Hunt: Showdown Trailer Introduces PvP in a PvE World

Hunt has undergone some major changes since it was revealed years ago as a four-player co-op horror game. This year, Hunt returned as Hunt: Showdown, a two-player co-op multiplayer game that ditched Left 4 Dead-like gameplay for an interesting PvE / PvP mix. The latest trailer for the game recaps just how this all works.

In Hunt: Showdown, five teams of two enter the Louisiana swamps to hunt the grotesque monsters that populate it. As objectives are completed, players upgrade and build their characters with gear and rewards. The other four teams may have the same goal of dispatching the monsters, but they can choose to become hostile toward you and take your hard-earned items. Once killed, a player’s character is dead for good, but their ranks and gear passes down the Hunter bloodline if they escape the map by the end of the match.

The game pushes players to play carefully with their partner and stay observant of others in the area. Voice chat is proximity based even among teams. Hear another group making rounds? Stay low and quiet (or hunt them down). Overall, Hunt: Showdown sounds like it could be loads of fun thanks to the multiplayer perma-death element — games like DayZ and PUBG for example instill a strong sense of fear based on this aspect alone. Encouraging this kind of gameplay in a monster-infested swap sounds like a great idea.

Hunt: Showdown is coming to Steam Early Access “soon”.