push. Sometimes we camp and other times we play very aggressive. Both are rewarding and fun. Every match is situational. But to add so called 'anti-camping' mechanics is just ruining it for that person who may enjoy that play style or requires that game style for that particular match. Does it have to be run and gun? Not everyone likes to play rushed and aggressive all of the time. I feel that HUNT should let the player decide HOW they choose to play their game and not let the GAME decide that. No one likes being dictated to that degree.

Perhaps someday, Crytek will add a game mode to Hunt called "Hunt Showdown CLASSICS." Where it will be very much like it was in early access when the game truly shined, minus the few bugs here and there. If those were fixed but the game was more like EA Hunt, then I think it will certainly bring back many of the players that had already left when hunt became what it is today. Yes, there are some good additions of course. I like the resource loot box you can find, and the perks you can obtain throughout the match, but i do not like the red glowing clues, the fast pace that hunt is now. Anyway, I think I said enough.

Peace.

The game was an extraordinary experience for me. Particularly the Story Mode. From the very beginning, I was drawn right into the game. It was like being in an interactive cinematic film. You felt so involved, it was one of the best fun I have had in quite a long time as far as how a game can leave a lasting impact.

The graphics are beautiful, and very picturesque. The voice acting was brilliant and the cast was very believable. While playing it, I didn't want to leave and wanted to keep on playing, because for me, it was THAT good.

Luckily, I didn't have too many issues with crashes. I got them a handful of times while playing through the Story Mode.

The game comes with STEAM achievements too which gives you even more focus of activities to do in-game as a challenge.

The game also has an online side of it. But the online, as much as it was fun playing it with a friend, lacked content. Understandably, its still in early stages. The Online, has many many issues. Lots of "disconnections from session" and I have run into some modders. The infinite loading screens are a real nuisance, that for months, I have much difficulty joining into some games, like Racing for example. Some trade missions and Moonshiner missions will fail for no reason, and you lose your stock. The infinite loading screen will not load the mission, resulting in many 'RE-LAUNCHING THE GAME.' The camp setup is so glitchy that most of the time you cannot get the camp to spawn.


* Overall, for the story mode, I will give this game a 9.5/10.
* The Graphics I will give it a 9/10.
* Music I will rate it as an 8/10
* Cast/Characters in the game a 8.5/10
* Realism like Hunting, skinning animals etc I will give that a 7/10 for the animation cutscene.

* Online Mode is a bit more tricky to give a rating, though its packed with lots of fun aspects, it is very broken with so many issues for example - the many disconnections, glitches, infinite loading screens, modders in some sessions forcing you to relaunch to change your session due to infinite loading screen preventing you to switch while already in-game. However, the Online aspect for me personally, is simply a BONUS to an awesome single-player game. This rating can change if and when Rockstar Games fixes the problems the game is currently experiencing in Online Mode.

Note: Story Missions in Online Mode were fun to do as well as the Bounty Hunter jobs, Hunting animals for Trader Business, crafting, cooking, treasure hunting (Collector Business), mini activities (when working) were stacks of fun, and the fishing was realistic and enjoyable also. So in saying that, I will give these a 6.0/10.