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Review: Way of the Hunter

  • 6.5/10
    Total Score - 6.5/10
6.5/10

Summary

Way of the Hunter is a beautiful game that can offer a good time, but not without a heap of nagging technical and game design issues running interference.

Developer – Nine Rocks Games

Publisher – THQ Nordic

Platforms – PlayStation, Xbox, PC

Way of the Hunter is the latest in a long line of hunting simulation titles vying to bring you the relaxed nature of the outdoors but the slow burn intensity of a hunt. It succeeds at doing both, but only mildly if you have the patience to sit through the various technical issues and bugs that are more dangerous than any wild game nature has in store for you.

Way of the Hunter begins with a typical hunt: I have to hunt a mule deer with abnormal antlers in the tutorial. The game also explains why: My grandpa has already killed his father, and both are now to be exhibited on a diorama in the hunting lodge. In the later course, however, I can choose the animals to be hunted myself and have to pay attention to the diversity of species.

There is a Batman sense that the game brings to help us. It’s called hunter intuition, and I doubt how much it helps you. It often misleads you and causes you to run in vain. When you turn on this intuition, you can see glowing places around, which provide clues about animals. This way, you can see information such as water drinking, resting place, and footprints. However, you must keep your head down and walk to follow the trail when this feature is on. As if that’s not enough, the most incredible beauty that this intuition gives us is showing the place where animals make their last sound.

However, when you consider such finely thought-out details about hunting in the game, you regret even more what potential has been lost. For example, the bullets you will use for small creatures such as birds, the gun and even the position you shoot affect the quality of the hunt. Likewise, the work you spend significant pursuits gives you extra frustration if you can kill the prey and then struggle to find it in the forest without any information after killing it.

Various bugs cause problems as well. Sometimes you can stroll, but animals still run away for no apparent reason. This is also factoring in scents and minding wind direction. The buggy nature of stealth ultimately dampens any momentum you may build on a particular hunt. A successful shot feels more like dumb luck than tactical awareness and an acute sense of nature.

Co-op multiplayer is included, but it’s poorly thought out. Neither player can interact with the hub, and you can’t even ride vehicles together. The various bugs making animals flee too quickly are exasperated by another player in the session. If you have the patience, and perhaps with a few patches it can get there.

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