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PlayStation LifeStyle spoke to the team at Crytek about Hunt: Showdown 1896, which relaunches the game and moves the game to run natively on PlayStation 5. Featuring plenty of technical tweaks, gameplay additions, and a new map, it’s a perfect time for new players to jump in and for veteran hunters to return.
“Hunt: Showdown 1896 is the new era of the competitive first-person bounty hunting game, packing the thrill of survival and the reward of profit into a horror match-based format. Set in Colorado in 1896, the game boasts a mixture of PvP and PvE elements that create a uniquely tense experience. It’s not just the monsters who are a threat—it’s every Hunter on the map. In the classic Bounty Hunt game mode, a match pits 12 players—playing solo or in teams of two or three—against each other as they race to take out gruesome creatures for a Bounty they must collect and extract from the map. Hunt’s Soul Survivor mode offers a shorter match for solo players to scavenge for weapons as they compete for a diminishing pool of Bounty. The higher the risk, the higher the reward–but a single mistake could cost you everything,” says the official description of the game.
Tyler Treese: I’m sure it was a difficult decision to cut out last-get support. What are the biggest advantages that players will see with 1896 being optimized for PS5?
Clive Gratton Chief Technology Officer at Crytek: We’re most proud of improvements that directly affect the experience of Hunt: Showdown 1896 players:
Moving from DX11 to a bindless DX12 renderer – better performance from hardware. This translates to more detailed environments, weapons, and characters for a more immersive experience. Improved Global Illumination for better lighting, particularly in the shadows. Water rendering now has a fluid simulation and is looking beautiful. HDR pipeline for wide dynamic range. This is great for our interior, exterior gameplay. Full object level support for 3D audio technologies such as Dolby Atmos, Windows Sonic and Tempest 3D. The audio within Hunt is a key part of the experience, and the improvements are amazing.
The new map, Mammon’s Gulch, features more elevation than previously. How will that impact gameplay?
Dennis Schwarz Design Director, Hunt: Showdown 1896: The idea of going to Colorado was floated for many years and it was very appealing to us to bring to life the mountains and slopes, deep valleys and creeks, the mines, the ghost towns in one vast area. One of the main goals for the new map was to add more verticality.
In the middle of the map players will find the mountains pierced through by lots of mine tunnels. It’s up to players to decide whether they want to cut across the mines or take the longer path around, depending on their equipment and willingness to take risks. This adds an interesting new tactical layer. Mammon’s Gulch also brings a new Wild Target called the Hellborn and two new animal attractors; Cows and Bats reacting to players.
Mammon’s Gulch also features plenty of mines and shortcuts. Everyone will be jumping in and exploring at the same time, so what’s most exciting about seeing the established community all starting fresh together?
Scott Lussier Game Director, Hunt: Showdown 1896: The key point for us is for players to have an impression “The best days of Hunt are ahead.” It’s difficult to say that we know for sure how players will respond to the changes, every individual is different so it’s never easy to predict. But what I can say is that both our new and existing players alike will be challenged to learn the totally new map and the new “meta” with the introduction of Ballistics. It’s an exciting time for us to finally see the players jump into Mammon’s Gulch, a map we are very passionate about internally and see what tactics they develop.
Thanks to Crytek for our Hunt: Showdown 1896 interview. More about the game can be found on its official website.