Illfonic, the game masters behind Friday the 13th, have unveiled their latest creation. Predator: Hunting Grounds takes many elements from Friday but unlike the previous game, is a first-person shooter.
Although the game wasn't due to be released until late April, a trial weekend was unveiled where those with Playstation Plus could pick up the game for free and play for two days. Many players formed quick opinions on what they loved about the game, and what definitely needs to be improved before the full version is released.
10 Love: The Graphics
The graphics aren't exactly revolutionary, but they're definitely a step up for Illfonic. The views when Predator is running around the trees are pretty impressive, and the amount of detail on Predator himself is not insignificant. Although Friday was fun, the graphics were clunky and glitchy, and this game is a definite step up on what players have seen before from Illfonic.
9 Don't Love: Queue Times
The queue times were a major downside for people trying to play. Even trying to join a lobby in a party of two meant a wait time of five minutes, and trying to join alone didn't often make the queue much shorter. Considering many people were surely trying to pile in on the free trial weekend, there was no reason for queues to be so long, as plenty should have been available.
And this was only for people playing as the soldiers; not Predator himself.
8 Love: The Loyal Premise
Illfonic definitely stuck close to the plot of Predator when they made the game. The missions are based on what would go down in the movies, and even the design of Predator has taken the movies into careful account. Fans of the horror franchise will love this game simply for the memories.
7 Don't Love: It's A Very Typical FPS Otherwise
But despite being loyal to Predator, it's a very typical FPS otherwise with not much to make the mechanics unique. Many criticized Friday for its bugs, but it was at least a very unique concept. Hunting Grounds has almost entirely taken away the horror element despite the specifics of the plot, leaving players with a game that feels as if they could have picked only old FPS off the shelf and had the same experience if playing as a soldier.
6 Love: The Movement As Predator
The mechanics if playing as Predator are a little cooler, though.
The movement feels almost like something out of Tomb Raider or Assassin's Creed. The motion is smooth, with Predator being able to scale trees and leap across the branches unhindered by anything clunky. It's definitely more fun to play as him than a soldier for this reason alone.
5 Don't Love: Who Is An AI & Who Is A Teammate?
As a teammate, it's hard to tell who is an AI and who is a teammate — there's no distinction.
As Predator, it's even harder, which can make it hard to know who to target.
When the full game is released, a nice fix would be to make usernames more obvious hovering above the people who are also playing the game, because it's too difficult to tell once everyone gets into those camps. There needs to be more of a distinction.
4 Love: Different Ways To Play, Like Friday The 13th
There are, at least, many different ways to play and prioritize. Although it's very discouraged to work with the villain in a public match, it's worth exploring in a private match. Even in a public one, each player can work out different things, with some filling out the objectives and others fending off Predator and the AIs. It's fun to work out which roles to create and fill.
3 Don't Love: Game Is A Little Imbalanced... Also Like Friday The 13th
The game is definitely a little imbalanced though. Much like Jason Voorhees was, Predator is a bit overpowered which, again, makes him far more fun to play than one of the soldiers. Illfonic went through many fixes with Jason, evening out the game with every patch that was released, and it took a while to get right. Maybe it'll have to be the same with Hunting Grounds — a work in progress power balance.
2 Love: Missions Within A Mission
What's cool about the missions is how they progress. It's not one single mission to get through the match, but it changes and has objectives, much like a RPG might have. This keeps the match moving and makes the game feel a lot more fast-paced – there's certainly no hanging about at any point.
1 Don't Love: But Not Enough Variation
Despite this, there's not enough variation in the matches. Even with multiple missions and objectives within them, once a few have been played, the game ends up feeling kind of same-y. Illfonic could use some variation in the maps before the game's full release, because the settings are seriously hard to distinguish from each other at the moment. The game just needs to feel a lot more 'full'.