Hunt: Showdown 1896 Review | PC

Why be a normal bounty hunter in the Wild West when you can be a bounty hunter who has to fight off abominations AND your target? Hunt: Showdown 1896 grabs the player through amazing sound and aesthetic designs, then throws them into a harsh PvPvE experience that will either hook or throw them out the window.

 

From the get-go, Hunt: Showdown 1896 doesn't give you time to take it easy and learn the game since your first real match will make you feel like a tourist in some fantasy Western movie where you're not the main character. Hunt: Showdown 1896's developers, Crytek, designed the game to be unforgiving and have a learning curve that shouts, "There's always someone who knows what they're doing better than you," to a degree that grabs it a seat at the table along with games like "Escape from Tarkov" and "Dark and Darker."

Built-in a darker version of 1896 Western America, Hunt: Showdown 1896 revolves its world around the Hunt, a murder zone where monsters and Hunters tread the lands doing bounties or just going on a good old murder spree against other players. Whether you want the PvP experience, nothing will stop another player from rushing you with better gear or a monster smacking you over your head like an enraged demon whose beer you spilled on the floor.

With numerous plague-infested designs, the monsters of Hunt: Showdown 1896 flaunt their inhumanity by either writhing piles of what we learned was bad in biology or just some random miner getting off a 20-hour shift. The main common trait they all have is that no matter how kitted out you are, they will annoy you until you have to either turn it into a street knife fight or risk the exposure and blast them with a firearm.

This PvE mechanic not only enables a break from PvP but also brings more dangers to staying away from engagements with other players since not everyone in the lobby will feel like pacifism is the way to go in an intense blood sport. With numerous objectives and bosses to do in a game while juggling not catching a Nitro Express round with your teeth, Hunt: Showdown 1896 slams you with stressful encounters and mechanics that newer players will have to learn by hitting the floor at Mach speed if they're hoping to not lose all their starting cash.

 

Whether the player decides to extract after a few zombie kills or a single clue collected, or they feel like Rambo himself and want to look for firefights against other Hunters is entirely up to them. With a bundle of different firearms and less-gunpowder-powered weapons to choose from, Hunt: Showdown 1896 really makes a point of letting the player choose their own playstyle and roll with it.

Want a quieter alternative? Crossbows and throwing knives. Want the entire lobby to know you missed a stationary target? Bolt action rifles and pistols that should be mounted to the floor are at your disposal! The game lets the player decide what flavor of yeehaw they want to indulge in, and we're all for it!

Having a game give options that tailor to the wants of the player is a really nice touch since the game is still going to dropkick you with a lobby you thought was your level, but in reality, it was the national squad of noob stompers in disguise. Even with the new player anxiety, the game doesn't entirely drop you in the deep end since your first few games will usually be more mellow with how slow most people will play the matches.

Aiming for quests and learning what to do against the roaming mobs is a solid choice in these few games of the more peaceful timeline since they will definitely be short-lived. Jumping at every gunshot echo in the distance or bats screeching in your face because you woke them up is completely normal until you learn that crouch is your friend and headphones are your sensory savior.

 

While the variety of guns might be overwhelming for some players, the sound design of each shot they make is enough to have any firearm enthusiast licking their lips after firing off a Springfield rifle and hearing the satisfying reload. The level of care Crytek put into the audio aspect of the game is nothing to scoff at since every sound feels just right, from hitting a mob in the skull and hearing the satisfying crunch to turning your ankle into a pretzel cause you definitely "could make that jump."

Along with amazing graphics designed to aid the roleplay aspect of your dark and gritty cowboy adventure, Hunt: Showdown 1896 piles on the vibes with lighting effects, foliage that doesn't disappear from a distance, and a HUD that isn't trying to attach to your face. As you work up the ranks and levels with your hired hunter, things may get a tad bit more hectic as the player's skill develops and their magnetism to bullets from players 500m away grows stronger.

Sticking to the game for a few dozen hours will probably net you a Swiss cheese achievement mentally, as some random uses you as target practice, like Killhouse in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. While you're catching strays and dodging cleavers, your hunter will slowly rack up XP that lets you pick more traits to aid your quest to get a headshot or hit the headshot you've been camping on that cliff for 10 minutes.

Many of the traits for beginners may seem pointless, but with experience and knowledge, you'll find that many of the once thought "useless" traits will become your bread and butter. If going solo is your style, you'll be happy to know that Crytek actively warns you against it! You won't be treated to a full solo lobby since the game runs solo players against duo or trio squads!

 

Think you're sneaking up to some dude while he's healing? Suddenly, you'll experience a blitzing from a shotgun his friend found and needed a testing subject to get a feel for the boomstick. This spike in difficulty as a solo player may seem pretty unfair to begin with until you grab a friend to learn and play the game with.

The feeling of someone having your back is a small joy in the rough world of Hunt: Showdown 1896, where everything wants to collect the bounty on your head for just breathing. Since the game has a solid player base, the servers are well-managed, and a lack of a lobby is rare until you're in the upper echelons of the leaderboard.

This, coupled with a decent matchmaking system, almost eases the ache of the graphics requirements that may be necessary to enjoy the game. Since Hunt: Showdown 1896 is such an expansive game with amazing designs, it can demand a lot of systems to run. Besides, who doesn't want to see the hole in their chest in 4K, though? Since the engine demands good quality, at least you won't have to deal with poor rendering and textures!

While the idea of blasting enemies with your trusty sidekick might seem endearing, do remember that if you have a friend who's a bit too trigger-happy in the face of danger, it might be best to spread out a little bit. Hunt: Showdown 1896 is punishing, grueling, and pretty tilting for anyone who doesn't like competitive games, but it's worth learning and watching information and guides on the game because it holds a lot of potential to become a source of fun for those who put the time into it.

 

If any other reason were needed for a competitive game to have a high-skill floor and endless skill ceiling, we wouldn't have streamers who dedicate hours every day to playing the game they love. To further nail the coffin shut, the soundtracks the game has in the chamber are spectacular, enough so that I spent half an hour in the lobby just listening to them like I was some legendary gunman ordering a whiskey.

Whatever Crytek had in mind for Hunt: Showdown 1896, they definitely got a bullseye on the target because the game delivers everything it promised, and then there are some more with brass knuckles and no punches held! If you want a gruesome game to spike your dopamine and adrenaline in a way only a few games can, grab Hunt: Showdown 1896. Pick your hunter, choose your loadout, and get to some rootin' tootin' cowboy shootin' 'cause this one's a silver bullet in the darkness of the genre.

Dominic Palm
Editor, NoobFeed